Seek to Be Inspired

And To Inspire Others!

Issue #35

(The photo is AI-generated on Canva.)

When are you inspired? When you are eating like Oldenburg? When you take a shower? When you are walking or jogging? When you are talking with friends? In the mornings? Late at night? After a walk on the beach? Or a short swim? Inspiration comes in thousands of ways and places; we never know when it will appear.

Are you a creative leader who waits until inspiration strikes to work on your innovative ideas? Don't! You might be waiting a lifetime. Inspiration is fickle and often unfaithful. Learn to create every day, even for only 15 minutes.  

(Spoonbridge and Cherry, Sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, Minneapolis, MN)

Also, identify the times of the day when you are most creative. These will vary by person. For some people, the early morning is the most creative time. For others, it is late at night. For years, early morning and late evening have been my most creative times, but I am now finding that I can also be very creative in the mid-afternoon.

Where are you most creative? In your office? At the local coffee shop? On your sofa? At the kitchen table? Outdoors? At the mall? I have found that I can write almost anywhere if I put my mind to it. I used to write in the privacy of my office only, but I have learned to write in the noisy chaos of shopping malls. Technology now allows you to write anywhere.  

What inspires you? What motivates you to create? What moves your spirit? I often find my inspiration in nature. Maybe a lone tree in a field. Or a full moon rising slowly above the horizon? Perhaps it is a butterfly fluttering about the yard on a warm afternoon. Or a snow-covered cornfield with the stalks popping through.

If you wait for inspiration, you may never find it. You'll need to seek it out. You must chase it through the fields. Maybe it is buried beneath a rock. Or hiding in a bird's nest. Or lost in a raindrop.

Sometimes, inspiration sneaks up on you while you are working and catches you by surprise. Sometimes, it invades your dreams, and you wake up with the answer to your problems. When you pretend that inspiration is not important, it will dominate your soul.

Consider inspiration a friend who comes and goes at all hours of the day and night, bearing gifts that will delight you. When you open the gifts offered by inspiration, do not be frightened by what you find. Cherish the madness that inspiration bestows upon you. Taste the sadness when it leaves you naked and exposed to the elements.

Kneel before the altar of inspiration and pray that you will survive the dangerous journey. Catch fireflies and offer them as a sacrifice to the gods of inspiration. Dance with the goddess of inspiration and steal her beauty. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for an opportunity to taste the nectar of the gods.

Who inspires you to be better than you are? Is it a grandparent? A parent? A sibling? A spouse? A daughter? A son? We all need someone to push us to be better than we think we are. We need someone who sees the talents in us that we don't see ourselves.

For me, that has been my wife for 50 years. Whenever I don't think I can do something, she pushes me beyond the barriers of my thinking. Whether it was starting a new job that I doubted I could be successful or getting me to do something I thought was impossible, she often sees what I cannot see.

Do you seek to find the good in others? Do you seek to push them to do more than they think possible? We have all been put on this earth to help others — to inspire them.  To help them become more than they are. By helping others achieve their dreams, we reach our own. By encouraging others, we inspire ourselves. What we give out is what we receive back.

Years ago, I heard a classic story about a little girl who lived up in the mountains with her parents. One day, she became upset at her mother and ran out of the house. She came to the edge of a cliff, and in her anger, she yelled at the top of her lungs: "I hate you. I hate you."

Her own words came echoing back to her: "I hate you. I hate you." Scared, the little girl ran back into the house and told her mother that someone hated her. The mother realized what had happened and told her daughter to go back out and shout, "I love you."

Although the little girl was afraid, she tiptoed back to the edge of the cliff and shouted: "I love you. I love you."  Echoing back came the words: "I love you. I love you."

What we send out is what we receive back. Do you look for the good in others? Do you strive to inspire them?