During a shower recently, I started thinking about the subject of inspiration.  So many thoughts ran through my mind.  What is inspiration?  Where does it come from?  How come some days it explodes like a spectacular firework on the fourth of July, and on other days it seems completely absent?  It fascinates me how each one of us is inspired by different things and people.  I wonder if I asked what inspires you, if you would know the answer?  

The creative partner
I do know some things about my own inspiration; it often comes in the shower, like this very blog topic…when I’m without so much as a pad or pen, and run dripping to capture my thought.   Inspiration comes before my eyes are open, when I first wake up in the morning.  It comes when aroused from a deep sleep in the wee hours or engaged with a client diving head first in a mastermind session.  I’ve discovered that when I’m not feeling inspiration, it’s better not to force myself.  It’s best for me to target the time of day that I know is my height of creativity.  The one thing I’m sure of in regards to inspiration…I want more!   

The power of majestic landscape
I just returned from a family hikation recently, hiking and adventuring some of the most stunning National Parks, territories, and landscapes imaginable.  Their distinct magnificence is difficult to describe with words.  I was wrapped in inspiration.  Travel whispers to me how small I am and how large the world really is; how much there is to discover.  Some territory we explored looked like the vast red desert of mars, untouched, untainted before being settled.  We hiked an area called “Whale Rock.”  The giant white rock structure, connected by multiple segments, took the shape of a long whale.  Upon finally reaching the head of the whale, my husband sat me down, with both of us facing forward, and started swaying back and forth, forward and backward, thousands of feet high above the vast canyons and mesas surrounding us.  We rode the whale together, inspired to play and imagine, creating a vivid touchstone for us both. 

The extra mile
I read for inspiration.  It drives me.  My mom used to give me a hard time for not using novels for leisure, but instead I yearned for the intellectual stimulation of an article or book to educate me with something I want to apply in life.  I have rarely been able to read for escape, perhaps I love life too much?  I can not imagine how different I would be; how different my life would be today.   I have been introduced to so many concepts and skills that I have applied to life and the lives of others, on cutting edge thought, as a result from reading.  If I could have learned in a classroom what I have acquired through personal reading?  Now that would be a great inspiration.  I believe this is the fuel for my children’s project.  I yearn to teach children what I understand as an adult.   Reading has been and continues to be an invaluable piece of inspiration. 

Collaboration is bliss
When I work with others, I get hits constantly.  They come fast and furious.  I write incessantly.  I have notebooks and pads everywhere I go, including my purse.  I design things and create extensive curriculum in minutes this way.  I’m really starting to get this about myself, how well and how quickly I develop with others.  I designed my private coaching practice around strategic alliances, so I have known the power of collaboration.  It has become apparent to me that I choose to build less on my own now; except for writing!  I get so much pleasure from the collaborative process, and I realize how fun, easy, and effortless it is when I’m building with others.  Collaboration is a profound source of inspiration. 

Going for it
My clients inspire me.  It’s a deciding factor when choosing to work with someone. 
I can’t imagine doing something for a living that I did not love.   I do not choose mundane or cookie cutter monotony.  I enjoy being challenged by my clients; learning new trades, tackling new subjects, building businesses, exploring extraordinary ways to live and be in the world…I thrive on different perspectives.  When I see my clients go for it, bigger than they ever thought possible, stretching themselves further and further, it inspires me to do the same!  My thought about being something or doing something that I want in the world, is “If I know someone who has done it, I can achieve it too.”  

The background of spirit
Music is one of my greatest inspirations in life, I consider the right music a companion.  I put powerful music on when I am writing or creating a project.  It helps me focus and fly.  I have music for different moods.  My husband can put Enya on if he sees I am experiencing a rough spot, and I am soothed almost instantly.  Music is the divine backdrop for inspiration and re-creation.  Some songs take me back to the most magnificent of places, achievements, and grand experiences.  I often stop what I am doing when I hear those inspirational songs, so I can feel the goose bumps cover my body, and recall a moment that shot me over the moon.

The tribe
I derive tremendous inspiration from my family and friends.  Their accomplishments and courage is oxygen to me, and I use it to soar with them.  My belief about accomplishing anything in life, is “if they can do it, I can do it too.”  I never look at others as competition, but as inspiration.  Especially if I am close to the people succeeding.  Every time they win and share it, I genuinely feel that I have won too.  Taking part in the success of my family and friends is a high that I use as fuel.  I know collaboration is the answer and the more we share our aspirations, expose ourselves with one another, the easier and more rapidly they will manifest. 

Inspiration is contagious.  It only takes a spark.  That spark must be captured.  So now back to the pivotal question, what inspires you?  When do you notice inspiration?  How do you replicate it?  And how can we get more?  I’d love to hear about your experience, and the idea of passing it on to assist others in igniting their path.