A Dreamer's Guide to Life: Inspiration

I can talk for days about this topic. It's a simple yet complicated subject, and it was just recently that I figured out what inspiration means to me. Inspiration can come in the form many things: people's lives, words, art, music, dance, etc. But the derivative of these things are from people and I love learning about the thoughts and concepts of people.

There are people that inspire me. Michael Jackson: I wrote a post about him in the past. Hugh Hefner: as a business man, he took a concept that people thought was feeble, unneeded, and distasteful, and has created a successful empire. Even though critics put him down and has had his own set of failures, he persevered through the pressure and is someone I can look up to because of that. My Mom: she has taught me to see the good in everyone and to find a way to connect with a person. In the context of business and friendship, I have learned to always search for the good in peers and clients alike. Without the people I've met or have been connected to I wouldn't be the person I am today or will become tomorrow. There are so many other people that inspired me, moments I hear of in people's lives that inspire me, products made by people that inspire me, the list can go on and on.

Speaking of moments, there are many moments that have left me feeling like I want to do more and be more. Even what people may see as insignificant moments could mean something to me and manifest itself into a form of inspiration. Reading a passage from a book (recommended one to read: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch), listening to a person talk about their life, watching people dance, looking out into the ocean, seeing a beautiful photo...there are just so many different ways and outlets.

The main idea is, embrace whatever you find as a source of inspiration to be a better person or the person you want to be. It doesn't matter what people think about it as long as it inspires you. That drive that inspiration creates is an unexplainable feeling. It gets you to work harder, think optimistically, and believe in yourself.

It's okay to be afraid, it's okay to not know what's in store. People that inspire you probably didn't know either. But they got through it, and I think, it's what makes life so interesting. Success is what you make it out to be and inspiration will help you get there.

Stay tuned for the next installment: goal setting.