What inspires you to be great? I love asking people this question. Some people think of world leaders like Nelson Mandela or even JFK. Others think of Astronauts, test pilots, or famous race car drivers like Danica Patrick. Still other people think of famous business leaders like Steve Jobs and Jack Welch or top athletes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. And then there are celebrities like Angelina Jolie or Russell Crowe.
Notice that the question wasn’t who inspires you to be great? Instead, it is what inspires you to be great? So, what inside you inspires you to be great? The famous people that I mentioned earlier all have a fundamental passion to create, experience, and excel. Inspiration is important even if it starts from without, but eventually it must become internal to stick. Have you ever attended a personal growth seminar or retreat and found yourself all charged up for a week or so upon returning? If you have, you are like many of us. The group experience, combined with the charisma of the teacher, guru or adventurer or whatever he or she refers to himself as, only lasts so long. Just as we must internalize change for it to last, inspiration must become internalized as well.
So how do we find inspiration from within? First, we must take an inventory of what we love. For instance, I love making a difference in people’s lives. I love playing sports and watching sports on TV. I love creating, the feeling that I am developing something new or different. I love connecting with people, making new connections, and contributing to others in the process. I love personal growth, the feeling that I am constantly learning, growing. and evolving. In other words, I love self-discovery. I love traveling, experiencing new places and being spontaneous. I love being, the art of just hanging without an agenda. The list goes on and on.
So what do you love? What lights you up? What excites you about life and/or business? How can you do more of what you enjoy? In other words, what do you need to do to make what you love a greater part of your life? Remember, the more we do what we love, the more we love life. And the more we love life, the better we feel. And the better we feel, the more we contribute to the well being of others. Many of us who are approaching the back nine of life or who are already there understand this.