Day 4 – Inspiration Is Exponential

There is an old saying that extols the benefits of friends and community: “Joy multiplies; sorrow divides.”  It is healthy to share your successes and sorrows with your friends. It is part of our daily routine. Some of the first phrases we learn when acquiring a foreign language include a version of, “Hello. How are you?”

So we share our sorrows and successes, but how often do we share our inspiration? Are we selective about who we want to inspire? Do we give credit do the people that inspire us?

Inspiration can spread like fire.

Daily Assignment: Thank the people who inspire me. Share their inspiration with other people.

I’m lucky to have married my number one inspiration source. My wife and I both see our home as base camp and encourage each other to take on new challenges. Recently I was thinking about going to a conference out of state but had just started a new job so it would have been a day without pay (and money is tight).

I woke up the next morning with her elbowing me gently saying, “Go. Go. You need to go. Take the day off and go. We’ll be fine.”

Lesson learned: Seek inspiration and to inspire. Associate with people who do the same.

So here are a few that come to mind:

• Alex Bogusky & Max Lenderman & Brains on Fire. Max spoke at a Brains on Fire event and introduced me to the concepts of heart and empathy in marketing.
• Kamran Popkin’s “Marble Season. Swag Season.” post. It didn’t change my life, it affirmed it.
• Dino Demopoulos‘s 25 Thoughts and Guiding Principles (on the right side of his page).
• Jason Yarborough – For reminding me about the power of Belief.
• Jeff Wyman – For showing that family is a basic need.
• Dave Batterman – For being an artistic version of Uncle TJ.

Inspiration and wonderment often go hand in hand.

So who inspires you?