How to Become an Inspiration

I know a lot of inspiring people in my life. They range from friend who ran 20 marathons in 20 days to one that recently became an author and one that has completed an Ironman all while pushing and pulling someone that would otherwise not physically be able to complete the event and these are just a few of my friends there are many more. You listen to them talk and you cannot help but be inspired by their stories and their moments of glory. It is amazing to see success happen to those that truly deserve it which is the problem. There is no problem with them being successful but with how we process how they got there. When we think of inspiration we just see the highlights, we see the good parts and that is the problem we rarely hear about the struggle that made this inspiration possible.

All of my inspiring friends that I have mentioned had a struggle that they had to go through to become inspiring. The struggles that they went through are not inspiring but in fact to most people they are uninspiring and depressing.

My friend that ran 20 marathons in 20 days gave up hours of sleep, trained for hours suffered from injuries and felt pain in most of the runs.

My friend that wrote the book spent hours of time writing it, investing time in himself to learn how to become the best writer that he could. He invested in his book promoting it and getting it off the ground. He dealt with rejection but kept going.

My other friend that completed two Ironmans pushing and pulling someone gave up hours of training, his time and having an easier way to compete.

This is what makes inspiration. Inspiration is created by when we choose to be boulder in our lives and not let who we currently are define, who we will always be. We get trapped in the belief that the journey is going to be this glorious ride when really you are down in the trenches wondering if you will ever get out and if you should just give up. This is my first problem with inspiration and motivation, it can become an excuse

When we wait for moments of inspiration to get us started and to keep us going, we put our future in the hands of the unknown; we completely give up all of our drive and passion. You are never going to know everything that will happen in your life. There will be ups and downs and sometimes life will punch you right in the gut, you just need to give it your all. We limit ourselves to only a fraction of the impact that we could have if we just decided we wanted it. This is my second issue with inspiration, people say they want it but are not open to it.

We fail to realize that inspiration only work for those that are open to it. We try so hard to motivate and inspire those that do not want to do anything and then we blame ourselves when they stay the same. Think of it like a parachute, you can tell someone all you want how to use it, what needs to be done and when to use it but unless they want to use it, you cannot help them from plummeting towards the earth. If you want to stop plummeting towards the earth, here is a tip. Inspiration is a mindset not a feeling.

If you want to be successful stop waiting for inspiration and start focusing on your mindset. It is a balance between believing that the best is yet to come, knowing you are strong enough but being aware it is going to be a struggle. The fact of the matter is, you do not need inspiration to help you be successful, it helps but you do not need it. So

Anyone can be inspiring but most people do not want to take the leap to become inspiring. We become too comfortable with the world that we live in not wanting to become hurt or vulnerable when that is all that is really needed. Inspiration takes work and it takes time but most of all it takes a commitment to not being afraid to be bolder. Ordinary and easy lives do not make for inspiration. Hardships and pain are what create inspiration. Inspiration takes hard work, long nights and it is a struggle. We forget to focus on telling the story that lead to the inspiration