We get inspired to create! Hopefully the energy we get from that inspiration carries over into actually creating something. Isn't that the kicker? We have to have enough inspirational juice in order for it to carry over into productivity. Not working on our ideas seems to be the biggest killer of creative productivity, right?
For sake of discussion, let's say you do get through the hump and start to create the work. What effort do you put into it? How do you put in a level of effort that is true to the level of inspiration you felt? Do you plod along and paint by numbers, or does the effort that goes into the creation match the power the inspiration had on you?
What I'm asking is, by the time you're working on something has the inspiration stayed as strong or was it a fleeting feeling?
These are people who helped me know my identity. People who did work that made me want to do work. Work that taught me how to do what I love.These artists and pieces of work don't merely keep my occupied. They fuel my desires. Inspiration psyches me up!
Like Rick James said about cocaine, "inspiration is a hell of a drug." When I think of the people and things that have inspired me I get pretty passionate. I get very drawn in and focused. I feel like I'm invincible!
I believe that when I get to work on my things the effort I put in should live up to the power of my inspiration. It should honor what inspired me.
But what do I do when the inspiration fire dies down? How do I stoke the flames of inspiration so I can keep working hard?
3 Things You Need to Harness Inspiration:
Quickness The more time that passes between inspiration and when I start working the easier it is for the inspiration to leave me. It's easier for the well to dry up, too. I have to get to it quickly to keep all the inspiration I was given.
Focus Once you get to work you have to concentrate on it. Being distracted can also make you lose the inspiration. Put the phone on silent and in another room, turn off the TV, and you might even need to be alone. Distractions kill focus and you need focus. Intent concentration helps you see what your inspiration is so that you can hash it out fully.
Hard Work If I want to live up to inspiration then I can't put in the bare minimum. I have to push myself. I believe the work that inspires me had a lot of effort put into it. Something that was half-assed probably didn't make it very far for me to see, let alone be moved by. Ya can't half-ass passion. As one of my heroes, Conan O'Brien, said, "If you work really hard and you're kind amazing things will happen."
And that's what inspiration is, isn't it? It's amazing. It's magic! It touches your heart and your mind and years later can find deeper layers of your heart and mind to seep into and move you in a bigger way.
Inspiration is great! It's the best feeling! It gives us hope, it makes us feel like we can do something special, it makes us see who we can be!
Now let's go be that person!