It struck me as one of those ‘duh moments.’  You know the kind.  After you have this kind of an idea, you wonder why you hadn’t thought of it before.  They’re like the commercials that used to be on TV – “Duh, I coulda had a V-8.”

Is Your Soul able to Breath?


The idea that landed in my pea-size brain over the weekend was the idea to explore (including through writing about it) the subject of inspiration.  What is it? What’s the difference between inspiration and motivation? Why does the world seem so obsessed with motivation and why is inspiration missing from so many people’s lives right now?  And most important of all, how can we all tap into this powerful force for change in the world?
It’s funny.  For years (as in a decade and a half), I’ve created almost every day with my life purpose statement that begins with:
 

“To live an inspired, inspiring and courageous life of purposeful, passionate and playful service.”

That’s why this struck me as a ‘duh moment.’  So, how am I going to proceed with this exploration…and here comes the ‘writer’s lesson’ if you care to think of it that way.  Here’s what I’ve come up with thus far:

  1. Explore this by reading a book I started years ago and pulled out yesterday – Inspire! What Great Leaders Do by Lance Secretan. Always like to read what other writers have learned already about a subject, especially when it’s someone whose work I admire like Lance’s.
  2. Share what I’m learning about inspiration via this blog (which I’m doing right now) and via the Life On Purpose Facebook Page including inspiring quotes shared like the image above. (Of course, I’d love to have you join me there as well.
  3. Query one or more magazines offering an article on this topic. First one is about 70% written with the working title of “Stop Motivating and Start Inspiring.”  It’s directed to a business management journal I’ve written for over the past 20 years.  I do see this is a great topic that can be slanted in a number of different ways.

Okay, I imagine there are at least 3-4 other good ideas how to proceed with this. Care to share a few?  How would you proceed exploring such a topic?  Inquiring minds want to know.