You have to be proactive when it comes to your life. If left unchecked, life will drag you down and have you slumped on your couch eating Cheetos and watching reality TV shows for hours on end. Nothing inspirational about that. (Although I do like Cheetos and reality TV.)
Good news! I’m here to add a little inspiration to your day!
Below are five quick things to give you a boost. If you’re not subscribed already, do so now to get more stuff like this in your email inbox.
Idea | Take a Peek Behind the Scenes
Every creative thing you encounter has an inspirational story behind it. In fact, there are layers of inspiration.
For example, let’s take a song. What are the lyrics? Who wrote them? What do they mean? Why were they written? Who performed them? What did the songwriter and/or the performer have to overcome to get this work into the world? And so on.
Too often, as consumers, we tend to think that all this stuff (movies, shows, songs, etc.) just appeared from the ether. When we look at the story behind the story, we see that there are humans - just like you! - who worked diligently. Many times, there were tremendous obstacles the creators had to surmount. There is an inspiration in all of those stories.
Book | “Blood, Sweat & Chrome…”
Along the lines of peeking behind the scenes, I recommend listening to “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road" by Kyle Buchanan. If you haven’t seen “Mad Max: Fury Road,” do that beforehand. It’s a wild ride, literally.
As an artist, you’ll appreciate the attention to detail from all angles. The creative process is more than just dreaming up fun stuff - there’s a lot of work that goes into great art.
A couple of things:
If you’re listening to the audiobook, note that some reviewers didn’t like the voices or the accents. I actually appreciated the way the voices differentiated the people.
At times, it gets political. Depending on your slant, you’ll either pump your fist in solidarity or roll your eyes in exasperation.
Video | “I made a Realistic Ledo Man and I’m Sorry”
If you’re a bit of a weirdo (I admit that I am), let your weirdness shine! You may be surprised at how liberating and appealing it can be to you and others.
Case in point, the video below is weird. If you had a friend who was doing what the video’s creator does, you may wonder if he’s gone insane. Yet, the video is compelling and you can tell that he is a true craftsman. It also has a staggering three million views!
Self-Care | Unplug… just a little
We are blessed to live in a day and age when we have access to so much! Yet, if you’re like me, you may feel obligated to experience as much as possible. It’s good to realize the FOMO (fear of missing out) and counter it with some wisdom.
When you unplug and simply do whatever you’re doing with calm attentiveness, you allow space and time for inspiration to bubble up from within you.
Tool | Time for a Timer
Do you feel as though you don’t have time to be creative? How do you know for sure, really? Have you timed yourself?
A trick I learned is to set a timer and work intently on a project for that amount of time - no distractions, no switching tasks. I recommend starting with ten minutes and working up to 25 or 50 minutes.
A small timer like the one below does the trick (click the image to view on Amazon):
Get inspired today! Use that inspiration to create something wonderful in your life. I’m here to cheer you on and encourage you as you grow and expand.
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