I have a question for you. What are you doing to continually rekindle the passion of your life? What kind of inspiration are you providing for yourself that will keep you pursuing your dream? And if that passion dies, who's to blame? It's sad, but true.....passion will die without constant inspiration. In Zig Ziglar's book, "Better Than Good" he writes......
If you think of passion as the flame that burns white hot in the heart of every person, inspiration is the fuel that keeps that flame alive. Often I meet people in whom the fire of passion seems to have gone out. You can see it in their eyes---there's no spark of life! It's like someone came along and flipped off the passion switch while they weren't looking. The big mistake is thinking that regaining passion is a passive event--something we just have to wait for until we're moved once more to become passionate about life. Not so! Passion is a flame that has to be fed in order to keep it burning bright. And inspiration is the fuel that keeps the fire alive.
Who is responsible for feeding inspiration to the flame of passion? You are! And if you don't, trust me--passion will, over time, become a distant and only occasional visitor to the house of your heart.
Here are 4 practical ways to inspire yourself--to feed the fires of passion burning within:
1. INVEST IN INSPIRATION
The more time, talent, and treasure you invest in your passion, the more you will fight for it, defend it, and protect it from everyone and everything that would attempt to steal it from you. Let's say your passion is to own your own flower shop someday. Right now, you're not involved with flowers except as a hobby. If I were to come to your house and spend an hour talking with you about your passion, I'd be looking for signs that you're investing your time, talent, and treasure. I'd be looking for bookshelves full books on flowers, books on running a small business, magazine subscriptions on the same subjects, your class schedule for the course on entrepreneurship and small-business management, check stubs from your payment of dues to the appropriate floral associations, your applications to several local flower shops where you plan to work as an apprentice in order to get experience. . . . . and on and on.
2. INQUIRE FOR INSPIRATION
Find a mentor--someone who has the same passion--and make some kind of arrangement to meet with that person on a regular basis for inspiration. There is nothing more inspiring than meeting with someone who is already successful at what I have a passion to do. Inspiration is caught better than it is taught.
3. GET INVOLVED TO FIND INSPIRATION
Sometimes we have to get up and get involved in order to find inspiration and keep passion alive. And the bigger the movement is in which we choose to get involved, the more inspired we are. Which inspires you more--being the only person sitting in a football stadium or being one of seventy thousand screaming fans who are just as excited as you are about the same home team? The bigger the crowd, the more inspired you are. Why? Because you feed off the energy of the thousands of people who are looking for the same things in life that you are: success, inspiration, encouragement, and motivation. If you are passionate about writing, attend writers conferences where new books are displayed. Join a writers group, attend book signings or readings, or volunteer at your public library. Whatever your passion, get involved in it at a level that is bigger than you are. When you become part of something bigger than you are, you become accountable. You become inspired to do your best. You become motivated to not let others down. And that fuels your passion in ways that can't be described--it can only be experienced.
4. IMAGINE FOR INSPIRATION
The power of imagination is one of the greatest untapped resources in the human tool kit. It's amazing that mental images have such power--but they do. Some people are born with more of an imagination than others, but it can, by hard work be cultivated--not by mere daydreaming, not by lazy wondering, but by hard study and earnest thought. Whatever your passion is, turn your imagination loose and let it inspire you to keep working to make your dreams become reality.
"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
-Jack London
Happy Friday!
Wishing you
an inspirational weekend!
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