Inspiration 365 Days!

Image by chashama, inc. via Flickr

In any type of art, there are artists and their creations that can be one of two things for us. These things are complete opposites and each make us act a certain way.

1. Inspiring - This is exactly how you should interpret good art. When you see an amazing drawing or listen to some incredible music, you should be inspired by it. That should then motivate you to work harder to create art at the level of your inspiration.

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Last week, I was playing basketball alone in my court, shooting the hoops. It was easy but after 30 minutes, it gets really boring because there’s no competition. When someone’s blocking me to shoot, it’ll get MORE difficult and there’s where the fun begins. Conclusion, games or sports are not fun if there are no challenges.

I used to whine when I’m facing obstacles for my internet businesses but when I start taking the metaphor of playing a game, I’m no longer that frustrated anymore. If you can treat doing business like playing a game, will you see things differently now?

In your last Successful Marketing Strategy I wrote about creating a fundamental checklist of success by using Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich as a template.

A second type of checklist to construct and use is what I call a ‘Practical Creativity Checklist.’ There are a number of methods for rearranging the existing and old into the different and new that actually account for most innovations in the world. There may not be anything new under the sun.

In a later I’ll talk about Disney. Disney is often called the ‘Inventor of the Theme Park’ but actually he changed the amusement park. Now here are some of the things that belong on this practical creativity list.

Image by fataetoile /Cinzia via Flickr

In your last Success Marketing Strategy email I spoke about how Disney was able to be so successful at creating word- of-mouth advertising. Now this brings up a virtually important theme that should be behind all your marketing efforts which is….

…little things mean a lot.

Think of it this way, if you throw one little metal B-B at a window you probably won’t shatter the glass but if you super glue a couple of hundred of those little B-B’s together into a ball that’ll shatter the window.

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I’m working on my Happiness Project, and you should have one, too! Everyone’s project will look different, but it’s the rare person who can’t benefit. Join in — no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday’s post will help you think about your own happiness project.

This week — read something for fun!

I’ve noticed something when I ask people what they’re reading: they often name some highly estimable, dense, serious book, and then confess that they’ve been reading it for months.

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Last April, I read this Time article and the numbers stunned me- “Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and less than 3% of those bags are recycled. They are typically made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills that emit harmful greenhouse gases.”

More than the numbers, however, my main takeaway was that we (normal people and not scientists or radical activists) can do something about it- “Reducing your contribution to plastic-bag pollution is as simple as using a cloth bag (or one made of biodegradable plant-based materials) instead of wasting plastic ones. For your next trip to the grocery store, BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag).” Hmmmm, I can do that. And maybe I can get other people to do it, too.

Living Life with Cancer - Inspiring Many

Dr. Randy Pausch is a living inspiration. Diagnosed diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer in 2006, he has gone on to show people how to continue *living* even after getting the diagnosis of a terminal illness.

For his head-on, straight-forward, entertaining and motivational approach to facing the diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer, I would like to introduce my superhero, the incredible Dr. Randy Pausch, professor and author of the Last Lecture.

He even comes with his own Superhero outfit.

The Inspirational Randy Pausch

A Japanese man who developed the world’s smallest helicopter will take flight in the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci in tribute to the Renaissance genius’ original idea.

Gennai Yanagisawa, 75, said Thursday that a demonstration flight of his one-man helicopter is planned in the city of Vinci, near Florence, Italy, on May 25.

Yanagisawa developed the GEN H-4 helicopter — with rotors, a chair, footrest and handle bar — in the late 1990s.

Read the rest of the blog post.

How often do you take time to reflect on the things you’re grateful for? Once a month? Once a week, at church, perhaps? Maybe you say “grace” at mealtime every day. But even prayers that do express gratefulness, such as a traditional mealtime prayer, are often expressed by rote. Growing up, my family wasn’t very religious, but when we had dinner with family or friends, we’d usually say grace. I was probably well into my teens before I understood what “blessusolordforthesethygiftswhichweareabouttoreceivefromthybounty” actually meant.

Sixteen years ago I learned an important life lesson, in the back of a New York City taxi cab.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by mere inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was actually friendly!