Get Inspired

How to Crack the Jackpot of Inspiration
© 2009
Julie Jordan Scott

I have a story for you, today, about inspiration – and
how to tap into inspiration anytime using any creative
medium or method.

The illustration uses photography and writing. These
experiences can be translated into any form of creativity,
even if that creativity is related to building your
business or strengthening a relationship or writing
a poem or sculpting a new form.

Take what I offer and let the words help to crack
inspiration open in you in a profound, new way.

I know you are ready – and willing – and have
intense desire and focus.

Step into it, now – with me.

My friend, Victor, and I were in the midst of a
conversation about motivation and inspiration
yesterday. We were talking about feeling it and
not feeling it and what our responses were,
either way.

I told him about my recent journey from Bakersfield
to Corona del Mar and back again in one day for my
Uncle's funeral. It felt different, that day,
because I didn't feel compelled at all to pull
my notebook from my backpack and catalog my
experience with words. "It was strange," I noted
without further reflection or judgment.

I added, almost absently, "I did take a lot
of photos, though."

I took a quiet breath. "It was something, taking
photos." My words sounded almost like an apology.

I turned the conversational attention to my friend.

"What about you?" I asked. "What have you
photographed lately?"

"Not a thing," he answered. "Nothing has
interested me."

I coughed, gagged and sputtered. I heard some
version of a vocalized "What?!" burst from
deep in my lungs.

He asked me a question, "What am I going to
photograph here in Podunk, USA?"

I was speechless, absolutely speechless. Victor
has taught me so much about making forward
progress no matter where I am, my dear friend
saying there is nothing to photograph in his
version of Podunk, USA which is very similar
to my version of Podunk, USA. Victor's lack
of inspiration right where he was, Podunk
or not, shocked me right into wordlessness.

I decided to take a slightly different angle
to our conversation.

"Remember how you have complimented me for
having a great eye in my photos?" I asked him.

He nodded yes. I asked another question.

"How do you suppose I developed what you
describe as `a great eye'?" There was a pause.

"You take a lot of pictures." Victor responded.

"Yes, I take a lot of pictures. Every day I
take pictures. Here, in Bakersfield, in MY
Podunk, USA." I paused again. "Every day."

Every day I take photos of aspects of life I
find interesting because I choose to find the
images right in front of me interesting.

I choose to be interested in objects which may
not be notable to anyone else but me. I want
to be fully engaged so I engage with what is
in front of me. It is so simple.

That's what living a creative lifestyle is about,
it is about an invitation to become more fully
engaged in your life.

What will you choose to be interested in today?

I choose to be interested in the metaphors
during my journey of the past several days. Of
architectural elements, of cornices, archways,
doorways, the tiles in benches and walls. I
choose to be interested in changing perspectives,
in looking from the undersides, in noticing
how the changing light changes how I see and
experience things. I choose to get right up
against things, to let me lense get microscopically
close to a subject.

I choose to engage wonder about the bark on the
palm tree in my front yard and then turn to engage
in the wonder of the bark on the palm in my backyard,
which is different than the bark on the front palm.
I choose to engage wonder with the spider web, the
leaves on the mulberry tree, the window sill the
spider web is woven upon, the movement of the
sun throughout the day and throughout the seasons.

It is in these moments when I notice the beauty
around me coupled with the conscious action of
taking photos of "uninteresting things" in my
version of Podunk, USA, that magic happens.

This is when inspiration cracks open inside
of me. I allow myself to be devoted to seeing
in a new way without being attached to "being
inspired" – believing I need inspiration in order
to crack open creativity and instead, allow
inspiration to be cracked open through
the devoted actions I take.

My devoted, conscious action invited inspiration
to crack open within me.

I invited inspiration to come in and as always,
inspiration didn't fail me.

This is significant. Remember this message: I
didn't wait for inspiration to be there. Instead,
I invited it to join me and consciously acted
in a space and attitude of wonder, of
gratitude, of engagement.

You don't have to wait for inspiration, either. You
can choose to crack it open inside of you by engaging
with life right in front of you, right there, right now.

Inspiration is right there, exactly where you are,
exactly as you are in an infinite number of forms
and images.

Look around your space right now, with a renewed
sense of wonder.

What do you see? Smell? Feel? Hope? Wish?

Take what you see, smell, feel, hope, wish and
wrap it up in a creative adventure with words
or photos or song or prayer or sketch.

Crack yourself open to the inspiration all
around you right now.

=================================================

Official Words from Julie Jordan Scott

You may use the article written by Julie Jordan Scott in this issue
of Discover Your Passion as long as all the copy remains intact and you
include this resource box at the conclusion of the article:

********************************************
Julie Jordan Scott, Personal Success and Creativity Coach
Dare to Discover Your Passion, Decide to Live Your Destiny!
Subscribe now to the ezine that will show you how. Best of all,
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Awesome Giveaway from Tellman

Tellman went CRAZY!

the 13th module

I don't know if you've ever hear of his
Perpetual Marketing Machine, but short
of Mass Control by Frank Kern it's probably
the most revered and sought after home
study course ever made.

The success rate of his students is
absolutely outstanding.

Between Tellman and his students,
a whopping $2 mil has been pulled in
over the last year alone using only
what you'll find inside the course.

and here's the kicker:

It's a GIVEAWAY.

the 13th module

He's actually handing out copies of this
thing all 'willy-nilly', to anyone who wants
to learn.

(you can bet I grabbed mine already!)

I hope you get over there quick, because I know
he's not keeping it up there for all to grab for very
long, but he won't say exactly when it's coming down...

anyway, I wanted you to have the chance to learn
how you can start pulling in five figures a week like
his students :-)

the 13th module

(That way you can buy more stuff from me!)

Grab yours while it's still a freebie,
a chance like this only comes around
once in a while -

remember:

"fortune favors the bold"

Enjoy...

Fran Watson

the 13th module

P.S.
I didn't get you an Easter present,
so consider this a gift from me...

it's worth about four grand, so it's not
like I cheaped out on you :-)

the 13th module

From This Moment Forward

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward." - Kierkegaard

-

I am currently reading some books that I ordered from simple truths This article is from Mac Anderson's book - Charging the Human Battery. These books are not available in your local bookstore, they are only available on this site and it is an amazing site to visit. There is a wealth of information.

I love this quote by Mac Anderson:

"Just remember...people are like sticks of dynamite; the power's on the inside, but nothing happens until the fuse gets lit."

Here is a sample from the book - page 27

Understanding that we control our own destiny is key to our success in life. Simply put, when we decide how we want our life to be we must take responsibility and move forward.

Lance Wubbels has captured the essence of the "live life forward" idea with these simple but powerful affirmations:

From this moment forward...I stop the blame game and excuses. I am responsible for my life and for where I am today. I cannot blame the people an circumstances in my past, and I refuse to hide behind my past mistakes.

From this moment forward...I take responsibility for my thoughts, beliefs, decisions, and actions. If I am unhappy with something in my life, the power to change lies within me.

From this moment forward...I rid my soul of all bitterness, grudges, rage and anger against others. I will forgive others and stop wasting my life by trying to get even. I will be kind and compassionate to others.

From this moment forward...I will focus on knowing what I desire in life and let it light a fire under me. I want to run through life with passion.

Take a moment to write your own "From this moment forward." It takes courage, but it can change your life!

To your forward moments...may they be great moments!

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca/publicspeaking.html

P.S. Come back for more snippets from the books I am reading and check out my public speaking blog

Opportunity Knocks

Are you waiting for opportunity to knock?

This is a question that Mark Hendricks asks in his Ulitimate Success Program.

He goes on to say that "You are the opportunity. You create opportunity. YOu develop talents to acquire opportunity. You turn negatives into positives as part of your opportunity."

The lessons teach you how to explore, invent, originate and adapt as you live your life to the fullest.

Come and join us for the weekly lessons and grow your opportunities.

To your ultimate success!

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca

P.S. Here's that link again: Click here

Success

If you wait for everything to be perfect according to your preconceived plans, then you may well wait forever. If you go out and work with the current of life, you may find that success comes from building upon small things.

-- Deng Ming-Dao, Writer

There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everythng you ever dreamed or imagined you could become.

-- Orison Sweet Marden (1850 - 1924), Founder of Success magazine

Talent is never enough. With a few exceptions, the best players are the hardest workers.

-- Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Professional basketball player

Words to live by, and perhaps words that may inspire you to live well.

Live wisely, listen carefully, speak positively and have a wonderful day.

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca

A Miracle

A Miracle

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question

"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick..and I want to buy a miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"

"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"

" I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."

"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago .

"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly.

"And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. "

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

"That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.

A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.


Feel free to share this miracle.

May we begin to recognize the small miracles in our daily lives and to be thankful for them.

Have a blessed day

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca

FEAR

Why didn’t I send a resume to that job. I had most of the qualifications and the person they hired doesn’t have anywhere near the skills that I have….

Why didn’t I enter that contest last year. I thought about it lots, I could have entered, but I didn’t. Why didn’t I?

Why didn’t I go and talk to that new person at the office. She seemed nice enough, but I just let everyone else say hi. What’s wrong with me?

Is your life full of “Why didn’t Is?” If it is, then you too are a victim of………….FEAR!

Fear causes us to do strange things. It may cause us to hide in our houses and not come out for days or weeks. It can cause us to give up on friendships because we think that the person might not like us. It can cause us to see rejection when someone doesn’t say good morning to us when they come into the office.

That demon FEAR can really wreck our lives!

So what can we do about it?

There are many things we can do. Those of us who entered the door of Toastmasters, quivering and quaking in our boots learned that taking that first step was the absolute hardest, but once that step was taken the rest became easier. And that is the secret to beating that FEAR demon.

The first thing we have to do is to look carefully at what our fear really is. Is it a fear of rejection? A fear of looking foolish? A fear of being judged? A fear of failing? Whatever it is, the next step is to ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that could happen? If I’m rejected, will my world stop, will I cease to exist? No, my life will go on and I will find someone who won’t reject me.

What about looking foolish? Well, let yourself do something really foolish, put on a clown suit, encourage people to laugh at you. And as far as being judged, what does it really matter what the neighbours think? You need to be happy about what you are doing for you, not for the neighbours.

Fear of failure prevents many of us from pursuing our dreams. We ask ourselves… “what if….” Well, what if you do fail? What then? You just try another way. When you were a toddler and you fell down, you didn’t think it was the end of the world, you simply got up and took another step, reaching for your goal.

Fear of rejection has controlled my life in many ways, and I have limited myself, not tried when I expected negative results. The words I heard as a young child come back to haunt me time after time and I have to overcome the feeling and go forward.
I wrote a poem for a friend back in 1987, but it is a poem that I wrote for myself as well and I return to it time after time for the inspiration to carry on when I feel like giving up, when FEAR has me in its grasp and I would like to share it with you in closing. It is entitled RISK.

RISK

Do not be afraid to shine.
This world needs what you have to give.
Open up the areas of your being;
expose them to yourself - to others.
You are valuable.
You are unique.
You have much to give.
Do not be afraid to give it.

As we risk ourselves, we grow.
Each new experience is a risk:
we can try, and maybe fail,
and as a result, grow -
or hold back and stagnate.

You have the potential
to be anything you want to be!
You are free to choose.
You are limited only by your fears.
Let your dreams take over,
fly with the eagles,
soar into life,
the world is waiting for you!

*********************************

Fly high

Fran Watson
www.franwatson.ca