The Inspiration that Changes the World

One of my favorite things to do is motivate and inspire. If you see any of my social media channels, or read my blogs you’ll see the material posted always has to do with something I’m inspired from. It could be inspiration from my dogs or cats, to my nephew or a bagel shop. If you opened my YouTube history, or podcasts you’d see a list of inspirational speeches or Ted-talks to help keep me inspired.

When I started writing today’s blog, Cari says, “go outside. Sit in the sun or go to the park”. She understands that I love to surround myself by inspirational things.

I feel like I’ve said inspiration at least 100 times within these first paragraphs, so I’ll use it one more time.

What inspires you?

When Cari and I first moved to the Bay Area, everything was bought up. It was at the height of the .com era and San Jose and it’s surrounding cities were filled to the gills with people trying to get as close to it as possible. When we had to make a decision on staying or going, we found the first place we could find that met our needs (and budget). Pittsburgh is where we landed!

When I say that, most people ask Pittsburgh Pennsylvania? No! Pittsburgh California. It was about an hour and a half from where we worked in Cupertino. A far drive there and back. Getting to work was easy. It was early afternoon, we were awake and enjoyed the drive. Getting home was hard. After a long night of work and dance practice, we’d leave after midnight for 1.5 hour drive. By the time we’d get to Pittsburgh, we were very much toast. After 6 months of the drive, I’d sometimes wonder how I got home as my subconscious drove most of the way. You know how that is.

Some nights, my brain would get the better of me and send me off to lullaby land. I’d forget where I was and miss my exit (don’t worry all was safe and good). We would hit the Martinez bridge, pay a toll, exit, turn around and head back to meet the right exit. It usually added an extra 20 - 25 minutes to our drive. A costly mistake to our precious sleep routine.

But on the bridge drive was such a beautiful sight. The bay water was lit up but the most beautiful orange street lamps. Over the opposite side of the bay were these cranes used to lift cargo as ships ported to make their deliveries. The closer I looked the more I couldn’t help but wonder, those look an awful lot like an AT-AT from the Star Wars universe.

When I read later, George Lucas lived in Marin at the time he was making Star Wars and on his drive he noticed these cranes as well. That was the inspiration for the legendary war machine Chewbacca stole to save his friends in Jedi and that we would all grow to love. Crazy how a cargo crane could do that. And now, we all are forever changed by the inspiration of one man.

That’s what a little inspiration can do.

The artist gets inspired by nature, the sculpture is inspired by the human, even my dog is inspired by the squirrel. All of us gain inspiration from somewhere. What is it? Where does it come from?

The crazy thing about the inspired is that although the works are considered masterpieces, the artist in considered mad, troubled, unique. We hear about Davinci’s work and how amazing it is, but in history he was the trouble maker. Unable to be contained. We hear about the genius that is Albert Einstein, but history remembers how insane he was and how many thought his research was incorrect. Picasso’s work was weird, Dali was out of this world and Colonel Sanders was just out of his mind thinking that people would buy a chicken recipe from an old man.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that you have to be just a little bit crazy to think out of the box. You have to be very weird to become the artist. Those unique individuals have to withstand criticism and judgment, laughter and anger. Because what you represent is unordinary. What you represent hasn’t even been thought of by the masses.

If history teaches us anything, it’s that the unique are the ones who are in the books. They are the ones who are remembered by many. They are the inventors of change.

So knowing that you have to go against the grain, travel the road less traveled and make your own mark in your world, what could you draw inspiration from that would make that change happen now? What new things would you invent? And welcome the criticism and judgement and hate and indifference with open arms. As if to say “bring it”.

Because what’s about to come of this inspiration, is going to change my world.

And maybe even yours.

Cheers,

JG