As I get excited about the year ahead and living the life of my dreams I was thinking about the quote —
And that got me thinking, which five people in my life are doing what I want to do more of? i.e. who’s inspiring you right now?
So, without further ado, here are the five people who are doing what I want to be doing (since these are people from my own life that most of you don’t know, and since I don’t know how they’d feel about being the subject of a blog — I have made them into archetypes for us).
THE ARTIST
This person inspires me by living the artistic life every day. He’s a writer who’s sharing himself online and by reading, teaching, etc around town. He’s doing more and more work, and getting better and better all the time. The world at large hasn’t caught onto his brilliance yet, but he has, and he’s happy to follow his words into places (and genres) he’s never been to before. I don’t know what his day-to-day life is like, but he makes you believe in the dream of writing in cafes and small apartments, soaking in the cities and breathing out genius.
THE ENTREPRENEUR
This woman has transformed a rocky past into a rock-solid future, and found obvious peace, joy, and prosperity along the way. She’s very successful, has three businesses, and a staff that loves her. She’s selling well without selling out. But the thing that really sticks in my mind is when a similarly middle-aged woman told her about a ‘fantasy’ dream life and business. The Entrepreneur told her it was possible and told her a few first steps she could take. But the other person laughed and put it back in the ‘fantasy’ box where her dreams likely would stay. But the Entrepreneur is a person who’s pulled their dreams into the open and done the hard work (but oh so worth it) of making them come true.
THE HERO
This woman has had some hard knocks; her body and her brain chemistry would be a challenge for any of us. But she continues to fight, look for answers, improve herself, and vanquish her fears. And she does all that while being one of the kindest, sweetest, and best people I know. Whatever size problem I’m dealing with, I try to remember to tackle it with the cheer and grace this woman brings to every day of her life.
THE HARD WORKER
This man recently got the ‘dream job’ handed to him on a silver platter. Lots of money, living in a big, exciting city, and getting to do what he loves every day. I guess some people are just lucky, huh? Wait a minute though — this guy also makes plans and goals all the time, spent his own money (and time) to better himself, and spent years before this ‘breakthrough’ honing his talents and turning himself into a dream hire for the company of his dreams. Then he applied, risked rejection, and flew himself out there for interviews. Oh, and all that money? He was willing to ask for a little more and they happily gave it to him. And yes, among the many things he’s taught himself, one was how to negotiate.
THE STAR CREATURE
This woman doesn’t belong to this Earth, and I mean that in the best way possible. She doesn’t connect to much of the rabble of our modern world but instead she’s inspired by the greatest artists in history, the most profound thinkers, the most beautiful moments of nature. Life may overwhelm her senses, but only because she sees everything, feels everything. And believe me, when you see everything, you miss nothing. And when you miss nothing, you become one hell of a creative force.
So, that’s mine. Now tell me, who’s inspiring you?
Stay Extraordinary 