When You're Inspired, Take Action.

The other day I captured a screenshot from an Instagrammer who shared a glimpse of how much revenue her online store is doing. After taking the screenshot, I sent it to a couple of friends who are aspiring entrepreneurs.  Soon afterward, we exchanged a series of messages proclaiming #goals while celebrating the success of another girl boss.

Looking back at my images, I realized that I've been capturing inspiring screenshots for a while now. Each one of them is more inspiring than the last. Yesterday, I came to the realization that no matter how amazing these screenshots are, they haven't impacted my life one single bit.

This has to change.

I asked myself, what's the point of getting all excited if I wasn't going to do anything about it?  Was I truly being inspired?

in·spi·ra·tion

ˌinspəˈrāSH(ə)n/

noun

1. 1. 

   the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

   
   

Can we talk a little bit about the true meaning of inspiration? Being inspired means that we're mentally stimulated to do or feel something.  The inspiration I experienced caused me to feel something.  I completely forgot the second part which actually causes us to do something.  More specifically, something creative.

Creating, in my opinion, requires bringing something into existence.

If I was truly inspired by her exceptional results, I should have taken creative action.  This is the true meaning of being inspired.  I've come to realize that every time I come across something inspiring, it's a sign to take a new action.  Since capturing those screenshots, I have taken action towards my business, but none of it is "creative" in nature.  My action is essentially the same before and after I received the inspiration.

As a result, I haven't moved any closer to bringing my inspiration into reality.  There's nothing wrong with just being happy for someone's success.  But if I'm inspired to experience something similar, I have to work to create new results.  I've invested hundreds of dollars to attend countless live seminars. The sessions were loaded with inspiring content but I often missed the opportunity to take immediate creative action.

The one time I do remember applying this advice back when I conducted my pretty experiment.  Every time I saw an image of a woman that inspired me, I'd take a simple action to improve my appearance.  I didn't do anything drastic, but all of those small actions compounded to create impressive results.

From now on, when you receive a spark of inspiration, think of it as a signal. A trigger to move into action.  Take it as a sign and an opportunity to get into creative mode.  Moments of inspiration are reminders that we need to get moving.

Let's take full advantage.