Inspiration

In light of all of the recent celebrity deaths, I started thinking about this topic. As usual, this topic kept coming up and God kept laying this message on my heart. I started thinking about the word “inspiration”.

Who inspires you? Why do they inspire you? Have you ever had a chance or taken the time to tell them how or why they inspire you? If not… why not? Life is short. What do you have to lose? It doesn’t have to be a celebrity. It can be a family member. It can be a stranger. The source isn’t necessarily the most important part. The important part is that it helps spark something special in your own heart and mind. At the same time, I 100% believe that it’s important for people to hear that they have made a positive impact or difference to someone or something during their time on this planet though. Why do we wait until it’s too late (or almost too late) or we just never “get around to” expressing our gratitude for someone’s ability to share their gift with the world or how their gift touched our life specifically? Why not share their impact on our life with them and possibly inspire them even more to keep giving their gift back to the world? Why not share our own passions or joy with the world to help others get excited about something that they might not have ever opened their own minds or hearts to before? Why not take the time to let people know if they have made a difference?

I’ve talked about being passionate before. I’ve realized that sometimes, we let fears, discomfort, or other hurdles of sharing our message or letting someone know that what they’re doing in the world is meaningful hold us back… but what good does it do to keep it bottled up? Maybe what you have to offer the world is exactly what the world needs more of to be better? What if hearing your words of encouragement and your feelings about someone’s gift to the world is the turning point in their life, or it helps them reignite their excitement for their own gift even more? We all deserve the opportunity to make the most of life. Why do we let fear hold us back? Why do we let fear keep us from sharing our message, joy, and our gifts with the world? Why do we let fear keep us from SHINING and being who we are MEANT TO BE?

We only get one chance to have an incredible lifetime. If we want a better life or a world, we have to create it. It’s our duty, so that we have something positive to share with future generations, so that they will want to find what they’re good at or passionate about and they can find their own way to give back to the world. We need to embrace and share our unique gifts with the world and inspire and encourage others to do the same. There are differences between admiring, inspiring, and aspiring. Just because you admire someone for something doesn’t mean it inspires you to aspire to do the same thing. The world would be pretty boring if we all had the same gifts. We have to embrace our own unique, personal strengths and gifts and do something special with them. People like Vera Rubin, Zsa Zsa Gabor and George Michael (along with many, many others) were thought of as pioneers of each of their crafts because of their unique skills and their willingness to share them with the world. What if those people didn’t share their gifts and talents with the world? They made a difference because they were WILLING to put themselves out there and make a difference and they tried to do something meaningful in the world. They didn’t waste all of their talent and time by tearing others down. They didn’t have to discredit other people or take away from others to make a difference. They just tried their best to stay true to themselves and worked hard to give back to the world. They left a legacy. They made a difference. They were icons and inspirations for a reason.

I encourage each of you to set your sights high, but don’t set your sights based off of someone else’s dream. Other people’s talents aren’t necessarily your talents. Find something that you’re passionate about. Find your talent and work toward getting better at your craft. Find your unique gifts to world, and work toward doing something meaningful in the world with it all. Figure out who you are MEANT TO BE, and strive be the absolutely best version of yourself that you can be!