Inspiration.

Inspiration. I'm constantly on the hunt for it these days. I feel like I have been for years. I feel as though I was much more inspired and creative in years past and that now I am just stuck, stagnant, looking for ideas. It is a very blah feeling really.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been helping my mother sort through stuff in her garage. What a task! But it also brought out a whole bunch of memories (mostly good fortunately!). But nostalgia quickly turned to frustration. I discovered treasures of my creative past – papers I wrote in school (loved writing papers, hated coming up with titles. That hasn't changed…), poems I wrote for the poetry club. Poetry and short stories I wrote as a kid that were published. My picture in the town paper that was taken at a poetry reading I participated in when I was 13. Random odd objects I sat around and painted in my spare time. Beads. Yarn. Cross stitching projects….

Man! I was always doing something – what happened? Where did the inspiration go? WHAT'S MY MOTIVATION?!?

Sometimes you really have to keep rubbing those sticks together before you create a flame so hot you can cook a steak on it – and I feel like I'm teetering on the edge now, so I keep rubbing. I like my steak well done, so it tends to take a bit longer…

A couple of weeks ago, Tony Hsieh, the founder of Zappos.com and author of Delivering Happiness, brought his team out to Los Angeles. They made several stops in LA, but what was very cool and quite fun was that the networking group I run got the opportunity to participate in a private event with him and his team. We got to tour the bus, meet the DH Team, and listen to Tony speak.  I've read his book and highly recommend it, so hearing him expand on some of the ideas at the event was interesting. Both experiences have had me thinking a lot about the experience and culture that I want to create with my business and anyone who comes in contact with me/it. My group members who made it to the event had a great time and also left inspired and motivated. Some even blogged about it (here and here – great websites you should check out anyway…). It really got my wheels turning again.

I went on a hike Saturday that stirred a little something in me too (my butt still hurts, but that's another story). This was my second hike this fall – which is a very good thing. Prior to these hikes, I don't think I'd hiked in well over a year (and my body is paying for it)! Hiking to some crazy lookout point (and yes, I did ask to be pushed a few feet a couple of times) and looking out over the city I was born and raised in (and at this rate will probably die in…) was definitely inspiring and satisfying. I probably would have also treasured the moment more if I didn't feel like I was going to die of exhaustion…

And then there was today. I have recently started working on an office organization project down by the beach. On day one I walked in and just LOVED the space. Fantastic building, great design, fabulous furnishings. The client has a massive library which, to a total book hoarder like me, is total salivate material. They also happen to be a creative company, so there's always a buzz in the air, which is awesome (I like productive environments, what can I say?). I was doing some organizing of their inspiration/reference files today and it totally sent my brain into overdrive.

Hundreds, potentially thousands of images and ideas passing through my brain during my 4-hour stint there. Color, patterns, textures, buildings, sea, sky, doorknobs, landscapes, office space…you name it, it was there. Sorting through the images that inspire my client made me realize I haven't been paying much attention to what's been inspiring me – or what could inspire me if I opened my eyes a little wider.

My hope is that these little sparks have helped ignite a flame. I repurchased this domain two months ago and did nothing with it – until today – because the inspiration just wasn't there. My eyes have opened a little wider these past few weeks. I'm sure I'm starting to scare people on the street as I pass (oh, I jest, I joke…). But hopefully, it is all starting to come together now…