What Inspires You and Your Business?

Inspiration is defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary as “the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.”

Motivation, stimulation and encouragement are powerful forces for human beings. Together they lead to inspiration, which spurs creativity, inventiveness and brilliance. In my opinion, inspiration can motivate individuals to do things they would otherwise not think possible, to act in ways that allow them to achieve success, and to reach new heights far outside their comfort zone. I believe inspiration can come in many forms, but with a focus on creating something positive, inspiration always drives greatness.

Inspiration can come through a book, movie, song, speech, painting, theatrical performance, sports, volunteer work, person, place, animal or act. Individuals can witness or participate in the same event, yet the resulting cause and effect are often not felt the same by each person. Inspiration can be a private matter, instilling confidence to overcome one’s fears. Or it can be much more public, addressing a societal challenge or opportunity. In many cases, inspiration bypasses your head (and the systematic series of pros and cons you use to evaluate a situation) and reaches your heart with an emotion that makes you feel, think and sometimes act differently—creating dreams and goals that motivate you to plan, do, act.

In life and in work, find something to inspire you. If you cannot, then keep searching avocations and consider finding another line of work that fulfills you and excites you to dream big and make a positive impact. Steve Jobs was quoted as saying, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

Throughout my career in strategic planning, marketing and external relations, I have found that inspiration is at the heart of what communications professionals do. At our agency—Aloysius, Butler and Clark (AB&C)—we even have a name for it: Creative Intelligence. This combination of unconventional thinking (creativity) and strategic research, expertise and experience (intelligence) fuels our inspiration to develop and execute authentic, bold, differentiated and targeted messaging that reaches our clients’ desired audiences at the right time, in the right place—and motivates them to act.

This is our business inspiration: We make a positive impact and help clients overcome challenges, reach new heights, strengthen their brands, and grow their audience awareness and share of business. Our inspiration is found in the hearts and heads of 95 staff members who strive to make a difference every day.

What inspires you and your business?