Inspiration Stagnation

By Jim Stovall          · July 9,2012

 When people fail, it’s generally not because they don’t know what to do. It is that they don’t do what they know.

 People who are suffering from the deficiency of not knowing what to do can find an easy and     immediate remedy as close as the Internet or their local library. Knowing what to do is relatively  simple. Doing what we know separates winners from losers.

I have heard success experts and motivational speakers say for years that in order to succeed you must have a goal. While this is inevitably true, most people aren’t suffering because they don’t have a goal. They’re suffering because they have too many.

If you have a sudden inspiration to change your life and, as a result of this inspiration, you decide to focus on your financial wellbeing, you have a high likelihood of finding success. If you focus all of your emotional energy toward setting a financial goal and putting a plan in place to achieve that goal, you are well on your way toward succeeding. On the other hand, if you find sudden inspiration and determine to improve your financial life and spend more time with your family, lose weight, exercise daily, meditate morning and night, volunteer three times a week, stay in closer contact with friends and family, and eat more fiber, you will most likely become overwhelmed and do nothing.

We all have a built-in fight or flight mechanism. When faced with a crisis, we instinctively choose a course of action and pursue it. A single crisis in your life will likely create a remedy. A single opportunity before you will probably result in a success plan waiting to be implemented. The challenge arises when we allow too many priorities to crowd into our immediate consciousness.

You’ve heard it said there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. This is true, but you will notice it is not 20 ideas whose time has come all together.

By virtue of the fact that you are reading this column, you probably have areas, facets, or elements of your life you would like to improve or change. While I don’t have the answer to your immediate challenge, I do have two questions that will help you discover that you already have the answer.

1. What immediate aspect of your life would you like to change now?
2. What is the one thing you can do today that will positively impact that area of your life?

As you go through your day today, vow to focus on all the goals of your life, but do it one at a time.

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What is your Purpose or Passion?

Have you ever heard the quote, “The best 2 days in your life is the day you were born and the day you understand your purpose?” I’ve read or heard this quote on several occasions and really haven’t put much thought into it. I heard it again in a leadership conference this year and this time it resonated with me. 

Now think this through with me.  “The best 2 days in your life is the day you were born and the day you understand your purpose.” I definitely understand that I was born into this world for a reason and many of you can agree that you all feel the same way. How many of you know what that reason is? This is a question that can’t be answered overnight and requires thought and reflection. 

I believe that I’ve known my purpose for quite some time but didn’t realize and understand my purpose. You may already know what your purpose is and you may not understand “Why”. I can share with you that it’s what excites and energizes you. It’s what you can do all day long and not realize that time has passed. It’s what you can’t wait to do when you wake up every morning. This is not to say that it is easy; I’m saying that you’ll find a reason to do it rather than find a reason not to do it.

Yesterday I facilitated my first Lunch & Learn session for a young professional organization and shared this video with them which is a presentation from Simon Sinek who speaks to organizations connecting with their “Why”.  His talk was so profound to me because I was able to immediately relate it to my personal purpose, the mission statement in my insurance agency and to provide as a tool to those that we add value to in my leadership consulting firm.

During today’s session, it became more apparent than ever of how important it is to align ourselves with our purpose, our businesses and organizations with our mission to truly make a difference not only for ourselves but for our families, employees, volunteers and the people we serve.

We’re so focused on what we do and how we do it. The question is do we know why we do it?

Kristine Karsten

Bridging the Gap Consulting – “Learn, Lead and Live Your Passion”

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