‘Inspiration is Perishable’ is a statement that I read in a book that I just finished reading “Almanac of Naval Ravikant” by Eric Jorgenson. Found it interesting and thought to dwell on this topic especially from own experiences. As such, deliberate inspiration is 2nd nature of successful entrepreneurs. But, in general, inspiration do come fleetingly, as we would have experienced like below:
- You feel inspired to do something big in the new year and get down to writing resolutions. But by February, most of those resolutions are forgotten.
- You feel inspired to start exercising and get down to ordering a pair of shoes & a track suit. Weeks pass, the shoes arrive, the track suit fits perfectly, yet they stay neatly folded in the cupboard.
- You feel moved to reconnect with an old friend, but next day you tell yourself, you’ll reach out when you “have more time,” or when the moment feels right. Days pass, then weeks, and the impulse fades into an awkward silence.
- You find so many such examples from your personal lives every now and then where you feel inspired to do something but eventually end up not doing it. The single reason is, deliberate and immediate action on the inspiring idea.
The Myth of ” Idea and Inspiration Storage”
Many of us treat ideas like treasures we can safely keep in our heads until the “right time” arrives. We believe we can store inspirations also the way we might save money in a bank account, secure, untouched, waiting to be used later. I hear many professional colleagues talking about having great ideas and that they would execute the idea once they ‘retire’ and start the business. Many saying how do they store such ideas in their head. But the truth is, there is no vault for ideas in the mind and there is no storage of inspiration in the body. Ideas and inspirations are fragile, and without action, they decay. The idea of storing ideas in the head is a bad idea. The only safe place for an idea is in motion. So, the next time you feel a spark of inspiration about an idea, capture it, act on it, and let it grow before it fades into “what could have been.”
Inspiration often strikes like a spark but..
Inspiration, like a spark, is mostly sudden, fleeting, and full of energy. But just like the same spark, it can die out if it’s not caught and turned into a flame. That’s why inspiration is perishable. If we don’t act on it immediately, it fades into nothing more than ‘a nice thought we once had’.
Think about writers. J.K. Rowling famously got the idea for Harry Potter while on a train ride. Instead of dismissing it as a passing thought, she began jotting down notes, nurturing that spark. Over time, those notes became a story that captivated millions. If she had told herself, “I’ll think about it later,” the world might never have known Harry Potter.
Inspiration doesn’t ask for a grand plan:
Entrepreneurs live by the same truth every moment. They get bombarded with fleeting ideas on new businesses, pivoting, new markets, new customers, business models, strategies, survival & extinctions, executions, recruitments, teams etc every now and then. Only the successful entrepreneurs hone the skill of transforming the spark into flame!
Inspiration does not need super grand plans; it just asks for the small deliberate steps of actions. Taking ‘notes’ in an important customer meeting, ‘sketching idea’ whenever they swing by in your head, writing ‘execution plan’ for it, ‘announcing the kick off’ for execution, making ‘that one more call’ as a sales person, putting on your ‘newly bought shoes’ and stepping out for running, journaling on your visit to the park etc. Momentum builds only when action follows immediately.
Do share your thoughts….to inspire!
