Why Do Entrepreneurs Need Inspiration?

I had forgotten I had written this article, but man, once I read it again, it sure does ring true. Inspiration is easy at the beginning of the year as we start New Years resolutions – it’s the rest of the year when it gets a little hard to come by!

From first hand experience, I think most of us know that we, as entrepreneurs and business owners, need inspiration. But when I dove into my research for this post, I had a heck of a time finding any insights as to WHY we need inspiration.

We didn’t just get inspired to start a business and suddenly experience motivation constantly flowing into our selves and our businesses forever more from the Entreprenurial Gods.

Nope. Sometimes we need it again. Sometimes weekly. Sometimes hourly.

So why do we need inspiration and motivation on a regular basis?

1. Inspiration and Motivation are Temporary by NatureWe assume that once something is started, that the inspiration and motivation will carry us through to the end. Rarely is this actually the case. Inspiration and motivation have their place – but they aren’t all that we need in the middle of a project.

   Determination. Commitment. Drive. Integrity. These are the things that will ultimately carry us through. When we find ourselves seeking to be re-inspired, what we really need to do is to commit to making a decision to act even when it feels un-inspiring, which naturally leads us to want to feel inspired all over again.
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2. Business is PersonalThe inspiration we experienced when we started our business wasn’t found in a spreadsheet or in a business plan. It was as we envisioned our dreams being fulfilled that we were able to take the entrepreneurial plunge.

   Those dreams are as personal to us as our hopes for our families and our desires to make this world a better place for ourselves and others.

   We are putting our dreams on the line for the world to see every business day. Damn straight we need inspiration on the ‘rainy’ days.
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3. Failure is GuaranteedIf every business we started and idea we had was a success, a lot of companies and consultants would be out of business. We aren’t perfect. Neither are our businesses.

   I read a quote by Andrea J. Lee (via the wonderful Kammie) that stated, “Try as many ideas as you want :: and fail fast.” Like drinking nasty cough syrup to get well again, failing is a necessity to get to where we want to go. We really have no choice but to bring it on, get through it, and get over it.

   It takes a strong soul to pick up the pieces of a project and start anew – and usually a potent infusion of inspiration is exactly what it takes to get going again.
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4. Hard Work is Just That :: HardNot only is hard work hard, but sometimes it is even hard to know what work to do in the first place. Like whether to hire expensive employees or to fire expensive employees that don’t grow and change. Every decision is a risk – even the ’safe’ decisions risk consequences of inaction.

   Doing things right is usually not the easy way to do things. Inspiration is necessary when one must choose patience and integrity over quick revenue and short term gain.
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5. It’s about Being, Doing & Having :: Not Having, Doing & BeingWhen we create goals, it’s easy to focus on “when I get there…”. When I have “X”, then I will do what I want, and then I will be who I want to be.

   Unfortunately, it’s a recipe for non-achievement. Because when we get “there”, it’s no longer “there” anymore. It’s here, and another “there” pops up on the horizon.

   It is the being that must come first. We must be extraordinary first. We must be determined, inspired, driven, successful, and happy first. Then who we are being will determine what we do on a regular basis. And our daily actions will then determine what we have.

   To ‘be’ all of this first, without the outside evidence to prove it to others and ourselves, is both rare and difficult. It takes massive belief in yourself and your business, sometimes contrary to what current results demonstrate.

   Without inspiration, we might never believe in the extraordinary.

What is extraordinary rarely begins in perfection. And believing in the extraordinary is exactly what we need to do in order to live it, build it, and give it to our customers and clients.