Dr. Jim Taylor, who has a PhD in psychology, says the “inspirational-industrial complex” is a sham.
Why, you ask? Because the inspiration that comes from other people is manufactured from the outside. This “synthetic” inspiration simply can’t last long because when the source of the inspiration (i.e. the talk, film, or book) is gone, its shelf life is very short.
True and lasting inspiration can’t, unfortunately, come from outside. It must arise from a very deep place within us.
Well, this seems rather logical. So, how do we unlock this inspiration that’s dwelling deep inside us? Uh… Hmm.. Well, this is .. Ya, he doesn’t say.
He does mention Obama, George Patton, and John Wooden as world class motivators. Their big secret?
What makes the great inspirations so, well, inspirational is their ability to help others find their own personal inspiration every day.
Ignore for a moment the fact that you probably don’t need to find personal inspiration every day if it’s truly coming from a very deep place within you. His point about Wooden and Patton and Obama is very strong. You can watch Miracle, or Hoosiers, or The Last Lecture, or any inspirational piece of media ever made. This doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. But, if you don’t have access to a world class motivator like the great John Wooden, exposing yourself to as much inspirational stuff as possible isn’t a bad way to go. Of course, not all of it’s going to stick, but eventually something will. And when that thing stops working, you can find inspiration in something else. Like with just about anything of value, it’s a constant process.
Let’s return to the fact that you probably don’t need to find personal inspiration every day if it’s truly coming from a very deep place within you. Do you know anyone like that? Who has this inexhaustible drive to accomplish or succeed at something that doesn’t appear to come from anywhere?
No you don’t. Even if you think you do, there’s no way to get in their head and really know. Michael Jordan must have had some indomitable will to win, right? Well, by most accounts he was an asshole and had to invent petty gripes to feed off of. The guy with the corner office in your company? Maybe he’s pissed at his dad. Maybe he’s worried about putting his kids through college. Maybe he’s supporting his sick brother’s family. You don’t know. Most of the time, you simply can’t know.
My point is, people can be inspired by anything. Early in life, that inspiration may coming from proving to others what you can accomplish. Once you’re successful, once you’ve proved to others what you can do, you get bored, and that’s when you start to test yourself. You can say this is the inspiration that comes from deep within, or you can say its the only inspiration that’s left after you’ve used up all the other stuff. But, to say the other stuff can’t have any effect is just silly.