Why do we do what we do? That’s a pretty heavy way to start off this post, wouldn’t you say? It’s something that I personally have thought about more recently and think the world at large is thinking about as well.

I believe one of the most humane, selfish acts we can do in our lifetimes is to inspire an individual or individuals as a result of our experience and aspirations.

In learning to embrace our personal growth, we all have the ability to inspire others towards a journey of their own personal self-growth. Seems like a great win-win to me!

Think back to a time when you were not in the greatest of mindsets, yet someone was able to inspire you to get out of that funk. Imagine what your life might have looked like if it weren’t for that one moment when your lives crossed paths - somewhat dramatically different, right?

You’re a better person because of that one individual, or couple of individuals, who inspired you to move in a direction of progress. Now having experienced that feeling, you’re in an apt position to do the same for the next generation.

The only question remains:

How do we inspire others?

Upon closer examination, you’ll realize that the answer is in the title of this post itself when we consider Jon Mertz’s take on the matter.

To Aspire

Being aspirational is a singular-focused mentality that serves to benefit the self. The first step to be able to share your thoughts and ideas with the world at large starts from within.

Think about the common saying that you have to love yourself before you can get into a meaningful romantic relationship. The same principle applies if you’re looking to truly move someone else.

When you think about it a bit more, little to no self work and growth leaves no story from which inspiration can form. Imagine your favorite figures that you’ve looked up to and how your feeling towards them would change if they dialed their aspirations back.

Crank up your aspirations in a similar fashion to how those that have inspired you would do so themselves!

To Inspire

Looking externally now, inspiring is all about moving and touching others. Keeping our stories and experiences to ourselves is limiting without a community to breathe a life of its own upon learning about your stories and experiences.

As alluded to already, the central tenant to inspiring an individual is your desire and ability to share with others. It’s as simple as that in my opinion.

The nuances come into play depending upon your role, industry, personality, etc., but some other common traits and skills that the most inspirational people have include:

• Emotional IQ

• Optimism

• Humility

• Empathy

• Worldview

• Balance

• Vision

• Empowerment

The list could go on and on. A common theme that serves as a foundation to these inspiration qualities seems to be a positive, open mind, so keep your mind open and flexible!

Bringing it All Together

Aspirations and inspirations - they seem to work as a marvelous duo and coincide into an endless cycle which revolve around each other.

When you have lofty goals and aspirations, that fuels self inspiration, which in turn reignites your aspirations. This only serves to further add more fuel to the inspirational fire by creating a mission and purpose around both of which others can be inspired and rally behind.

No matter the career or industry, you’ll often find common actions and methods to continue aspiring for more and thus inspiring others in the process, such as:

1. Setting aside the ego

   It’s funny how contradictory, yet congruous, the idea of letting go of the ego is to continue aspiring and inspiring. Some of the most influential people I'm sure you’ve known have often let their own actions quietly serve as an example and yet never let their accomplishments nor accolades get to their head.

   When it comes to aspiring for something, the natural thought is that you have to strive to be the best in your field. While not entirely untrue, it’s important to strive to learn and grow according to your capabilities which can then best serve as a learning source for someone else embarking on a similar journey.

2. Fostering great relationships

   No one accomplishes anything throughout their life without some help from somebody else. It’s important that we never forget that idea going forward in life.

   The human experience is… well human after all. As much as we get lost in the midst of numbers and business, it’s us as human beings that are at the center of it all.

   The values and mission that speak to each of our own aspirations can serve as the focal point for establishing these great, meaningful relationships. If you’re interested in learning more about relationships, feel free to check out my podcast on relationships to learn from some phenomenal people!

3. Liberating others

   As coined by Daniel Pink, people are not truly motivated by money/profits but are rather willing to perform better if driven by a sense of purpose in what is known as the purpose motive.

   If you’re able to give people autonomy in pursuit of mastery, you’ll be able to give them the intrinsic motivation to aspire and inspire others. A great example of this how the software company Atlassian gives employees 24 hours of free autonomy in a day known as ShipIt where groups get to work on whatever they want with the requirement that they share their results at the end of the 24 hours; suffice to say that some great, inspiring projects have come out of that initiative.

It’s a beautiful feeling and state of mind when you finally see this entire process of aspiring and inspiring come to fruition. You achieve a flow state that is so irresistible and magnetic. How can I best describe this state?

This magic sweet spot is where one finds themselves purposefully engaged. You know it exactly when you see it and feel it. It doesn’t happen overnight, but that’s part of the beauty of the process. When you find your personal process, then the doorways are completely blown wide open - keep on aspiring and inspiring everyone!

Credits to Denzel Washington for particularly inspiring this post: