Our last past on inspiration garnered some interesting feedback including the question, “How do you stay inspired?”
Here’s my answer for business inspiration – and not in order of priority:
1. I read blogs. LOTS and lots of blogs. Mostly business and marketing related. If you’re interested in exactly what I read, connect with me on Google Buzz. I click “share” for all the posts that I read that I like on pretty much any subject.
2. I read and analyze print magazines. I read magazines that have nothing to do with my career niche. By the time it comes out in print, it’s long gone. I get my business info on the web because the web moves quickly just like business. But I love to analyze layouts, strategies, organization and article presentation in print magazines. My favorites of the moment feed my current hobby of decorating our new-to-us 1920s urban bungalow and my desire to be a more creative, organized, and thoughtful mother to my kids and friend to lots of types of people. Currently, I’m reading House Beautiful (because they run the gamut of practical to totally impractical, on their editorial while keeping their presentation creative and simple to consume), Martha Stewart Living (because Martha and company still have the perfect balance between practical and remarkable) and Real Simple (because I usually find a tip that sparks inspiration in my life) pretty much every time a new issue comes out.
3. I read product packaging. I like the wit and information found on great product packaging and the opportunity that it provides to connect with an existing customer and extend that customer experience. I love it when I hear the personality of the company come to life on the product labeling. Right now, I’m drinking a Sparkling Blackberry IZZE from a can. The label reads: “We stay true to the fruit. IZZE is 70% pure fruit juice. A splash of sparkling water. Made with natural ingredients and fortified with vitamins with no refined sugars, no caffeine, no preservatives. Naturally delightful. Visit IZZE.com.” They could have skipped the “stay true to the fruit and the naturally delightful part and still told their story. But the personality jumped in a bit and makes me more interested and adds value to my experience. I watch for that, consider it, am inspired by creativity in the details of a business.
4. I hang out with my kids. We paint, read, laugh, play games, cook together and go on special outings together. Each child sees things from a unique vantage point – which inspires me to do the same. They help me look through a new set of lenses and give me ah-ha moments unlike any others.
5. I garden a manageable amount of flowers that give me opportunity to be rewarded in short order with cut-worthy blooms. I water them to get refreshed. I look at them to get inspired. I tinker with fertilizing them, pruning them, and rearranging them to learn from them.
6. I exercise… With Andy or alone, mostly by walking or running outdoors. I’m not a group game sorta person. I use my exercise time to talk things out, think things out, breathe fresh air, run off my frustrations, capture a change of scenery – all leads to a more inspired me – and make me a healthier human for my family.
I hope that helps and gives you some ideas for gaining your own inspiration – what about you? What inspires you in your business?
Photo Credit: Clearly Ambiguous
