Inspire Your Burning Desire

Ask a small child what they want to be when they grow up and you will hear grand and glorious dreams. In fact, look around you at Halloween and see the imagination of a child as they become super heroes or princesses or even rock stars. Watch a child play dress up or lets pretend. I think back to my own childhood when my playmates and I spent hours designing our dream homes and describing them in glorious detail to each other.

What happened to all of those grand dreams? Life threw its dark cloak of “settle down and be realistic” over our dreams and smothered them. I invite you to lift that cover and peak underneath. Sometimes there is still a flicker of light burning in that dream.

If you were taught as I was that I had to be responsible and practical. I had to go to school, study hard, get a good job and work hard until retirement. Yawn! That mindset drowns the spark rather than fanning the flame. Dispel that myth right now.

First, the days of going to work for a company as a youth and retiring from that same company with a big fat pension after 20 years is non-existent. Less than half of one percent of the population start and retire from exactly the same company. The ones who do are probably working for a family owned company.

Second, the idea of retiring after 20 years with a big fat pension is also a pipe dream. In the 1950’s there actually were companies who provided a retirement pension to their employees. Now the employees have to at least match the company contribution. In many airline cases, the retirement fund disappeared. In other cases, the company closed and the retirement plan vanished with it. Even if the retirement plan did still exist, it was probably about 40% of what was not enough to live on when it was 100%.

I am a part of the baby boomer generation. So many of us are now reaching retirement age and facing the fact that the body and mind may be ready but the bank account is shaking its head emphatically NO. No way there is enough to retire. In fact, many of the bank accounts are laughing hysterically, “You want to do WHAT? Retire? Not a chance.”

This may be a good thing. “How you ask?” Remember those dreams of starting your own business or developing a career out of your favorite hobby or totally reinventing yourself.

True, I have reinvented myself so many times and absolutely loved the experience. Each time I learned new skills, met new inspiring people and achieved new goals. Dust off your dreams. Ignite your burning desire. Inspire your burning desire.

That burning desire is still within you. It is truly not too late. If your mind is active, your heart beating and you have a burning desire in your soul, you can still achieve your dreams.

You have the experience; put it to use. Stop living on the sidelines. Get in to the game of life. Reinvent yourself and ignite your burning desire. Be your own inspiration. If you need someone to believe in you until you can believe in yourself, contact me. Inspire your burning desire to live the life you desire and deserve. You have heard it said that “today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Put a smile on your face and know it can and will be true for you. I am taking a stand for you and your future.

Desire to Inspire

Jim Rohn, now a world renowned author, speaker and business philosopher, started his inspirational journey when he was 25 years old. At that point in his life, he was not only broke but in debt. Broke is a temporary financial state; however, poor is a state of mind from which recovery takes more effort. Almost every great leader and financial success has suffered from financial lack at one point. None of them ever considered themselves poor.

Every great leader first developed self inspiration before they could effectively inspire others. Zig Zigler said, “Motivation does not last, but neither does bathing, that is why we do it every day.” The same statement applies to inspiration. In order to inspire other people, you first require a burning desire within yourself. Your own inner passion and self inspiration fire will fuel the fire to inspire others.

One of the greatest thrills for me is to know that I have touched, moved and inspired someone to go forward and achieve their dreams. Jim Rohn said one of the greatest thrills for anyone is to hear their name in someone else’s testimonial. Teachers and pastors rarely select that vocation for the financial rewards; they select those careers to inspire others to develop their full potential.

I started teaching seniors in high school the day of my 21st birthday. Now some 40+ years later I still hear from some of those students. The joy I feel hearing about the impact I made on their lives transcends explanation. My younger son had the opportunity to study law but chose to be a high school teacher instead. His passion for his students provided him the opportunity to be the youngest headmaster of an international high school. Currently he chairs the international division of a prep school in New Hampshire. The impact he provides inspires his students, his small sons, his wonderful wife, the faculty at the school and probably so many others whose lives he has touched.

We each have the opportunity every day to inspire others. Perhaps it is a smile or a kind word to brighten someone’s day. As a young single mother, I learned that children learn more by what we do than what we say. Children are extremely observant. They realize more than most give them credit for observing. The seemingly small unselfish acts of parents, co-workers or bosses inspire others to extend themselves. Every gesture creates an influence. When the legacy you choose to create revolves around kind gestures, you inspire me and you will enhance the lives of others. Everyone will be remembered for the problems they create or the problems they solve. You choose.

As I write this, I look up on the top of my roll top desk to a simple little gray rock which was given to me by an employee approximately 30 years ago. Engraved in the rock is the one word,”inspire.” The token of appreciation for what seemed to me as a small gesture of kindness impacted and inspired. Whose life will you have the opportunity to inspire today? Even more important - - will you make the effort to inspire others today? What a wonderful world we will create by extending inspiration and kindness to others.

For more uplifting and informative articles, visit my published article collection at www.Elaine4Success.com.

Have an inspiring day.