Inspiration Is Often Invisible
Do you know how many lives you’ve touched? Do any of us? I doubt it.
I recently spoke at The HOW Conference, an event tailored to women entrepreneurs and business owners. As I prepared for my talk a few days before, I asked my daughter what it was like growing up with an entrepreneur for a mom. Her response moved me. When she was very young, she didn’t understand why, even though I worked from home much of the time, she couldn’t spend time with me whenever she wanted. Naturally, I had to spend time away from her to focus on building and running EPI. Because, as many of you certainly know, starting and maintaining a business takes a tremendous amount of energy. To a young child—as many of you also know—that’s irrelevant. They see it, quite understandably, as time stolen from them.
So far, no big surprises. But then she told me that my entrepreneurship had helped make her who she is today: a burgeoning entrepreneur and talented apparel designer. I’m so proud of her. And it still chokes me up to realize I have been an inspiration to my daughter. Of course, it’s every parent’s dream to be an inspiration to their child—but we aren’t always lucky enough to know it with certainty.
Because inspiration is often invisible to the one doing the inspiring.
A uniformed firefighter walking into an elementary school classroom probably wouldn’t be surprised to discover he had inspired a child to become a first responder. A chemist in a lab coat, talking to a classful of STEM students, could easily believe she can inspire a young girl to join the sciences.
But we “ordinary” business owners, leaders, frontline supervisors, team members, sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, friends, and coworkers walking around in our everyday clothes doing our everyday things don’t always know when we’re inspiring someone.
Our own impact may be imperceptible to us.
I’m not suggesting you straighten your shoulders and go through life thinking, “Gee, I better be worthy of inspiring someone today.” That’s way too much pressure! But I am asking you to be open to the possibility that your authenticity, your passion, your grit, your sense of humor, your willingness to challenge assumptions—the spark that is uniquely YOU—may be inspiring someone. And you may never know it.
But they will.
-Michelle Kelly, CEO (Chief Enjoyment Officer)
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Recommended Reading
Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away
by Annie Duke
I listened to this book as part of an ATD book club I co-facilitate and I’m glad I did. It’s filled with great stories and a premise that runs counter to conventional thinking: that sometimes walking away is the best way to succeed.
As a decision strategist and professional poker player, Duke posits that cutting your losses at the right time is more about maximizing options than giving up. She explains the psychology behind why it can be so hard to walk away and gives practical strategies for identifying when it’s the right time to pivot rather than persevere. I found it fascinating!
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