Sources of Inspiration
A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled.
(touch the card to read the other side)
A Simple Thank You
Do you ever wonder who you would be if you had not met the pivotal people in your life? Can you see how the ideas and insights of others that have smoothed your path and paved the way for you to exist and thrive?
Every person -- friend, mentor and enemy alike -- leaves their mark on us. And every opportunity teaches us something about ourselves. I really do believe that ...
Everyone and everything around you is your teacher.
- Ken Keyes
A List of Inspiring People
So here is a list of people across the ages who have inspired me and taught life lessons beyond number. Some of the lessons were big, and some were small. But all made me a bit of who I am ... and that is a gift no money can buy.
- Socrates for showing the value of well thought out questions and Professor Yost for demonstrating their effective use
- Harry Potter and "his mum" for teaching that everyone wants to find the "magic" inside of them
- Richard Bolles (What Color Is Your Parachute) for illustrating the value of sharing what works
- Barbara Sher (Wishcraft) for modeling the power of connecting people with the answers inside
- Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth) for expressing (with a twinkle in his eye!) the importance of "finding your bliss"
- Sundance Institute for being a model of how to nurture talent and develop mastery in an art form
- James Lipton & The Actor's Studio for asking the questions and sharing the answers
- Professor Gabriel Robins for demonstrating how powerful a well gathered list of quotes can be and sharing them with the world
- An e-mail buddy for sharing a key to enlightenment with a needle designed for a rather reluctant camel
- Ben Franklin for knowing what to do with a key tied to a kite in a rainstorm, and sharing the results with the rest of us
- Beverly Potter (The Way of The Ronin: Riding The Waves of Change) for bringing Eastern strategies to the western world of work
- Lao Tzu for having a Way with words
- Miyamoto Musashi (The Book of Five Rings) for having a Way with swords and Takuan Soto (The Unfettered Mind) for keeping him tied up in a tree long enough to find it
- Sun Tzu for explaining The Art of War and James Clavell for bringing him West
- Dan Millman (Way of The Peaceful Warrior) for sharing how to find the life you were born to lead
- The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and other great storytellers for a world full of fairy tales (fairy godmother and batteries not included)
- A host of teachers from all walks of life who turned the life in their classrooms into a great learning experience ... Buckholtz, Grant, Stuart, Johnson, Stanton, Ray, Husted, Wilson, Helgeson, Yost, Geis, Osborne, Miller, Cockrum and Sigoloff ... to name just a few.
Thank you for the knowledge you shared and the insights you sparked into life. If I have a book of life, you were the ones who wrote in the margins and made the material come alive.
Making A List of Your Own
Maybe my list will inspire you to make a list of your own. Do you know ...
