INSPIRATION: Its Different Forms

Inspiration? Inspiration. Right, okay. What is inspiration? Well, that depends. There’s so many different kinds.

I was watching Masterchef last night. It made me think… “Hey! I could probably do that.” However, I also watched CSI Crime Scene Investigation. Surprisingly, it didn’t inspire me to go out and kill someone. Inspiration can come in many, many different forms, and, you know, not everyone gets inspired by the same thing. If everyone’s muse, everyone’s inspiration was the same, the world would be a very dull, counterproductive place. Think about it. If everyone watched Holby City and got inspired to become a doctor, the world would be filled with unemployed doctors. If everyone read Sherlock Holmes and decided to become detectives, there would be no crimes left to solve. If everyone watched Nigella and had an epiphany; “I want to be a chef!” there would be no use for restaurants, now would there?

I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that inspiration is diverse, much like the people that populate this little Earth of ours. Inspiration does have a definition; “The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something”, but this definition is different for every single one of us. One thing that may inspire one person, means absolutely nothing for someone else, and that’s an amazing thing, isn’t it?

So, back to my earlier question; what is inspiration? Inspiration is your friends, your mother, father, grandparents. It’s your favourite subject, your work, your hobbies.

And even more importantly, inspiration is whatever the heck you want it to be.

INSPIRATION: Fifty Cent

Although to the outside eye, it may appear that I have very little in common with this man. This man is not from the same continent as me, the same ethnicity as me, nor have we had similar-or even comparable backgrounds. Yet this man continues to be my greatest source of inspiration. He was born as Curtis Jackson III, but you probably know him as 50 cent. The very same 50 cent who had an estimated net worth of $140 million in 2014, and the very same 50 cent who has sold over thirty million records worldwide, with three number one albums.

The reason why I find this man so inspiring is not due to his pure success, but because of all the obstacles in his life he has had to overcome.  As a teenager, growing up in the 21^st century can be very challenging at times, and after a long day I return and shut out the world by turning on his music and appreciating just how lucky I am to of lived the life I have in the shelter of being a North-West London Jew. 50 cent wasn’t so fortunate. He grew up on the rough streets of Jamaica, Queens. He never met his father, and his mother was murdered when he was just eight years old. His story isn’t about dominance, it’s about survival. Jackson spent the rest of his childhood in his Grandparents house living with his eight aunts and uncles. Whilst not a glamorous lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination, the fact that his stage name “50 cent” was chosen by him whilst he spent time in boot camp for getting caught selling Class A drugs, to refer to him “providing for myself by any means” is something I can look up to, and to a far lesser extent relate to. 

The next bit of his story in his rise from street poverty to international stardom is what truly inspires me. He started rapping in basements with cheap equipment and no experience. But he worked hard for it. He decided that he had enough of living in what outsiders would call “a ghetto.” Once again he took on the world, and won by defying the odds by creating a controversial track “How to Rob” in just half an hour, that gained attention of several world famous hip hop artists such as the Wu-Tang-Clan, Nas and Jay-Z.  From standing on street corners, hustling for something to eat, to touring worldwide with Nas within the space of a year.

However, amongst all this the single most inspiring factor about this man for me, is rising to stardom despite having nine bullets lodged into his body, in various places, including one in the left cheek which altered his voice which threatened both his life and career before they even had begun.  In his autobiography, From Pieces to Weight: Once upon a Time in Southside Queens, he wrote: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life.” That purpose, the same as his talent was soon to be discovered by the world. From being on the brink of death, to having a global film “Get Rich or Die Tryin” based around his own life in which he plays himself in the film.

I myself was fortunate enough to see him and his rap group G-Unit perform live in London and throughout the entire two and a half hour performance he never let the smile on his face fade. As he said in an interview with BBC radio on the same day “You can’t match the sales, but you can match the energy” and one thing that has remained consistent throughout this man’s career is that he stays hungry and always puts in 100%. In fact, the day that I am writing this piece, 50 Cent is releasing a new mixtape in just a few hours time, and I can honestly state that I cannot wait to hear what this man has to say once again, for he is my inspiration. 

INSPIRATION: Art

Eyes open; world on. The darkness that is sleep had lifted and the beauty of the earth surrounded the artist. Dust swirled through the beams of light sifting through the high windows, reminding the artist of minute hummingbirds, buzzing around foliage. The artist was searching for inspiration.

Mundane sights turned to art. Timeworn wallpaper rolling down the walls of his apartment transformed into waves rippling over distant horizons, boats bobbing peacefully in the form of damp patches. The dirty carpet appeared like a forest floor to the artist; covered with the rotting debris of a changing season.  Old socks made for the rotting roots of ancient trees peeking out from under the dirt, a cracked leather belt slithered round mounds of dirty washing and into to the abyss that was under the unmade bed. The artist manoeuvred his way through the crumbling archway of an abandoned temple into the grimy tiled bathroom. The room had a smell faintly reminiscent of stagnant water. Darkness engulfed him as he staggered to the stained sink, and the artist glimpsed a cave-side waterfall instead of the small drip of beige water that drizzled out of the taps, much like the weather outside the dusty port-hole window. The journey to the his front door was treacherous; the distant thunder of neighbours arguing overhead shadowed him all the way to his portal to the outside world.  A wave of exhaustion crashed over the artist, one that could only be experienced after a constant search for art in the ugly reality of life.

The artist had worn out his imagination; the inspiration originating from his surroundings came to an end. He could not clutch at the little beauty left in his life for longer. But the artist had a realisation: the best type of inspiration comes truly from within.

INSPIRATION: Role Models

When I was confronted with the task of creating an original viewpoint, piece or anything about inspiration, I didn’t have the slightest idea what to do. I drafted several different possible blogs, and discarded each and every single one of them, they were that cheesy and disappointing to me. The irony was obvious. I had no inspiration and desperately needed some. But being inspired is not easy. Inspiring someone else is not easy. And neither is writing about inspiration - it’s an abstract noun, and all the dictionary definitions of it were rather vague and usually used the word inspired when describing it. Despite my best efforts, I cannot say I found any, however valuable my resources were. The ominous feeling I continuously felt hanging over me and giving me a crippling writers block was that however good the previous blogs available to me on the JFS website, trying find stimulation to be creative from someone else’s mastermind of a blog would really just be copying. I believe I learnt a great deal about inspiration by making these mistakes.

I now know that it is not something you buy at the shops with your payment; it is what you receive as payment for hard work and concentration. You will never go out looking for it, and if you do it will hide, but when it finds you, you shall belt out your glorious praises. Hard workers are inspired to be diligent by a passion for success; lazy workers are dissuaded by an illogical assumption that life will provide them all the necessary bounty they would ever want. When you decide to revise, you are deciding to succeed; when you relax, chill and sleep your homework time away you are choosing to fail. Maybe you are inspired by Leo Messi, David Cameron, Taylor Swift or simply your grandmother. But whoever they are, they are prestigious people who got where they were not through sauntering through their career with a smug attitude and an expectation that they would have everything others earn given to them for no charge. So find your inspiration from role models who took it upon themselves to push themselves beyond expectations, and push yourself. Become a role model. And remember to enjoy yourself.

INSPIRATION: One Giant Leap

During my summer holiday this year, I was lucky enough to take a trip with my family to the Kennedy Space Centre. Whilst I was there, we watched a short film about the superhuman astronauts and their dedication toward their jobs. That half an hour film, is what I found most inspiring.

First of all, the training that the astronauts are put through is beyond anything I could imagine. The film showed years and years of training from dawn to dusk with full enthusiasm throughout.

One of the most important themes in the film was their willingness to risk their lives for the good of their mission and for scientific research. These people have chosen to be a part of history in discovering new things which mankind has never seen before. They are the experts in their field and whilst they could be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars doing what they do as pilots, they decided to become astronauts, putting their own lives in other people’s hands. They are risking never seeing their families again as there are so many possibilities of disaster and when things do go wrong in space, the consequences are usually fatal. I do not know how they manage to say goodbye to their families each time they go on a mission not knowing for certain if they will return. For this reason, I have great respect for them all.

The work that these astronauts have to go through is very demanding for normal people like us. Astronauts must have many varied educational backgrounds such as Engineering, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. They need to have mixed abilities and during candidate selection, they look for a good mix of strengths.

The final shortlisted candidates need to pass difficult physical and psychological examinations. An important attribute to being an astronaut is to be a pleasant person. Imagine having to sleep in a cramped area, standing up with other men and women! Not only do they have to be brilliant, brave and selfless, they have to be humble about it too.

This was all very inspiring because it made me want to be the best I can be, outstanding academically, physically and a decent person too.

INSPIRATION: No Inspiration

So when asked to do a creative writing task on your ‘Inspiration’ I felt I had a moral obligation to look up the most inspiring people on earth. However, nothing caught my eye so I came to the conclusion that I have no Inspiration. From then on I decided to look, in depth, at what Inspiration really means.

The word inspiration usually means something that mentally stimulates you. But inspiration also means to breathe in. The meanings poetically combine when you think of yourself breathing in thoughts, filling your body with ideas. But do not forget to breathe out.

Some people go through hundreds of websites to find inspiration like me! However, looking for inspiration is harder than it seems. Musicians, writers, artists, and most people are scouring the world for inspiration. They breathe in and in and in, yet most of them are not feeling inspired enough. They are looking for more, thinking something else out there will truly inspire them.

Do you want to know why? It is because nothing is truly inspiring unless you apply it to your work. In other words, your work itself is the inspiration. You may hear something or see something that gives you a new idea, but it is only when you stop and think of your work through this new perspective that you actually jump up and go to turn the idea into reality. That is the real inspiration that everyone is looking for!

People think that if they keep reading articles, browsing books, listening to talks, or meeting people, they are going to suddenly become inspired. But constantly seeking inspiration has the opposite effect.

You have to pause the input and focus on your output. For every bit of inspiration, use it and amplify it by applying it to your work. Then you will finally feel the inspiration you have been seeking.

INSPIRATION: 'I will be Inspired'

At the age of one

I heard people talk

I watched people walk

I was inspired.

At the age of three

I learned to sing

I learned to play

I was inspired.

At the age of five

I began to discover

I began to explore

I was inspired.

At the age of eight

I felt love

I felt hate

I was inspired.

At the age of ten

I learnt how to be good

I learnt how to be bad

I was inspired.

At the age of fourteen

Well only time can tell

But one thing for sure

I will be inspired.

INSPIRATION: Shakespeare

When asked who would inspire me, I have a simple and fairly straight-forward answer, Shakespeare.

However, the reason for my respect for such an icon is not just focused on how marvellous his plays and prose were or by how ahead of his time this one man was.  There is another significant fact about Shakespeare that I believe people do not appreciate despite it being obvious. It is how this man, more than 400 years after his demise, is still remembered as one of the most paradigmatic and important figures in British history. His ability to express his political opinion and describe events occurring in his lifetime, through non-existent yet convincingly fantastic plotlines and clever words with a double entendre, constantly amazes me.

Yet what amazes me even more is the lack of awareness our modern society has for this figure’s addition of around 1700 words or phrases to the English language that we commonly use today. When you shout ‘Good Riddance!’ or find yourself ‘A sorry sight’, or if you are sent on ‘A wild goose chase’ or find that ‘Love is blind’, you need to thank Shakespeare.

This is the key point as to why I am so inspired by this man. Through centuries of history, from the years of the Commonwealth and England’s restoration to the reign of Queen Victoria and the devastation of the two World Wars, Shakespeare’s works and words have remained. Apart from Shakespeare and the monarchs of his time, are there many other people who stand out from this period?

My belief as to why Shakespeare’s works are so relevant today is due to the fact that within them the underlying morals are still applicable in the modern world. The themes of jealousy, love and hate are all addressed by this 16th Century playwright and all these emotions were just as powerful centuries ago as they are now.

From the realisation at how influential this single person has become over time, it makes me question myself. What can I do in the world to ensure that in future generations people are inspired? I do not want to be a movie star or a musician.  But, like Shakespeare, I believe that by using the power of words to make people laugh, cry and debate points of view that have not been addressed before, on a relatively smaller scale, I aspire to try to inspire people as well.

AMBITION: Liberty as we know it

Ambition’s an interesting one. Too much, and you run the risk of both underachieving and appearing overly-ambitious, and by extension, arrogant and naive. Too little, and whilst there’s no possibility of underachieving, there’s little possibility of achieving at all. ‘What are your ambitions in life?’ is one of the single most difficult-to-answer questions out there, and it gets haphazardly thrown around all the time.

In 1940, then President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, made one of the most ambitious suggestions the United States had ever seen. America was gearing up to engage in a war that would throw the world into turmoil for a second time, and they weren’t even close to being prepared. By most estimations, the American military machine was either the 15th or 14th most powerful in the world at the time, but they were set to go toe to toe with the Japanese empire, a fierce and incredibly loyal fighting force, in addition to the Nazis which controlled the most powerful and the most terrifying army the world had ever witnessed.

With that in mind, Roosevelt boldly declared to Congress that he intended to produce 50,000 planes a year for the Navy and the Air Force. At the time, America wasn’t making a tenth of that. It was a monumental statement. It simultaneously appeared blusterous, outlandish and incredible. Congress was shocked and unsure whether to censure or applaud the suggestion. After some deliberation and general confusion, they sanctioned the funding requests. World War Two was won in no small part by the United States Air Force, both in the Pacific and Europe, and the planes they flew on were instrumental in that victory.

It was neither the first nor the last time that a US President would stand up and say something so dramatically audacious that it would incur criticism from both sides of the isle as well as the public, on the simple grounds that their ambition was perceived to be fundamentally unachievable. Other examples including Lincoln’s Emancipation proclamation and JFK’s “Before this decade is out, [we will] land a man on the moon”. Both of these were hugely ambitious feats that were shouted down at the time. But both Lincoln and JFK were ingenious, tenacious and determined. And both came true.

In the end, America didn’t build 50,000 planes a year. They built 100,000. It gave the Air Force a fleet that won the war. We owe our liberty to ambition.

AMBITION: The Name Game of Life

I was thinking the other day about my life, what I plan to do with it and what I have already done. What is my goal in life, what do I strive towards? I soon realised that really, I had no idea. It is not like I do not have a clue of what I want to do next. There were plenty of interesting assemblies in school that piqued my interest, but I had no ‘end goal’, no target that I can definitely say I have hit by the time I die. So, I decided to search for a good goal and I created a simple criterion by which my goal would be decided.

Quite simply, by the end of my life, I wanted to have had as large an impact as possible on the world and its people. That is simple enough, but it raises a larger, somewhat more insightful question. How does one measure their impact? What could you use to tell how much of an impact a person has had on the world? With this in mind, I sat and thought and I believe I have come up with an answer that suits me.

There is one thing that every person has and it is the only thing we know about some of the oldest recorded people, from the Babylonian kings to Biblical figures. A name is the first thing we are given and is the last thing that we are identified by. It seems quite logical really that the more a person has done in the world, the longer their name would be remembered for, even after all their physical achievements have faded into dust. With that in mind, I found my goal. That I, at the end of my life, will have a name that holds so much reputation and power that it echoes through the ages. It is funny though, I realised that this way of thinking makes life seem like a little bit of a game, whereby every person has to try and last the longest through time. Maybe it is just me, but this makes life just that little bit more enjoyable and certainly makes me more enthusiastic about living through it.