So inspiration, it's a subject that crops in the media a lot at the moment, it's also a question a lot of recruiters ask at interview to break the ice and see what drives the candidate, but if you dig a little deeper what is "inspiration" and who inspires you.
Inspiration comes on a number of different levels, ranging from parents which is common in hospitality as so many of today's managers like myself had one or both parents in the industry running pubs or hotels etc, up to sporting icons, charity fund raisers and other high profile people. We saw a lot of talk about inspiration around the time of Margaret Thatchers passing, and even though she divided the nation, people from all walks of life drew on her unique position of being the country's first female PM, and her rise to being one of the most iconic PM's as well, and how it both inspired them and empowered them to take a step into the unknown and try something that they may never have done.
In a different way we have seen inspirational people in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in the last two years, with Lance Armstrong to name one who had inspired millions of people through his Live Strong charity and his fight against illness to win the Tour de France so many times only for the revelations on his drug taking to wipe away all credibility in this area. Out of sport we also had the Jimmy Saville revelations that again takes the shine off in a big way all the work he did during his life with the various hospitals and charities. For people who have been inspired by these, it must be hard for them to take and thankfully is a position I have never been in, so see my inspiration go up in smoke.
On a positive note though most inspirational people are unaware that they are inspiring as it is just what they do, getting on with the job in hand, from Mother Theresa to Nelson Mandela these people aren't doing it for the column inches in OK magazine or for the money, they are doing it because they love their work, they feel that it is a job that needs doing.
On a personal note my wife's business which started about a year ago making dresses for girls of 1-7 yrs and personalised cushions for people to cherish, has been told by some of her 7,000 "likers" on facebook on a number of occasions recently that she is an inspiration to them. As she learnt to sew in order to set the company up and has worked up to 20 hours a day perfecting her craft and using her business acumen to grow "Betsy Boo Creations", even attracting media attention along the way thanks to Kirstie Allsopp's company Raise the Roof who profiled her. This is hard to take in for her as she never set the company up with the mindset of inspiring people, merely to make ends meet at a tough time for both of us, which thankfully we worked through, however a large number of her customers have now dusted off the old sewing machines in the loft and have taken them out to give them a go again.
So as we have seen, inspiration can be driven on a number of levels, but overall it drives us to achieve and do something, hopefully bettering ourselves along the way. With that in mind it would be great to hear your inspirations and so feel free to share them with us on here and hopefully it will "inspire" others to achieve their goals by hearing your stories. In case you were wondering by the way, my first inspiration was Nick Faldo, and although I became quite good at golf I never made it to professional level, however the things I have learnt from golf which have been able to transfer into business have been invaluable and so in some ways my inspiration has helped to influence my life, however this changes with my first job in recruitment, and the Chief Executive of that business became an inspiring figure to me and gave me someone to take direct inspiration from, and I can happily say that I am pleased I worked for him for 8 years and grew a great deal under his leadership.
Go and check out my wife's company also, shameless plug I know, but I'd be in the doghouse if I missed the opportunity, so go to BetsyBooCreations on Facebook and take some inspiration.
