Inspiration - the first tenet of ScriptGym
INSPIRATION
Think of, in terms of writing, the Inspiration is your Premise.
The Premise for your life.
Inspiration (from the Latin inspirare, "to breathe into” – means to literally breathe life!
It is an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, artistic endeavor, more, to be be mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially something creative.
Whether a successful idea, successful career, a successful life, it begins with Inspiration.
This will INSPIRE you to spend the next several months or years living, developing, honing the idea and thus bringing IT to life.
Inspiration is your EUREKA! moment. “YES, that’s it, that’s what I’m going to create!”
Inspiration is the first step in the creative process – the moment of creation where you take the leap from idea to action.
The Greeks believed that inspiration came from the muses, as well as the gods Apollo and Dionysus. (That would be nice to have a pipeline to the Gods. Perhaps we do?!)
Similarly, in Ancient Norse religions, inspiration derives from the gods, such as Odin.
Sigmund Freud and other psychologists, however, thought inspiration came not from the external higher power but from the inner psyche of the artist. The subconscious.
Jack London said you can’t wait for inspiration – “you have to go after it with a club.”
You want inspiration? Watch Biography, read biographies, read about successful people who have overcome odds like yours, or, better, far more difficult than yours. Tony Robbins said,, ‘don’t reinvent the wheel. Find some really good wheelmakers.”
The inspiration I’m talking about is not necessarily the micro-inspiration that comes when you are working on a specific project, where you need to meet a deadline.
(That’s not to say that those kinds of parameters do not sometimes inspire creativity and art. I love the story of Billy Joel’s The Stranger album, that he met with his producer, the late great Phil Ramone, and barely had any songs written to show him, and, when threatened with losing Ramone as his producer and potentially the album itself, in a day or so, out of a BURST of creative desperation, Joel wrote most of the songs that would make The Stranger a phenomenal success, and elevate him to the pantheon of popular songwriters.)
Indeed, desperation, deadlines – self-imposed and otherwise – can and do force the creative person to produce work, but I am talking about inspiration in the broader sense, the moment where you are led on a particular course in life, which, reinforced by skill sets acquired and varying successes along the way, becomes your creative choice/path.
Your inspiration needs to be so strong that when you face all the difficulties down the line, it will be the thing you will constantly go back to
– to remember the decision you made, either to be a writer, or an astrophysicist, or an actress, or a politician or a veterinarian, or a guitarist, or a journalist, mathematician, comedian, video game designer, Foley artist, hedge fund manager, cinematographer.
Whatever path you chose – some THING or some ONE, INSPIRED you to make that choice. Whether you want to be them, or be like them, something about what they did made you want to do it, too. It could be the lifestyle they led, it could impact they made on others, it could be the person themselves, but there was A-HA Moment!
Where you say to yourself, ‘THAT’S WHAT I’M GOING TO BE (or DO)!’
Where you BREATHED LIFE INTO AN IDEA before you really had any idea what it took to actually do it.
That part doesn’t matter. At the inspiration stage, you’ll find a way.
The one thing I wanted to be as a kid was a veterinarian, because I have always loved animals, especially dogs. Always connected with them emotionally. So, that was what I was going to do with my life. There was a book and movie about this English veterinarian, James Herriott, and it seemed an idyllic life. Once the realities of what becoming a vet would entail, namely lots of science, and several years of veterinary school and then dealing with sick and/or dying animals, and sometimes putting them to sleep, the inspiration was not strong enough to overcome those negatives, especially with my scientific limitations and also because I became inspired by something even greater, for me, anyway, and that was writing and acting. That’s not to say I don’t still love animals, and continue to donate to animal rights groups, am a vegan and have two dogs, but as a profession, the inspiration didn’t prove strong enough.
To be a long lasting, sustainable decision that you follow through on, the inspiration needs not only to be powerful and emotional, something you feel inside, but also Something you can realistically accomplish.
Inspiration is the greatest gift because it opens your life to many new possibilities. Each day becomes more meaningful, and your life is enhanced when your actions are guided by what inspires you. True inspiration overrides all fears. When you are inspired, you enter a trance state and can accomplish things that you may never have felt capable of doing.
-Bernie Segal-
Think of it in terms of structure and balance. The “I” is your first level, your first leg. Unless you’re really trained, it’s difficult to stand on only one leg.
vvvvv
Eventually you will need reinforcement. But you’ve taken the first, most critical step toward a life of success and happiness. You’ve started. You’ve been inspired. You’ve got the I. The “I” does indeed define the I.