Wafty. Lofty. Airy. Amorphous. INSPIRATION.

A quick breath. Teary. Racing heart. Power punched! INSPIRATION.

I wanna do THAT! Gotta get ME some of that! Gonna get, give, live, be MORE.

You are certifiably INSPIRED.

Now what? How do you turn that fire into fuel that moves you forward, deeper, higher?

You analyze it. You inhale and exhale all that romance until you know exactly WHY IT TURNS YOU ON. “How come you need to know why something inspires you?” a creative partner asked me once. “Isn’t it enough to just be inspired, do you have to analyze it?” My answer: “I want to know why I love what I love so I can make more love. Geesh.” Like, conscious evolution. Duh.

what inspired you, exactly?
what did you see?
what did you feel?
how will that inspiration change how you approach things?

JOURNAL NOTES ON INSPIRATION + CRITIQUES

SAVAGE BEAUTY. The Alexander McQueen exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. disturbed, melancholy, heart broken, excellence, construction, rules twisted and smashed.

Truth is beauty. Beauty is everywhere. @DanielleLaPorte (Click to Tweet!)

Notes to self: darkness and light must co-exist. Write more about pain but don’t apologize for my devotion to the light. What rules am I following that are hemming me in? Respect the dues I’ve paid. Worry less about ruining the art piece (tear the lace! spray paint the dress!) Collaborate with masters and emerging stars. Deconstruct. Show the bone. Nature heals in every context. How can i bring nature into pixels? Always, always aim to elevate. [Both Bindu Wiles and Alexandra Franzen wrote about the exhibit with insight.]

GHETTO CLOWN, John Leguizamo’s one man Broadway show. A career memoir, with Legz’ characteristic charisma, plenty of ego, and some truly tender moments.

Notes to self: come out swinging. physicality and layers — how to rock that on and and off stage? Everything has a soundtrack — song references say so much. Can the ego be of service? Pain and the longing for freedom are the common ground in every audience — zero in on the longing. How do my origins influence my art? Own that what I do feels so f*cking suhweet.

OPRAH’S FINAL EPISODE.

Notes to self: go full on sermon.

KRIS CARR: Home Renos. I’m not the renovating type. But this made me want to take a crowbar to something…like my website, maybe. My old journals. My ideas of success. It’s the energy of this reno-joy that inspired me.

Notes to self: what am itching to tear down so I can create more ease, comfort, freedom, beauty?

Get inspired.
Act it out.


Danielle LaPorte is the outspoken creator of The Desire Map, author of The Fire Starter Sessions (Random House/Crown), and co-creator of Your Big Beautiful Book Plan. An inspirational speaker, former think tank exec and business strategist, she writes weekly at DanielleLaPorte.com, where over a million visitors have gone for her straight-up advice — a site that’s been deemed “the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality”, and was named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes.

You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter @daniellelaporte.

Image courtesy of Jeff Sheldon.