Inspiration Without Perspiration

The Grasshopper dropped this one on me many years ago:

“Inspiration without perspiration is all wet.”

Who hasn't felt inspired at some point in life?

I’m guessing very few of us.

Maybe it was a book you read . . . something you saw on TV or online . . . or maybe a seminar you attended that really fired you up.

Whatever it was, something caused you to feel something you hadn't felt before.

And that's a good thing.

But if all you do is have the feeling, you're eventually going to hit a glass ceiling . . . unless follow-through becomes your next step.

And that brings me to one of my favorite ancient Chinese sayings:

“Talk doesn't cook rice.”

I love great quotes. They inspire me. But if all you do is quote the quote, you're like a fisherman with a giant hole in his boat.

I'm sure even some people walked away from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and spat out quotes left and right, yet somehow left the teaching behind.

And that's the difference between being inspired by an idea and actually doing something with it.

Imagination isn't action.

Yet we've been lulled into the idea that we can dream our way to fulfillment.

We can't.

You can't manifest without sweat.

Ask any local farmer if you can reap what you sow without picking up a rake.

They'll probably give you a quizzical look . . . followed by that slow, side-to-side head shake.

Because if you truly want what you dream about . . . if you want your good fortune to increase . . . you're going to have to employ what causes you to sweat:

Elbow grease.

Because inspiration without perspiration is all wet.

All the best,

John