Inspiration: a Love/Hate story

By Trent Hendrick, Head of Art, Cummins & Partners, Melbourne.

 I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the word inspiration.

Mainly because inspiration implies that the answer just comes to you without any effort.

If you’re in the right place, at the right time, in the right headspace, it’ll just present itself to you out of nowhere.

Yes, it might appear that way, but in truth, it’s come from previous effort.

If you’ve chosen to pursue a creative life, you can’t rely on inspiration.

A creative life isn’t easy.

It’s maybe not laborious, but it definitely requires effort. In some ways it’s a 24-hour job.

I remember being in a lecture in my first year of university and the lecturer said to the class “from today onward, you’re a sponge”.

It really stuck with me.

Basically, what he meant was, it was up to us to fill our brains with experiences, obversions, and learnings.

And no, not just ones that interest us - live a curious life.

Go and make time for the things you wouldn’t normally do.

Go and eat something you haven’t tried before.

Go to a suburb you’ve never visited before.

Go and speak to someone that might challenge your thinking.

Go to the movies and watch something that really doesn’t interest you.

Stop. Listen. Observe.

Understand how other people tick.

What motivates them?

What do they care about?

What do they laugh at?

What is going on in their lives?

Fill your brain full of thoughts and ideas beyond your own.

These are the things you draw upon to shape your thinking to make great, relevant ideas.

And keep yourself fresh and relevant.

But best of all, you might surprise yourself.

You may experience something you really like that you might’ve otherwise missed out on.