"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive” - Howard Thurman

The word inspiration is from the Latin word inspirare which denotes: to blow into, to inflame, or to breathe into.  Inspirare is a composition of two words in – meaning “in” or “into” and spirare - connoting “breathe.” 

It is from this same word we derive spirare which means “Spirit.”  Hence, inspiration means to put spirit or breathe into someone.  Motivation on the other hand is defined as a psychological stimulus that arouses an organism to action towards a desired goal; the reason for the action; a motive; that which gives purpose (reason) and direction to behavior.

Inspiration is an innate impellent to do work. Motivation is an extrinsic propellant or incentive to do work.  Some people have attained great success in one level of life but since they do not have a (re)newed motivation to go to the next level, they end up slipping down the ladder of success and hence losing it all.  Motivation cannot sustain success for long; it has to be renewed from time to time.  Motivation says things like, “The sky is the limit” but inspiration says, “God is our limit.”  Read on and learn how to keep the natural fountain of inspiration flowing within!

In Medical science “Inspiration” is defined as: to inhale; the inhalation of air into the lungs.  It is surprising to know that the opposite of ”Inspire” in Latin, is “Expire,” meaning to take the spirit out of a person , breath out, or exhale.  Hence, if you are not inspired you will expire!

Whilst inspiration is a spiritual and internal force, motivation is a psychological and an external stimulus.  An American motivation expert and speaker, Zig Ziglar recounted his encounter with one of his conference attendees who said to him, “You guys come and get people hyped up and then you leave and the motivation goes away. It doesn't last, and then you have to get motivated again,” to which Ziglar replied, “Baths are the same way but we think it is a good idea to take a bath every day.” 

See, you can be motivated and not be inspired but it is impossible to be inspired (spiritually filled with passion, purpose, and drive), and not be motivated.  When you are inspired (fired-up from the inside out), you do not need external stimuli; on the flip side, motivation always needs to be jump-started when it wears off owing to the vicissitudes of life.

Inspiration births enthusiasm - which is an exuberance, zest, passion, interest, or great excitement in a subject or cause.  Enthusiasm is derived from the Greek adjective entheos, denoting "having the god within," formed from en, "in, or within," and theos, "god." In other words, when you have inspiration (inhale the Spirit), it inevitably gives birth to enthusiasm (God within).  What a powerful revelation!

“Mother, if I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind... for when I die; the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Savior.”  These were the words of a young lady who had lived her life full of inspiration and exuberance, and was comfortable in her own skin even though she was blind for all of her life.

Frances Jane Crosby popularly known as Fanny Crosby contracted an eye infection when barely a six weeks old infant. With the family physician being out-of-town she had to be treated by another country doctor. The doctor prescribed hot mustard poultices to be applied to her eyes, which ended up destroying her eye sight entirely. Later, it was discovered that the doctor was not properly trained and legally licensed to practice medicine; however, he was by then nowhere to be found. Fanny’s wise mother set about immediately to prepare her daughter to take life on, and be appreciative of the breath of life as well as to be joyful regardless of the fickle tidal changes of life though she was handicapped. She occasionally declares to her daughter, “you may be blind but not disabled; you can do what anybody could do only if you put your mind to it.”

At the age of five, Fanny Crosby was taken by her mother to see the best eye specialist in the country, Dr. Valentine Mott for examination. On that day, the results Fanny’s mother dreaded was delivered to Fanny by the specialist, “Poor child, I am afraid you will never see again.” Deep within the recesses of her heart, little Fanny did not think she was poor. It was not the loss of sight that bothered her young heart. It was the thought that she would never be able to get an education like other boys and girls. Surprisingly, at the age of eight, she wrote her first recorded poetry:     

O what a happy soul am I!

Although I cannot see,

I am resolved that in this world,

Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy,

That other people don't.

To weep and sigh because I'm blind,

I cannot and I won't!

When she turned 15, her family went to stay with her Grandmother who became her cherished influence. Her Grandmother introduced her to the bible and out of passion; she began feeding on the scriptures than anything else in her life. It has been said that as a child, she could repeat from memory the Pentateuch, the book of Ruth, many of the Psalms, the books of Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and much of the New Testament. This passion for the Word of God fuelled her inspiration for the themes for her poems, songs, and her imperishable gospel hymns. Some of which we still cherish in our daily worship of the Almighty, like:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God.

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

She remarked about her blindness thus: “The first face ever to gladden my sight will be when I get to heaven and behold the face of the One who died for me. . . .I verily believe that God intended that I should live my days in physical darkness so that I might be better prepared to sing His praise and lead others from spiritual darkness into eternal light. With sight I would have been too distracted to have written thousands of hymns.”

Frances Jane Crosby died at the age of 94 years and saw over 8,000 poems set to music and over 100,000,000 copies of her songs printed.  As many as 200 different pen names, including Grace J. Frances, were given her works by hymn book publishers so the public would not know she wrote so large a number of them.  She produced as many as seven hymn-poems in one day.  On several occasions, upon hearing an unfamiliar hymn sung, she would inquire about the author, and find out to be one of her own.

What a beautiful life full of inspiration, vitality, faith and hope!  Inspiration is the fuel that propels the engine of our dreams and keeps us enthused in spite of the challenges of life.  It is also the catalyst  that distinguishes winners from losers.  It is sad to say, you could determine what a person  is carrying in his/her spirit by the enthusiasm with which they approach life as a whole .

As I always say, Life is not a rehearsal or an audition, it is the actual deal.  We only go through life once and have one chance to make an impact which would consequently require an account to the Almighty God, Lord and Creator of humanity and the universe.  Therefore, live life with inspiration and enthusiasm!  Be hungry, passionate, and excited about life and you would definitely be rewarded with success.

In other words, let your life count for your family, community, nation, and the world. Never dabble in any activity or business venture just because you are motivated; feel the fire in your gut before you commit to it. When the going gets tough, it is not the “emotional high” - motivation that would sustain you; it is the “Fire shut up in your bones” - inspiration that would keep you keeping on.

Inspiration will make you sacrifice your life for what you believe in even at the face of death. Bahamian Evangelical Christian evangelist, author, and motivational speaker, Myles Munroe argued that “Most people have something to live for; few have something to die for.”  True inspiration stems from your belief in what the Almighty inhaled into you (gifts, talents, and specialized knowledge) at creation.

You were created to assume greatness in a specific department of life. Hence, do not stop seeking, learning, and pushing for excellence with enthusiasm in every facet of life until you attain your dream.  Motivation says the sky is our limit but inspiration urges that until we fully reflect the image of our Creator and behave in His likeness we have not yet arrived.

The following are few suggestions to help you find your inspiration:

• Connect to divinity — David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley,  Jamaican musician and leader of the band, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers declares, "…we believe in the almighty and we believe in God and that music is from God and we're inspired by God to give messages and ideas to people." Above and beyond believing in God, you have to stay connected with God if you want to remain inspired.

• Passion driven— It is highly imperative to understand that it is not what you drive that matters, it is what drives you- your dreams, purposes, aspirations, and calling that counts in life. Sabrina Bryan, American singer, actress, and television personality believes that "you can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the support."

• Find Your Niche—when you find your calling, purpose, role, placement, and position- a department in life where your gifts, natural endowments, and abilities perfectly fit, it would naturally generate passion in you. When you        discover your niche in life, you will never live to work with a laissez faire attitude in life. Thus, your work becomes a playful activity- you enjoy doing it. “Passion and Purpose go hand in hand.  When you discover your purpose, you will normally find it’s something you’re tremendously passionate about,” Steve Pavlina.

• Be Imbedded In Passionate Association—Help the weak but walk with the strong and passionate.  Associate with people who are hungry for more in life, people who have genuine and positive enthusiasm to change and affect lives not those who are greedy and self-aggrandized. 

• Live For A Cause—Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States believed that “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.”  Living for a cause gives you a reason to keep holding on when others have given up; to stay awake when others retire from a day’s work.  It also gives you a reason for living and meaning in life.

With all the changing tides in the current socioeconomic state in the lives of individuals and families across the globe, inspiration is not optional. Governments, social leaders, and non- governmental organizations globally have basically ran out of solutions and become clueless in the face of pressing social challenges. The trajectory of the world is ahead to an unknown destination. We have to reach beyond the physical to spiritual; natural to the supernatural, ordinary to the extraordinary, and it is only inspiration that elevates us to these realms. Remember, "no one was ever great without some portion of divine inspiration," Marcus Tullius Cicero. Discover Your Greatness!