How to inspire others

Have you ever had the desire to inspire? That feeling that you wanted other people to look to you and feel their hearts getting warmer and their decisions to make the most of their lives clearer?

We have probably all heard of people or met others who seem to elevate us by the way they approach life. They may have overcome the greatest odds to reach the top of their field or they may have managed to do only “normal” things like running a marathon or learning to read or write, but they did it with significantly less resources than we have. These people are inspirational and we can learn a lot from them.

Well known inspirational people like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Helen Keller all seem to be driven as well as centered at the same time. The combination of these two characteristics seems to play a role in making them extraordinary. This ability to be driven while they are centered appears to help them through difficult times and make them inspirational. Therefore, if we want to learn from them and also inspire others, we also need to cultivate these two characteristics.

• Being centered. These inspirational people’s actions stem from a deep conviction about life. They know what they believe and value and they are not uncertain about their purpose in life. Their centeredness thus spring from the fact that they know what they stand for. They have a clear vision of what they would like life to look like and therefore they believe in what they are doing. They follow their heart, no matter what the odds are or what their circumstances are and this has inspired others to also carry on in the face of adversity.

•  Being driven. Because inspirational people really believe in what they are doing, they are focussed on what they want to achieve. They have set their eyes on the prize, the ideal they want to achieve and they will not allow anything else to distract them from this mission. Their clear and almost single-minded focus thus enables them to put all their energy into making their dream a reality and thereby inspire other people.

These two characteristics set inspirational people apart from others. However, these are also qualities that each one of us can develop in our lives. You can become centered by thinking about what you believe.

Take some time to think about what you want to do with your life by answering the following questions:

§  What are you convicted about?

§ What are your dreams for the world and other people?

§ What is your purpose in life?

Once you have your purpose, put your energy into making your dream a reality by focussing on it and setting appropriate goals to achieve it.

When you do this, you will become driven – not by your dreams, but by your purpose. When you transfer these qualities of being driven and centered by your purpose to every aspect of your life, you will not only live a purposeful and focussed life, but will indeed be inspiring to others as well.