I don’t go looking for inspiration. That doesn’t work for me. Instead it seems like the more I look for things to inspire me, the harder they are to find. But when I quiet my mind and allow it to wander to places that aren’t familiar, I start to see and take notice of ideas, I had typically overlooked.
If you’re seeking inspiration, these tips can help:
- Get away from the noise – Take time away from your devices. While they may trigger ideas, those ideas usually get lost in the noise and distractions. The human attention span is about 7 seconds before we move on to something else. That’s not always conducive for allowing ideas to percolate, grow and inspire us to turn them into realities.
- Get outside your circle – As a photographer, I get inspired when I venture outside my usual creative circle of peers. Rather then look for inspiration solely in photographs, I find that when I listen to music, see a film, visit an art museum, travel to another place or simply take a walk in my own backyard and take the time to see, my mind opens up to new ideas. People from all walks of life intrigue me and that natural curiosity leads me down many inspirational paths.
- Disrupt your life – or at least your day – Joni Mitchell once said; “An artist needs a certain amount of turmoil and confusion”. Routines are good but many times they stifle inspiration and creativity. There’s no room in a routinely scheduled day to let serendipity happen. Sometimes it’s the times of confusion and turmoil in our lives that jump start creativity. I have noticed in my own life that the down turns usually led to new ideas that ultimately turned things around. Those valleys forced me to look at things from a new perspective.
Many people ask me; “Where did you and your daughter get the inspiration to make your film?” That’s easy to answer. We were inspired by Maggie Doyne, who was a high-school classmate of my daughter, Erin. Maggie believes we all have the power to create the world that we wish to live in. She is doing just that and was recently named CNN 2015 Hero of the Year. Maggie’s story’s continues to inspire people all around the world, one person at a time.