Where Does My Inspiration Lie and Why Does it Keep Moving on Me?
I just spent the last few days at SXSW Interactive and got my world rocked. Having walked in as a Southby virgin, everything was incredibly overwhelming and I’m pretty sure I spent the entire time lost. Lost in what? I wish I could say. Lost in Austin? Lost on Dirty 6th? Lost in the Convention Center? Yes, to all of it. But I think the most consuming thought was knowing that amongst the 18,000 people there, the next Steve Jobs, Groupon CEO and Oscar-winning director were probably walking right past me or buying me a drink. I think the first cohesive realization I discovered Friday morning was that I just felt privileged. Privileged for the opportunity to go (thank you to PointRoll for sending me) and privileged to be surrounded by some of the most intelligent people in the film and interactive industries, both of which I love and admire dearly.
Why am I telling you about how lost I was at SXSW? Because while I was there, I started to think about how nice it would be to come home to Chicago, sleep in my own bed, eat food that doesn’t upset my stomach for days on end and maybe go to the gym (maybe). The irony is though, that the moment I left Southby, I felt empty and all I wanted was to be back in the madness. The vibe at SXSW, the innovation, the idea generation, the IQ levels became this invisible hub emitting vast amounts of inspiration and I didn’t even realize it until I was gone.
Now, here I am, back in Chicago, feeling drained and inspirationless. So, I’ve decided to begin an inspiration hunt. I feel like I do this pretty regularly, but it always changes. Whenever I feel like I’m stuck in a rut, I’m not happy about a prolonged situation or worst of all I’m not bouncing off the walls with excitement (those who know me, know that means something is terribly wrong), I begin these unofficial inspiration hunts. Well, now I’m making it official. I’m going to start making deliberate moves to help fuel more inspiration into my life and then I’m going to post about it. I have no idea how long this will last, but I already have a few plans on my iPhone calendar.
My first step is reading more. As someone who has to carry everything with them living in the city, books have become heavy and this fact has halted me reading as much as I’d like to. Today, I ordered a Kindle. No more excuses.
Your inspirations will most likely be different than mine, but hey, who knows, maybe my inspiration hunt will inspire yours.
