Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Inspiration

Since I started this blog, a surprising number of people have written me to tell me that I am an inspiration, but it's rare that they say exactly what I have inspired them to do.  I hope I have not inspired anyone to crash a motorcycle.  It can be very exciting, but I don't want to be responsible for the consequences.

In general, I assume this is not what they mean.  I suspect they mean that I am inspirational in a general sense, and that they have not actually been inspired to do anything.  That's ok.  I'll accept that compliment.


It's unfortunate that I had to hurt myself to inspire people, but if I'm going to be an inspiration, I would prefer to actually inspire people to action, and to make some sort of change in their life.  Here are some things I'd love to inspire you to do:

  • To smile when life doesn't go your way
  • To learn the names of the people that you meet and remember them
  • To write about something that interests you
  • To treat your friends and family better: you never know when you're going to need them
  • To be nice to the people that serve you: It's surprising how many people aren't
  • To take time to appreciate what you have
  • To help somebody who needs help
  • To live your life without fear
What would you like to inspire someone to do?

6 comments:

  1. To love.
    On a side note, Evelyn has asked to marry you the last three days in a row.

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    1. Nice. Tell her when she gets a little older... :-)

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  2. you've inspired me to inspire someone...

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  3. You've inspired me to not jump to conclusions, to not make assumptions!

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  4. To live life without fear...I would love to do that.

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  5. Thank you for your inspiring words. I bet rehab was no walk in the park so I appreciate you sharing your story. The people of dubuque love you!

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