When people mention business idols, it’s easy to point to giants like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos. Indeed, those names have made much for themselves, and they’re good role models for how to succeed in business.
However, when people ask me who my greatest inspiration in business or life is, it’s always going to be everyday people like you and me. They’re all around us – and taking the time to connect with their experiences can very well be the source of inspiration you need.
Seek Out the Stories of Others
Take Rodney, for example. Rodney was a 16-year-old kid that I met once, as he was busking with a saxophone on a busy street. He barely had clean clothes, and his saxophone case was open for people to drop money in.
What interested me, however, was how there was no sign asking for money. There was no “Help me, I need to go to school.” I asked him about this, and he pointed to his saxophone. He told me something I’ll never forget: “This right here, and everything I have, I worked for it because I wanted it.”
Turns out, even the saxophone, he bought for himself. He also taught himself how to play, spending every day practising in his high school’s music room.
Rodney refused to make excuses – there was nothing that could stop him from achieving his dreams. The typical reasons that people use to justify their laziness? Rodney wouldn’t use those as a cop-out, or as a way to validate his circumstances.
He was driven by pure passion. He exemplified resilience and grit. He, like Warren Buffett or Jeff Bezos, was a real example of what it means to succeed.
Inspiration Is Around the Corner
These kinds of people are everywhere. They keep an optimistic mind. They’re the students who spend late nights putting in the extra effort to do better in exams. They’re the mothers who juggle work and spending time with their kids.
You can find these people all around you. Don’t believe me? Think about your favourite teacher. I’m sure we all have one. Think about how their desire to succeed in guiding and bringing up kids allowed them to push past doubters who thought that teaching wasn’t a viable or profitable career. They used their passion to push them towards being the kind of person they wanted to be.
These people have much to teach us, and they’re everywhere – at work, the places you pass by each day, or even in your homes. And you will know that these people are inspirations when you see just how authentic they are. Inspirational people never cut corners, and they never mince intentions. These are the people who are not afraid to take the hard way because they know that their dreams deserve it.
Surround yourself with these people. They’re the types of people who will bring out the best in you, by showing you the best in themselves. Find people who are the source of all light and warmth in the room and reflect that light off them until you can be that light yourself.
If the people you meet radiate passion, and that challenges you to do the same, those are the people you should be inspired by.
To your success,
Mario
[Visit www.mariosingh.com now to enjoy a FREE e-book of my latest “37 Essential Principles for Massive Success” when you subscribe!]
