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Thanks to USANA for this picture. For some of us, inspiration is “getting off”. For others it’s “moving on”.
Either way, everyone develops techniques for how to find inspiration. What’s YOUR favorite?
One of my earliest tricks for how to find inspiration was to count through the alphabet, beginning with the letter “A”. Then I’d seize the first word that came to my mind. Often enough, that first word suggested another, then another.
Soon I had a headful of “kindling”, to ignite whatever project I was working on. This was a sure-fire way to stoke the flames of my imagination.
Enough with that metaphor. The bottom line was to generate lots of ideas, and this alphabet method was a simple, effective solution for how to find inspiration.
A few more of my favorite techniques are reading widely, talking with friends all the time, attending musical events, and occasionally watching TV and movies.
For example, yesterday my wife and I decided to catch an interesting movie. It was a choice between “Spiderman” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, and we selected the latter. Fortunately, I suspect.
What a treat to watch a company of outstanding actors working together and inspiring each other! The actual plot felt pretty lightweight, but I barely noticed as I was so caught up with the performances.
The cast reminded me of how my band works together at a wedding or a party. Particularly how we interact among ourselves and with the people we’re entertaining.
It’s high praise when we say of a musician that he makes the rest of us play better. All of us constantly draw inspiration from all the others — our fellow musicians as well as the party’s guests. And at the same time we’re each responsible for providing inspiration the others will draw from.
How do YOU find inspiration? And how do YOU inspire others?
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Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.
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Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.
How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.
