Today, we’re going to play a little game…

I want you to imagine you’re a scientist, and you’ve been tasked with producing the best possible cure for a deadly disease. You have a big budget, a fully-equipped laboratory and a lifetime of research ahead of you.

What do you do?

You would get started with your experiments straight away, right? People are suffering, and it’s up to you to make it better. You try different things, and see what works. You mix Chemical A with Compound B, stir in a few drops of Isotope C, boil it over a bunsen burner, throw the whole lot in a centrifuge and wait to see what happens.

And after all that effort, it doesn’t work.

Disheartened but not deflated, you move on and try something else. The nature of what you’re doing means that you WILL have these failures along the way – potential cures that have strange side-effects, medications that allow the disease to come back… heck – maybe even treatments that make the condition worse.

You learn from those errors, take care not to repeat them, and then move on to try something more promising. You keep doing this until either you find the perfect cure, or you die of old age, having given it your very best shot.

You wouldn’t try one potential cure, find out it didn’t work, and then give up, would you? That would be a waste of precious time and resources. Every day you waste means another day of suffering at the hands of this deadly disease.

But in our daily lives, can find ourselves repeating the same unsuccessful experiments time and time again, without thinking to change what we’re doing. We get trapped into thinking that our current life-situation is the only way our life can possibly be.

We forget that life is an experiment.

We forget that we can try out new things any time we want, and see if they help cure whatever ‘disease’ we are dealing with every day. Unhappiness. Dissatisfaction. Lack of fulfilment. Boredom. That faint but undeniable throb at the front of your skull that says you’re not living the life you dreamed about as a kid.

You name it, and there is an experiment in life that will help cure it. The trick is to keep trying something new until you find your cure. The trick is to experiment.

After all, what do we think will happen when we reach the end of our time in this great laboratory called life? Will we be comforted by the fact that we didn’t fail a particular experiment (because we never tried it), or will we regret that we never tried finding a cure by making mistakes and learning?

We are not the lab rats in this life (despite what it might feel like sometimes), we are the scientists. We have the control and the power to do what we want with our lives. We have the power to tinker with the experiment of life as much as we want, just to ‘see what happens’…

So what is your next experiment going to be?

Keep an eye out for an exciting new ‘experiment’ from Hello Inspiration – coming very soon!

The post The Great Experiment Called ‘Life’ appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

We like to kid ourselves sometimes that we can’t do action X because of reason Y.

Now reason Y may be very convincing, but we need to be careful to make sure that we’re not just a tiny-weeny little bit glad that it exists. Are we hiding behind that reason, because we’re afraid of taking action? Here’s a little secret… the ‘reasons not to’ are all rubbish. And here’s another secret – you ARE capable of doing what you want to do, if only you believed it.

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Who are the strongest people at the gym?

There are people with amazing bodies at the gym that I can’t help but admire. Some people go to the gym every single day. They work out because they absolutely love it. They love the feeling it gives them, almost as much as the body it gives them. The buzz of adrenaline lifts their entire day. They have the toned physique, the rippled muscles, the raw strength and the cardiovascular superiority. They have the ability (if required) to bench-press me and the whole of my little family all at once.

They. Look. Amazing.

There is certainly a lot to admire in these people. But they’re not the gym-goers that I wanted to write about.

For me, the most inspirational people in the gym are the ones that look like they don’t belong. The ones who don’t match the fitness-freak stereotype. The ones who may be a little overweight, are almost certainly unfit, but DEFINITELY look like they would rather be absolutely anywhere else but the temple of fitness that is the gym.

They are amazing to me, not because of their bodies, but because of their minds.

That awkward “I-want-to-curl-up-into-a-ball” feeling of self-conciousness

They turn up at the gym knowing that they are going to face the stares, the smirks, and the awkward “I-want-to-curl-up-into-a-ball” feeling of self-conciousness in the gym probably more than anywhere else in the world.

The looks that say “Wow, what are YOU doing here?!”. The smirks that say “I could run faster than that with my feet tied together”.

They are inspirational because despite the negativity, bordering on hostility, they are still there.

Still going. Still running. Still pushing themselves as hard as they can, as hard as the toned gym rats with their trophy bodies (if not harder). They may not run as far, or bench-press as much as the fitness gurus, but they are there trying to improve themselves, which is amazingly inspiratonal to me.

That is true strength.

Buy ‘True Strength Doesn’t Come From Muscles’ artwork.

The post True Strength Doesn’t Come From Muscles appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

I re-posted it to Twitter and Facebook a couple of weeks ago and had a mini-hit on my hands…

The post had 10 retweets within about 15 minutes – and I thought this must be what it feels like when something is going viral! I know that isn’t a huge amount of viral-ness (virility?), but it gave me a huge rush to see it being shared again and again.

I think that going viral is relative anyway – if someone posts all the time and no-one ever shares their stuff, then one day they get 3 retweets, wouldn’t they consider that to be a huge viral success?

So Why Did This Happen?

I think the design has resonated with people because it goes against an accepted piece of wisdom. We all hear that ‘good things come to those that wait’, and that ‘patience is a virtue’, but what if that just makes us less likely to try and take decisive action ourselves? Personally, I think we’re all better served by taking life into our own hands and going out to make things happen, rather than sitting around waiting. Both the ‘Good Things Don’t Come To those That Wait’ artwork design and an alternative ‘Impatience is a Virtue’ artwork design try to go against this accepted wisdom, and get people actively participating in their lives, rather than passively waiting for it to happen.

Going Viral

Having experienced this mini-viral post, I can now just about imagine what it must be like to have something go properly viral, and that remains my aim with everything I publish from Hello Inspiration. The more people that retweet it, the more people that see it. And the more people that see it, the more people that can be inspired by it!

So thank you Twitter for making me believe that going viral is possible…

The ‘Good Things Don’t Come To those That Wait’ artwork design is available to purchase here. The ‘Impatience is a Virtue’ artwork design is available to purchase here.

The post Going Viral (ish) appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

You hear it all the time… “Follow your passion”, or the alternative “Do what you love”.

It seems like the new mantra for entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs in today’s anything-is-possible world. And sure, it sounds tempting – I mean, who doesn’t want to follow their dreams, right? What they don’t tell you is why the ‘follow your passion’ approach works…

Following your passion works because you’re more likely to work your ass off.

There, I said it.

You’ll get up early. You’ll stay up late. You’ll keep going, even when everybody else is out having a good time. And you’ll do all of that because it doesn’t really feel like work at all.

Passion is a catalyst for hard work.

And hard work is really what makes success.

Buy ‘Follow Your Passion’ quote artwork here.

The post The Real Reason Why ‘Follow Your Passion’ Works appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

We like to kid ourselves sometimes that we can’t do action X because of reason Y…

‘I can’t go for the promotion because I’ve never done that job before’

‘I can’t learn a new language because I don’t have the time’

‘I can’t get into a relationship because I don’t like the dating scene’

‘I can’t do action X because of reason Y’

Now ‘reason Y’ may be very convincing (or it may not) but we need to be careful that we’re not just a tiny-weeny little bit glad it exists.

Are we hiding behind that reason, because we’re afraid of taking action? Does the reason give us a get-out-of-jail free card when it comes to pushing ourselves, challenging our status quo and achieving something new?

The ‘reasons not to’ are all rubbish.

Here’s a little secret… the ‘reasons not to’ are all rubbish. Complete fabrications. Illusions and falsehoods, one and all. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from going for that promotion, learning a new language and finding a new relationship. All it takes is a bit of juggling, a little re-prioritisation and most importantly, the will to make it happen.

The Scariest Part…

But maybe the realisation that there’s nothing stopping you is the scariest part of all. In the book ‘A Return to Love’ by Marianne Williamson, the author wrote (in a quote widely mis-attributed to Nelson Mandela):

‘…Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’

If you accept that there is nothing stopping you, then you have to accept responsibility for the progress – or lack of progress – in your life. Most people are not ready for that responsibility. It means hard work. It means tough conversations. It means leaving your comfort zone. It means – at it’s most basic level – change.

But until you accept that responsibility, and take up the challenge, your life can never really change.

Here’s another secret… you ARE capable of doing what you want to do, if only you accepted responsibility for doing it.

The ‘There is Absolutely Nothing Stopping You – Scar Huh?’ inspirational artwork design is available to buy as a framed print, mounted print or screensaver here. It makes a great gift, especially for yourself.

The post There Is Absolutely Nothing Stopping You – Scary Huh? appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

Every morning I walk up a steep hill in Manchester called Jutland Street. I mean really steep. The road is maybe only 60-70 yards long but it must gain a good 20 yards in height. We’re talking San Francisco steep here.

It has a YouTube video, for goodness sake

Every morning, almost without fail, there are people doing sprints up and down that hill. Sometimes it is a super-fit guy who looks like he is training for a middleweight boxing match, but most of the time it is average-looking people huffing and puffing their way up that insane cobbled incline. The kind of people that head off to average-looking offices dressed in average-looking suits after they’re finished.

So why do they do it? Why subject themselves to what must be a jaw-clenchingly tough and brutal ordeal every morning? Seriously – sprinting up and down a steep hill?? Wouldn’t they be better just going for a normal jog? Or, you know, a nice walk?!

I’ve been mulling it over ever since I started seeing them, and I’ve reached this conclusion…

They do it because it’s hard.

Most people do things because they’re easy. We are all guity of picking the simplest route or the most straight-forward course, aiming for the pain-free approach to life. We all choose the path of least resistance from time to time.

Not these guys.

They have chosen this path precisely because it ISN’T easy, simple or pain free. They are pushing themselves, straining to do something truly challenging.

They know that pushing themselves is the fastest way to grow. Maybe the ONLY way to grow.

I watch these people running up and down that hill with a sense of pure admiration, and it makes me think about running up my own hill. What more could I do in my life? Pick up the phone and make that call. Do the task I’ve been putting off. Put myself out there more openly and honestly in my business. Really go outside my comfort zone and start to grow.

I think we all have a hill to run up in our lives. I need to start running up mine more regularly. Are you running up yours?

The post Because It’s Hard appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

What are you really afraid of?

Take a step back. Still scary?

OK, take another step back. And another. And another.

Is it in perspective yet?

If we step back far enough, we usually see that the thing we’re scared of really isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of our life (or the universe). If we can maintain a sense of perspective, we can keep our stress levels down. And hey presto, lower stress levels mean we have a better chance of dealing with the problem in a calm rational manner anyway.

You can buy “Fear, Meet Perspective” artwork here…

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Being comfortable is good, right? Comfortable is nice and easy and safe. You have nothing to worry about and nobody to fight against. Everybody loves to be comfortable.

Comfortable is what we’re all striving for.

Or is it?

Does comfort mean settling for what you’ve got? Does it suggest a lack of ambition? Does it mean you’ve given up on improving yourself and your situation?

Would the person who is comfortable decide to get out of their comfortable bed at 6am to work on their dream project, before they go to work at their comfortable job, and come home to their comfortable sofa, to watch their comfortable television?

Comfort stifles progress (or at least it can, anyway).

Don’t get too comfortable. If you do, you never know what amazing stuff you might miss whilst you’re sat there on the sofa.

The post Comfort is Quicksand appeared first on Hello Inspiration.

“Honesty is nothing to be afraid of”.

Why are you so afraid to be honest? Why do you hide behind a facade, terrified to let anyone see the real you?

You hide because you’re scared. We ALL hide because we’re ALL scared. Scared of what people will think if we let them in. Scared of what they will say (and who they will say it to) if we let them see a little bit of supposed weakness.

But here’s the thing…

Honesty isn’t weakness.

Honesty is integrity. Honesty is authenticity. Honesty is truth.

Integrity. Authenticity. Truth. What’s so scary about that?

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