Welcome to The Power to Inspire™ Blog
This blog is the initial seed of what will be my primary life’s work for the rest of my productive days.
At the heart of The Power to Inspire are two interrelated processes. The first is finding, cultivating, and utilizing inspiration in our own lives. The second is developing and expanding our capability to inspire others.
There is a direct link between these two practices, perhaps best described by a single word: “contagion.” The contagion of inspiration is explored by one of my primary collaborators for The Power to Inspire, Todd Thrash, professor of psychology at WIlliam and Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. Todd and his associates have performed the world’s most comprehensive studies of this phenomenon. .
I have long recognized that the effort to fulfill the vast promise of The Power to Inspire is an epic undertaking, one that will greatly exceed the capacity of a single individual or even a team. I envision this as an expanding collaborative endeavor.
It is already growing in this direction with some of the most remarkable people I have ever known. I trust that it will bring me into the orbit of other extraordinary people I do not yet know, or know only by reputation. As the contagion of inspiration takes hold, my dream is that this will become a profound force for good in the lives of people, organizations and communities throughout the world.
In the years ahead, The Power to Inspire will include a training and consulting practice and multimedia production, ranging from an iHeartRadio podcast to a YouTube channel, book publishing, and the production of documentaries and feature films. We will also tackle societal grand challenges, from ingrained social problems to political dilemmas, taking a non-partisan stance. Across all these activities, we will perform ongoing research and built on the knowledge and insight we explore and publish.
On a personal note, The Power to Inspire is a vision that has been gestating within me since as early as 2010. The odyssey to its official launch has been filled with twists and turns. It has been delayed more than I like to admit by competing professional and personal demands. Yet the vision has endured as it carried me along until it coalesced into its current form. I have never lost the impression that this is something I am supposed to do. I have been led to this work through belief in and passion for the central idea that people need inspiration in their lives, individually and collectively. The Power to Inspire is my mission and vocation.
In the days, months and years ahead we will introduce you to remarkable people who are working to expand our understanding of how inspiration works in our lives, as well as the warriors in the trenches getting inspired and inspiring others.
The theory and practice we will explore with The Power to Inspire spans multiple disciplines and settings, from the social sciences to the arts, the humanities, the playing field and the workplace. Practitioners will come from multiple spheres of influence: business, sports, arts and entertainment, philanthropy, government and other walks of life.
I invite you to participate in this journey of discovery and impact as you develop your own Power to Inspire!