I think many will agree that the best ideas, inventions, and creations are fueled with a good dose of inspiration.  You know the feeling you get when you just can’t help but act on a given task.  Often inspiration comes as a surge of energy as the mind is flooded with ideas.  Blood begins pumping through the body and there is an incredible excitement and liveliness in the room.  For some, this kind of inspiration gives a burst of energy and then tapers off leaving a very small portion of the initial surge.  Other times the surge is followed by consistent inspirational nuggets that keep the inspiration alive and well.

There are many times when I have had all three scenarios, but it seems lately I am falling into the third category as I follow the inspirational nuggets (as I like to call them) that lead me to my next step.

Before I go any further let me give you my definition of an inspirational nugget.

Inspirational Nugget–a bit of information, a quote, a word, a book, or anything that gives you an “aha” moment that ultimately leads you into action. 

Simply put they are the life force behind achieving your dreams.

I find that my nuggets typically come in conversations I have with others or in books, blogs, or other websites I am reading and they often come at a time when my surge of inspiration is dwindling.  They may be a quote that relates to exactly what I am thinking about for a certain project or I might read something and immediately come up with the perfect words for something I have been thinking about for several days or in some cases months.

The perfect example of this is came when I tried to name my blog.  Before I began my blog (for the third time), I had set the intention of creating something that would inspire others through my journey, but I was struggling to find just the right name.  I had mulled it over for months, making lists of words and phrases that I thought would be good to use, but none of them really jumped out at me.  One day without thinking about my blog directly, the words “Life Once Dreamt” came to me.  I couldn’t believe it, after months of working to find a name, the moment I let go of the need to find a name, it came to me.  And when they did, I didn’t have to think twice about it because I knew it was right.

Let’s look at another example (completely fictional):

Meet Suzy.  Suzy has a dream to start a little coffee shop with tons of character and charm except she isn’t sure where to begin.  She day dreams about what it will look like and every time she steps foot in a coffee shop, she imagines the day she will step foot into her very own.  Thinking she has to do things the “logical” way, she begins asking other business owners how they started.  Did they go to business school?  Were they the number #1 barista at another coffee shop first?  The “logical” way seemed so difficult, not to mention expensive and totally uninspiring.  Just when she was about to give up, she sees a sign for a workshop for new business owners (nugget #1).  The workshop is free and though she isn’t a business owner yet, she thought she might gain some insight into owning her own business.  While at the workshop she meets another attendee (Sid) that quickly becomes her friend(nugget #2).  Together they discuss their business ideas, dreams, and dilemmas.  During one conversation about getting the money together to start her business, Sid shares some information with Suzy about business investors and tells her about an investor she knows about named Jack(nugget #3).  Remembering information about business plans she just read on an entrepreneur blog(nugget #4), she puts her plan together to present to Jack.  Suzy and Jack hit it off and he agrees to fund her business…1 year and 100 nuggets later, Suzy walks into her coffee shop for the very first time and realizes she is now living her dream.

That’s how magical these inspirational nuggets are.  They come seemingly out of the blue at just the right moment providing you with the fuel you need to keep moving forward, often in a direction you never thought about.  Some call it Divine Intervention or the Law of Attraction bringing to us the tools we need to make our dreams reality, but where ever you believe these inspirational nuggets come from, one thing for sure, they should not be wasted.  So the next time you get an inspirational hit, savor it and milk it for all it’s worth, for if you do I promise you will make great progress toward your dreams.

When was the last time you received an inspirational nugget and how did it come to you?  I would love to hear about your experiences.