Inspiration out needs inspiration in.
Inspiration out needs inspiration in: so how are you getting your inspiration this year?
When you work inside an organisation, you might get a chance to expand your horizons through the L&D department; perhaps there’ll be access to a budget for attending seminars and conferences.
But if you work for yourself, how do you approach ‘L&D’? How do you get in a learning mindset?
Much of my work is training others, so I have to keep the Inspo pot topped up. Keeping abreast of things for me is a necessity, but learning is also something I love doing: as long as I can do it my way.
I tend to avoid the obvious routes. I know there are lots of great courses out there. But I like to take an alternative path to my learning and development. Discovering new ideas and fresh ways of doing things has become second nature; and I’m always on the look out for environments and spaces that will feed me.
Here are some of the ways I fill up my inspiration tank:
An in-person event once a year. In the past I’ve been fortunate to attend inspiring events like The Do Lectures and South By SouthWest. This year I’m going to The House of Beautiful Business’s ‘Dream’ conference in Portugal.
Keeping my eyes and ears open for webinars, articles and podcasts.
Scheduling ‘curiosity coffees’ either in person or virtually with people to share ideas with and learn from.
Moving around. When I can I like to work from multiple spaces - cafés, coworking spaces and hotel lobbies. A bonus is random encounters with strangers that lead to great conversations.
Dipping into a range of publications - from the weekend newspapers to Monocle magazine to the Economist. I head towards the people-led stories.
Getting immersed in stories - from Stephen Colbert’s nightly interviews on The Late Show to dramas, movies and novels.
Heading to galleries to discover how different artists and photographers see the environments around them.
Meeting with those in business or the creative fields I admire, whether that’s catching up with Steve from Seattle for a Shoreditch pint as I did last week or visiting graphic designer Anthony Burrill at his home studio in Kent. Finding out how other people work and live is so stimulating.
What about you? How are you feeding your personal development this year?
