Live by choice, not by chance. Make changes, not excuses. Be motivated, not manipulated. Work to excel, not compete. Listen to your own inner voice, not the jumbled opinions of everyone else.
This is the way to inspire people! This is how you can grow into the best version of YOU!
Here are a few more ideas to get you started with inspiring everyone around you:
- Be authentic and true to yourself. – In this crazy world that’s trying to make you like everyone else, find the courage to keep being your awesome self. Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths and beauty like no one else. Be the person you know yourself to be – the best version of you – on your terms. Above all, be true to YOU, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it. No it won’t always be easy; because when it comes to living as a compassionate, non-judgmental human being, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, is learning to walk a lifetime, comfortably in your own.
- Stick with what you love. – Take part in something you believe in. This could be anything. Some people take an active role in their local city council, some find refuge in religious faith, some join social clubs supporting causes they believe in, and others find passion in their work. In each case the psychological outcome is the same. They engage themselves in something they strongly believe in. This engagement brings happiness and meaning into their lives. It’s hard not to be inspired by someone who’s passionate about what they’re doing.
- Express your enthusiasm. – Passion is something you must be willing to express if you want to inspire others. You can gain a lot of influence just by publicly expressing that you are excited and passionate about a topic. Expressive passion is contagious because of the curiosity it stirs in others. You’ll get people wondering why you love what you love so much. Naturally, some of them will take the time necessary to understand what it is about the topic that moves you. (Read How To Win Friends and Influence People.)
- Excel at what you do. – People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say. Be someone worth emulating. Most people are inspired by GREAT musicians, writers, painters, speakers, entrepreneurs, engineers, mothers, fathers, athletes, etc. There’s only one thing they all have in common: They excel at what they do. There’s no point in doing something if you aren’t going to do it right. Excel at your work and excel at your hobbies. Develop a reputation for yourself, a reputation for consistent excellence.
- Focus on building your character. – Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others temporarily think you are. A genuinely good character always shines and inspires in the long run.
- Care about people. – People don’t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care.
- Challenge people to do their best. – As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” If people know we expect great things from them, they will often go to great lengths to live up to our expectations.
- Lead by example. – Practice what you preach or don’t preach at all. Walk the talk! Be the change you want to see in the world. If you really want to inspire others to do something, then this ‘something’ should be a big part of your life. You don’t necessarily need to be an expert at it, but you do need to be passionately involved.
- Articulate what everyone else is thinking. – We are very connected to each other in various ways, the most important of which is our thoughts. Out of fear, or passive shyness, lots of people hesitate to articulate their thoughts. If you take the risk and say the things others are holding back, you become the glue that brings people together.
- Make people feel good about themselves. – People will rarely remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. Start noticing what you like about others and tell them. Go out of your way to personally acknowledge and complement the people who have gone out of their way to excel. As von Goethe once said, “Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.”
- Help people heal. – Instead of judging people by their past, stand by them and help repair their future. In life, you get what you put in. When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life. Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less. Everyone values the gift of unexpected assistance and those who supply it.
- Share lessons from your successes and failures. – When you can, be a resource to those around you. If you have access to essential information, don’t hoard it, share it openly. You have more to share than you realize. Mine the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view. Be vulnerable. Be willing to share your failures as well as your successes. Others will relate to you. They’ll understand that they’re not the only ones with challenges. (Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.)
- Keep your cool in tense situations. – What you do in a tense situation says a lot about your limits. People take note of how far the pressure or social discomfort around you goes until you lose control of yourself and the situation. President Obama, who often displays a calm and collected persona, had a joke in his speech at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner awhile back where he said, “In the next 100 days, I will strongly consider losing my cool.” Obviously this made him appear even more calm and collected. Bottom line: Keeping your cool in tense situations lets people know you have a mind of steel – a personality trait most people are drawn to.
- Focus on the positive. – Be happy with who you are now, and let your positivity inspire your journey into tomorrow. Everything that happens in life is neither good nor bad. It just depends on your perspective. And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should. Either you succeed or you learn something. So stay positive, appreciate the pleasant outcomes, and learn from the rest. Your positivity will help encourage those around you.
- Keep your promises and tell the truth. – Inspire people with your dependability and commitment to the truth. If you say you’re going to do something, DO IT! If you say you’re going to be somewhere, BE THERE! If you say you feel something, MEAN IT! If you can’t, won’t, and don’t, then DON’T LIE. It’s always better to tell people the truth up front. (Read The Four Agreements.)
- Listen intently to what others say. – Make people feel important, and inspire them by showing them that they are. Eyes focused, ears tuned, mobile phone off. In a world that can’t move fast enough, someone who can find time to listen to others is always appreciated.
- Communicate clearly. – Mystery does not inspire. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Share your vision and ideas often with those around you. Also, be sure to maintain eye contact when communicating; it’s one of the most alluring forms of personal communication. When executed properly, eye contact injects closeness into human interaction, which captivates attention.
- Be faithful to your significant other. – There’s nothing more inspiring than the unwavering love and commitment between two individuals. Furthermore, your sustained fidelity in a long-term intimate relationship creates a healthy foundation for everything else you do.
In the end, everything you need to inspire everyone around you is contained within you. So get out there and start inspiring people with who you are and how you live your life.
Photo by: What’s Next
Sangeeta Bhagwat says
Great post.
Our being and doing are more effective and influential than any concepts or philosophies we may preach. I fully believe we need to walk our talk.
“Our own actions and inaction are decisive contributors to the world we inhabit.”
Thanks.
Muhammad Yusuf says
Keep going guys! I love your blog so much! Thank you!
eugeboy says
I rarely find ‘advice and opinion’ websites compelling. I found my way here via a friends Facebook post and found myself devouring your blog – not because you have revealed secrets that were previously unknown to me, but because you have organized what I have already learned into easily usable ‘action’ statements and to-do / to-day lists. Kudos and thank you both.
sam says
Such a powerful post! I love it. You have just helped out lots of people find some direction.
Nimcompoops says
Great article! Thanks for shedding light on all the necessary components of transforming from a mere mortal to a enlightened being. 🙂
kim Sanderson says
Another great one I’ll share with everyone i know!
Kalendula says
Thanks for your beautiful blogs. You inspire so many people and make this life even more beautiful 🙂
Ben says
Thanks for the awesome posts! I have forwarded your articles many times and everyone loves the stuff you share. Keep it coming 🙂
Tyree42 says
Your blogs are essential to the mind numbing environment we live in these days. I’m sure a lot of us think of these tips, maybe not as much as we should, but it is so refreshing to have them brought to front of our minds. Thanks
Angela Gentile says
Hi Marc and Angel. I have been enjoying your posts, and this one in particular has really “inspired” me. 🙂 I would love to write about it on my blog, and put a link to your website. Hope that’s okay.
Have an awesome day,
Angela
Monica says
Love this short post! Words and ideas to live by!
Elizabeth says
I always love the bits of wisdom I get from you guys… thanks!
J P says
Awesome post! All are very true principles to live by. I’d also like to suggest a 19th way – Express gratitude.
Di Locke-Carmichael says
I love your blog, always inspires me and lifts my personal expectations for myself higher. In point #10 however, credit should be given to Maya Angelou for the statement of people not remembering what you did, but remembering how you made them feel.
Victor Pesero says
Hi Marc & Angel I really enjoy your posts. I actually read one of your posts every day just to remind me that I am able to enjoy a better life, and that it´s my choice to work toward it.
vytiense says
I look forward to Monday because I know that something good is coming from Marc and Angel. You all brighten my life!
Marc says
Thanks for the positive feedback! And Happy Valentines Day! 🙂
Angel and I both hope you all are having a great week!
Grace says
I enjoy your articles – so awe-inspiring!
Bearlakenana says
I’ve only been receiving your posts a short time, but I enjoy and gain so much from each one. Thank you for sharing your positive outlooks.
patricea says
Great reminders. So great to see I’m not alone.
Thanks
Daniel From Manifesting Reality says
Hi Marc,
I totally agree with no. 14 “Focus on the positive”. I think that most people are focus on what is not working in their life, and what they don’t have. I am sure that not everything is colored with black in their life.
In my opinion this is only a matter of choice. They can choose to focus on the green, pink and red colures in their life. As a result they will be much happier and grateful.
Thank you,
Daniel
Josie says
Marc and Angel,
Thank you SO much for the compilations of insights that you continue to share, and for always inspiring your legions of fans.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Nea | Self Improvement Saga says
This is another great list, but there’s something about expressing enthusiasm that stands out to me as the best of the best.
Everything you mentioned here…doing what we love, communicating with people, keeping a positive attitude, helping others…it’s all magnified a million times when done with enthusiasm.
People feel inspired when they know that whatever action you’re taking, no matter how much or little it serves them, is done from an enthusiastically inspired place in your own heart.
Kari says
Sharing your own real life stories is imperative. I find others stories and lessons in life to be greatly inspirational. I think that’s the only way to really see that you are not alone in this world and that you are on a path that other people have been done, and survived!
Jean Sager says
Comprehensive as always but especially your style of writing makes it seem like you are my neighbor who I have known for years and we are talking about life while leaning over the fence.
Especially love your quotes and classic book recommendations… titles, so familiar and known that make instant connections with prior knowledge. It is great to get these refresher insights.
I am curious what your first writing topic was before you started the blog… back in the days of the pen and paper not the keyboard of today.
Jon says
Great reading article… Surprisingly motivating.
haily says
Another spot on post! Thank you for the inspiration.
Heidi says
I don’t know how you put out such comprehensive posts each and every time…but I soak-up every one of them. Very inspiring. Thank you.
Suchitra Mishra (@suchimishra) says
Hello Marc,
How to be inspiring from the man himself – thank you Marc for another great post. One recurring theme that I think covers all your points is focusing on your self first before you endeavor to inspire others. As Mahatma Gandhi said – “Be the change you want to see in the world “.
Regards,
Suchitra
Lynn says
Thank you for another wonderful and inspiring post! Keep it up! I truly love every one of your posts.
Meghashyam Chirravoori says
I loved these starting lines “Live by choice, not by chance. Make changes, not excuses. Be motivated, not manipulated. Work to excel, not compete. Listen to your own inner voice, not the jumbled opinions of everyone else.”
What a superb message even before the article began….
Vishuddha says
Great blog; great list.
But I don’t think President Obama is a healthy example of a calm, collected, mind of steel considering his disregard for human rights in the Middle East and civil liberties here at home.
Other than that, I really enjoyed each point.
Candle Man says
Great Post. #1 Be authentic and true to yourself. As usual very inspiring.
Anthonee says
Amazing article!!! Awesome website!!!
Jason Shechtman says
This blog is full of useful and motivational tools and practices. Thank you so much for sharing!
LG says
Thank for a great blog and putting it all in perspective. Truly inspiring!
Allyson says
This post is very inspiring! It surely inspires me to be a better person. Love your blog. Thank you.
Brian says
A great post and a great reminder that along the way we impact everyone around us with our actions. It’s all about building good character and setting an example of how that can bring us a great life.
Thanks Marc.
Asfaw Gedamu says
Wow! This blog really inspires the whole of me. I don’t know how to thank you guys enough. You really have an invaluably pernicious thing to share.
Kevin Woolsey says
Very well written. Thank you!
koena says
Thanks to u guys I’m so inspired by this post… keep writing more and more.
Nicola says
I am very grateful I found your site. This was an inspiring and motivating read. I can’t wait to read more. Thank you.
Guus says
Wow, this is a nice post. Will certainly use the ideas for our site and probably link to it. Great!
Ernie Barde says
Great article, I love it.. I’m so inspired!!! Thank you!
Abigail says
That really helped,
THANK YOU 🙂
Sheila Cruz says
There is a reason why I found this website. I am absolutely grateful for this message. It’s conveyed in the way that I needed to hear today. Thank you so much. You have no idea the impact this will have on me and then on others as I share the inspiration and energy that poured into me from your message. Let’s keep spreading this love. I am. We are.
Jennifer says
Walk like you’re free ! Talk like you’re free!! But in order to be truly free, you must be able to think like you’re free!
Words are not just words
The ones that you recite over and over reveal your heartfelt thinking
Be courageous enough to learn the truth! You will acquire
– Freedom from people pleasing
– Freedom from the bondage of low hope, and worry
– Freedom from self-sabotage
– Freedom to do the right thing no matter how you’re feeling (angry? Do the right thing! Feeling betrayed? Do the right thing, etc ..)
– Freedom to practice spiritual principles even if the crowd, just don’t understand and thinks you’re not standing up for yourself ( vengeance is mine saith the Lord)
Whom the Lord sets free is free indeed!!