Cliche: A trite or overused expression. A word or phrase that has lost its meaning through overuse.
The problem I have with most motivational speakers and writers is that they mainly traffic in cliches. What makes one motivator more popular than another at any given point is that they make an old platitude sound new again by saying it in such a way that, for some, it has the ring of truth.
I happen to believe that all motivation is self motivation. I’ve yet to meet another living soul who could motivate me to do anything. Now, that doesn’t mean that I have never felt inspired by another. There is a difference. The distinction, to me, lies in something intangible, as suggested in the quote by William Yeats who said "Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire."
Perhaps the difference is in the part of speech that is chosen. "Inspiration" is a noun. "She is an inspiration." To motivate is a verb. She motivated the team to win. However, you could use inspiration as a verb also, as in "She sought to inspire the team."
Are the two words interchangeable? I’m not sure. For example, "Fear motivated him to run like hell." Yet, one would not say, "He is such a motivation." I think of inspiration as a word that is applicable to people, and motivation is a word that applies to things other than people. "The stock market crash motivated him to save every penny."
Maybe I’m treading on shaky ground here. Splitting hairs.
I bring all this up so as to provide you with a bit of inspiration. Lately I’ve been feeling as though I’m not accomplishing enough. I’ve been feeling as though I’ve achieved a lot, others have achieved more, or have achieved better. Do you ever feel as though you were on the cutting edge of something, only to have others pass you by as if you were standing still? You may have had a web site fifteen years ago, but now there are as many web sites as there are humans on the globe, and you have been thoroughly buried by them. Do you feel as though but for adequate funds, an assistant or two, enough time or energy you too could have been Amazon?
I understand. The pioneers take the arrows, as the cliche goes, and you have been pierced through by others who have done what you’ve done, only with greater success. Some have even seemed to imitate you, ripping off your format, your ideas, your style. What to do? I have implemented a thousand ideas that someone else had the wherewithal to better execute.
So, here’s the inspiration, wrapped in a cliche: No one is better at being you than you. The chances of you being born exactly who you are is something like 80 octillion to one…I think that’s a number with thirty zeros after it, or something like that. Where I pulled that from, I do not know. Some motivational speaker, maybe. The point is, though, that you bring a unique perspective to whatever you do, and that makes you singularly qualified to do it. Just because there are other blog’s out there that provide accessibility tips, disability awareness missives or news of the latest assistive tech gadgets or development techniques, it doesn’t mean that yours are any less valuable. Even I have received some incredibly gratifying "fan letters" from people who appreciate what’s happening here at the Accessible Insights Blog, and I’m all but invisible.
Here’s something else: We cannot afford to lose you. If you are a member of the awareness community, using your voice to enlighten others , realize that even one fewer voice is unacceptable. We need you to keep the fire burning. While we may wish to be the one voice that is heard above all others, the authority and the leader to which all others aspire, it is the roar of our collective voices that matters just as much. Even with all of the others out there whom you may regard as competition, we still have a long way to go to reach that pinnacle of equanimity and justice for all that we seek. This reality is evidence in and of itself that you are needed.
Whatever it is that motivates you to continue, whether cliches, competition or just dogged determination, burn brightly on. Keep fighting the good fight, continue to stoke those embers, and remember I’ve got your back.
LL