Have you ever felt a burning desire to do something just for the love of it? If so, and I am sure you have, you’ve been inspired! At some point in our lives – hopefully more frequently than not- we live out of this state of passion!

In this piece I will share my understanding of what inspiration is, how it sits at the core of who we are at The Refinery and how it influences the work we do with our clients. I´ll do so by dancing on the frontier between the pragmatic from the philosophical (a bit more tilted to the latter!).

I am convinced that inspiration is the common denominator of The Refinery’s team. We, first and foremost, are a collective of human beings passionate about offering our clients the best of us. We create learning spaces that enable people to grow –time and time again– into a truer, happier and more authentic version of themselves and consequently becoming more effective team players, increasingly adding value to their organizations. Beautifully enough through this experience we ourselves remain on our growing edge.

What is inspiration anyway? What inspires you? What happens when you let your inspiration guide you? …and when you don’t?

Inspiration is a powerful thing… it´s somehow unexplainable and unavoidable; it´s a blessing and, when silenced, can become a curse.

Inspiration is a motivation, yes, but it’s much more than that. The main difference is that while other types of motivation my compel us to act, moved by fear of not having/being enough, scarcity, obligation, etc., inspiration arises from a deep sense of personal purpose and propels us towards service, towards sharing with the World our own personal gifts (ideas, images, creations, words, laughs). Inspiration fuels the desire to give, to connect with others and form a spontaneous ‘place’ that has only come into creation, uniquely, here and now. This place is “each one of us” with our lights and shadows, with our talents and shortcomings, and when we allow it to happen, we offer life our very own flavor. Refreshing!

Can your team, your organization, your family do without the “full of you”? At The Refinery, we don´t think so and we want to help you be inspired to unleash all your potential.

Inspiration comes in different forms and differs from person to person. We don´t chose exactly why or how we become inspired, but we all know that feeling of high energetic connection to life. When we experience the beauty of the world, it is our muses essentially reflecting it back to the beauty that lies inside of us. We may feel the thrust of life running through our veins with a powerful song, a gentle smile, someone´s kind words, a great business initiative, the silent colors of a sunset, the way our boss lead a difficult topic, a poem, a lovely painting, someone’s beautiful eyes, silent meditation, someone’s authenticity, a humble landscape, someone’s generosity. Life is beauty. I believe we have the right to rejoice in it and to add our own share. As a good friend likes to quote: “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, it’s all around us and within us.

Do you choose to see it? Feel it? Be it? What would change in your team and your organization if you encourage people to follow their inspiration?

Any and all great feats, every breathtaking work of art, the most noble of human achievements and the most humble and private ones too, have been brought to life through inspired human beings. We have all experienced the passion to simply give it all, for the sake of it. People talk about this state of creation as moments where time disappears and work is not a burden but a gift. Many great artists and athletes have described it as a state of “flow” where creativity occurs through them, there´s no struggle. When we are “only” motivated, we may need to achieve something to feel success. But, when we are inspired; who we are, what we do and what we give is all one experience. Doing/being form inspiration, this is the reward in and of itself.

Does anyone benefit from you holding back?

Inspiration is a gift, a challenge and a curse. Inspiration opens us up; it gives us the opportunity to understand with greater clarity, to be reminded of what matters most to each one of us. When we follow our heart, we need to be prepared to face disapproval, as we are challenging the stability of the systems we are part of. Breaking patterns, uncovering our true voice, here and now, again and again, is a lifelong commitment; it´s to not easy– it takes a concerted effort to turn muck into gold. But what’s truly hard is just not trying and ignoring your inspiration to live a life filled with personal meaning. When people give up and decide they can’t allow themselves to move in the direction that their heart/mind compel them to, people lose their sense of direction, of relevance, of worthiness. Bitterness substitutes joy. Judgment substitutes the celebration of diversity. This is the greatest risk I see for all of us.

Can the World do without our best? Should it? My answer is NO, and it´s up to each of us, every day, to make this decision.

Steve Jobs liked to say, “You cannot do great work, unless you love what you do”. To me this speaks to the fact that when our creations are embedded with the DNA of love, the quality of our work and our deliverables are completely different than when we act via the ordinary– going through the motions. At The Refinery, we love what we do: we love helping our clients bring the best of them to the World.