We all take inspiration from different people, actions, inactions and observations. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and sometimes it comes from surprising places. When it does, you need to be ready to notice and process what it means to you.

For instance, I find inspiration for various blog posts I’ve written from many different sources, many unexpected. The sources include a random comment on a podcast, something one of my children says, and once, from a comment made by an announcer about a snowboarder who had won a gold medal in the Olympics. You never know when it will hit you or where it will come from, but you know it once it does.

Earlier this year I read about an 8-year-old who has unexpectedly inspired other children. Dillon Helbig, is a second grader from Boise, Idaho, who wrote a book and then hid it on a library shelf. This action resulted in there being a waiting list to check out his hand-written book and other children wanting to write stories and books too. The whole story is great (and easy to find on the Internet). And now other children want to write. How cool!

Where will your next inspiration come from? There is no way to know. All you have to do is be open to it. Looking for it can work for some, but many times it comes out of left field and is a surprise. Next time you are inspired, will you act, or will you let the opportunity pass you by?