Bio: Matt Cheuvront is a 23 year old jack-of-all-trades. His blog, Life Without Pants, is a reflection of his attitude on life: Free, thoughtful, and uninhibited. By day, Matt is an account manager at an Ad agency in Nashville, TN, buying and selling billboards, working for the weekend. But away from the nine-to-five, his passion is writing, learning, growing, and maybe watching some football, playing Xbox, and having a few beers. To dive deeper into the rabbit hole, visit Matt's blog, Life Without Pants.
Blog: Life Without Pants Twitter: @MattChevy
Inspiration: n. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. Something, such as a sudden creative act or idea, that is inspired. Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind.
I get home at the end of a long work day, remove my slacks (life without pants, right?), sit down, and ponder this question. "What inspires me"? Nothing comes to mind, not because there isn't anything that inspires me, but because it's such a general and epic question. Where does one draw their inspiration from? How do we come up with innovative and exciting ways of thinking? What drives us? Motivates us? Stimulates us? I look around for the answer, and then...I'm inspired. My inspiration, after all is said and done, starts with me - I inspire myself. Before you label me as conceited and arrogant, hear me out.
Do you ever think about how amazing the human mind really is? Do you ever just take a step back and think about how people come up with ideas? I challenge myself, and challenge all of you to take a look at yourself - think about what you've done in your life, how far you've come, how much you've accomplished. Odds are, you've done a lot more than you give yourself credit for. We inherently sell ourselves short. It's just something we do as human beings. We love to give credit to others when they inspire us, enlighten us, or change us for the better - but for some reason, we neglect to give ourselves the credit we deserve.
If you really stop and think about it, we, ourselves, are our greatest source of inspiration.
I am reminded of one of my favorite movies, American Beauty (which if you haven't seen it I strongly recommend - it will change your perspective on a lot of things). The story tells the tale of Lester Burnham, a husband in a loveless marriage, a father of a daughter who hates him, a man with nothing to live for - going through the motions without ever asking 'why'? But finally, something clicks, he realizes that in order to make his life worth living, he has to LIVE. He says, "It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself." - think about that for a second. The ability to surprise yourself, the concept of exceeding your own expectations; it’s a pretty incredible thing.
That's what inspires me - striving to do more, to be more, to inspire, educate, enlighten, and entertain others. Of course, my inspiration comes from everywhere - teachers, coworkers, friends, family, peers, fellow bloggers and writers - we're all inspired by what's around us, but sometimes we forget how much we can inspire ourselves. Divinity comes from within, and the path to enlightenment is an inward journey. Strive to be better than you think you can be. You'll end up not only inspiring yourself; you'll inspire everyone around you.
