You have to WANT to be inspired to be… inspired.

The desire to be inspired is a special kind of craving that’s part of being self-aware.

So many of us wait for it to light upon the crest of our minds like the blue bird of happiness, when really, we need to hunt inspiration down like empty bellied stealth birds of prey.

When you consciously look for inspiration your senses will lean forward to do the work for you. And by “consciously look for,” I mean that we approach being alive as a creative opportunity.

We will connect with the pride of rusty things, the depth of purple black eggplants, the tenderness of Degas, the fierce effortlessness of Bruce Lee, the full throttled modesty of Adele.

And by “being inspired,” I mean that we consume what touches us. We drink in the beauty, the thrill, the intelligence, and we let it plump up the cells of our heart and thoughts. We are changed.

Stones into fabric. Wheels into songs. Ballgowns into prose.

If you’re really open, you’ll be inspired by things outside of your discipline and expertise — you make connections in the expanse.

I watched an interview with Donna Karan walking down the beach. She picked up a striped stone and said, “This pattern will probably show up in my next collection.”

The Bee Gees were riding over an old bridge in their tour bus and the rhythm of the wheels on the slats turned into the beat for Jive Talkin’.

I saw Alexander McQueen‘s collection at The Met and was struck by how he combined the macabre and the gossamer, and I decided I wanted to write more like McQueen designed clothes: deep-light-deep-light.

Seeking is close, but not close enough. Hunt it. @DanielleLaPorte (Click to Tweet!)

Inexhaustible wings,
razor-eyed,
scanning the horizon.
Crave it.

There is no excuse for going hungry.
We are here to feast.

Danielle LaPorte is the outspoken creator of The Desire Map, author of The Fire Starter Sessions (Random House/Crown), and co-creator of Your Big Beautiful Book Plan. An inspirational speaker, former think tank exec and business strategist, she writes weekly at DanielleLaPorte.com, where over a million visitors have gone for her straight-up advice — a site that’s been deemed “the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality”, and was named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes.

You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter @daniellelaporte.

Image courtesy of vee*.