Sunday, November 12, 2017

Be inspired!

I got news for you! You already speak English. You can communicate. So congratulations everyone! That is a major achievement indeed. This time I'm not trying to be ironic. I really mean it. Congratulations. Can you imagine you could express yourselves in Arabic or Japanese they way you do in English? Wouldn’t it be great? Unfortunately (because you are learning English and not Arabic) you probably downplay your accomplishments a lot but the truth is... it remains an respectable feat. Still, I suspect many of you need to feel motivated. Don’t you worry about that. I can come to the rescue. How do I intend to do that? Well, before I address that you should read some more. Just bear with me for a minute.

In Europe we tend to be so skeptical of everything, don’t we? We often respect pessimism as if it were a good thing. That may be the reason why terms such as “inspirational” or “inspiring” are viewed with what I can only describe as smug disdain. The thing is... I find that utterly ridiculous (to say the least). One book, one movie, one speech, one conversation, one chance encounter can be truly inspirational. By that I mean that reading a book, listening to a lecturer, talking to a stranger… any of those experiences can make you feel the need to DO something (not just THINK about something). Grant Snider happens to be a great illustrator that keeps a beautiful blog which I find really inspirational. It manages to combine a fresh approach to creativity with a smart use of language. It’s quite remarkable. Trust me. And even if you don’t like his cartoons, just the vocabulary is worth a visit. This is his website: incidental comics. Have fun!


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