Getting Inspired! (And Staying Inspired)

Inspiration for your projects can come from anywhere! Yes, I mean absolutely anywhere!

Having worked for the majority of my career within the creative sector, I often get asked "where do you get your inspiration from?" The answer my friends, is always the same....'ANYWHERE". Is this a cliched and non-committal response? Perhaps it is. Or perhaps it isn't. I guess it depends on the interpretation of the person listening to the answer.

Let's play a game....

Close your eyes for 30 seconds and try to relax your mind (easier said than done when you have thousands of thoughts racing by, but let's give it a go). Ok, hang on while I just count to 30...

Bing! Open your eyes. What is the first thing you see? Look at it (I mean really look at it hard) and see if you can see the beauty in it, is there something about that object which intrigues you, gives you joy, makes you smile, sparks a memory? Anything can provoke a reaction which can lead to a spark of inspiration.

Here's what I saw...

My daughter's rainmaker toy sitting on my desk. And to be (brutally) honest, no I did not see anything inspiring about it. I just felt exasperated that it was not in the toy basket....and why on earth is it on my desk!? And then I realised that it had been sitting there all morning whilst I had been working away....and I hadn't even seen it until I stopped to take a breather. Clearly I need to start heeding my own advice!

So back to the inspiration...Let's take a look at the rainmaker toy. Hundreds of teeny tiny balls all falling through the holes, never falling the same way twice. There is something very satisfying about watching them fall, and fall, and fall. Watching the balls bounce off each other to make that rain-like sound, the transparency of colours all mingling together as they fall. And then the silence. The absolute stillness when it stops is almost eery. Using that quiet to look at those still transparent colours which fell randomly into a perfectly interlocking pattern which looks incredibly beautiful. How interesting this toy is... something I never realised, or even noticed before!

Sometimes I think inspiration can come from looking at something from a different perspective. You don't necessarily need to go far to find it. It is just important that you get inspiration for your business and that it drives you in the right direction.

Where do other's get their inspiration from?

Not everyone gets inspired by the same things or even in the same ways. So I asked around people I know to get their ideas of great sources of inspiration. Have a gander and see if any of them might work for you.

Nature

I imagine going outdoors and seeing what the world has to offer is a great source of inspiration for most people. The wonders nature provides to the eye are non-comparable. So there's a great place to start. Get out in your garden, or drive through the hills, walk the city streets, visit the beach, or simply go outside and gaze at the clouds.

Music

A great one for moving your soul, no matter what genre speaks loudest to you. We are very partial here at Lollipop Rocks to some classic 80s hair metal....and some very enthusiastic air guitar sessions!

Exercise

Freeing your mind by focussing on a physical activity can work wonders to ease mental blocks and really get the ball rolling.

Do Something New

Here's an interesting one. Take a break from your daily routine and do something you wouldn't normally do. Take a new class, try a new hobby, go somewhere you haven't been before, wear your Wednesday pyjamas on a Friday. The possibilities are endless.

Read A Book

Gets you away from your screen and into a fantasy world. Let your mind wander.

Make Something

Try out a new craft, cook something different, build something, knit something. Getting creative by manually

making something tangible, especially something you can use or enjoy afterwards is a great way to unlock your creativity.

I'm pretty sure this list has the potential to be endless. But let's leave it like that for now. And let's talk about using your new found inspiration!

How we use our inspiration...

So here at Lollipop Rocks, we create pay monthly website design for small businesses such as yours. Because we have a lot of clients and a very fast turn around, it is extremely important to us that our website designs look individual and unique. We really want to make the most out of the online space we have to really show off your business. So we inspire our team to stay creative and focus on being the best they can be and staying inspired in whichever ways work for them. And we will always encourage our clients to do the same.

Can we help your business?

If a pay monthly website design might work for your business, give us a call and we can talk through our pay monthly plan options.

I think I'll leave you today with a gallery of inspiring images to scroll through at your leisure. Maybe one might help you with your next great idea! Good luck!