What inspires you?

From time to time, either as an ice breaker or some kind of prompt, I hear the question “what inspires you?” Typically, what follows is a who’s-who of famous quotations or figures and what irks me is that so infrequently are they demonstrated to be sources of inspiration. Usually, they are sentiments to which we strongly attach ourselves or a historical person who defied the odds whom we may aspire to be. But inspiration requires two things, 1) a source, and 2) an action. A captivating article that does not in some way compel you to change a behavior or enact a new one, is just that.

Inspiration isn’t a quote or a person, but it can be.

What inspires you?