Garr Reynolds over at Presentation Zen has some excellent points to make on why inspiration matters.
(1) Never apologize for your enthusiasm, passion, or vision.
(2) Never apologize for being inspired by another human being.
(3) Seek out inspiration (don’t wait for it).
(4) Inspire others by sharing your talents and time.
(5) And no matter what: Don’t let the bozos grind you down, ever.
There are a few projects I’m working on that involve me trying to get people to change the way they do things. I’m treading a fine line between evangelising new technologies, solutions and products and trying not to come over as a zealot, at which point people turn off. The 5 points above provide a good framework for this process. Number 1 is certainly true. I believe passionately in the solutions I’m advocating and won’t apologise for that. I’ve found inspiration on many (too many?) fronts, so Number 3 is covered. Hopefully I’m progressing with number 4. Number 5 is for the times when you don’t think you are making progress. Well worth reading the whole post over at Presentation Zen. Check out Garr’s book as well.