What does it mean to be inspired?

To me, inspiration is the feeling I get when the wheels of my plane leave the ground and all the trees become tiny dots below me. It’s watching my wife and kids laughing at the dinner table. It’s meeting with my colleagues at Cisco and working through tough challenges in creative ways.

Inspiration is the surge of energy coursing through my veins, awakening my senses and filling me with a heightened sense of enthusiasm and motivation. Emotionally, it can take many forms. Sometimes it’s a profound sense of joy, and other times it’s a peaceful contentment. I can feel determined, passionate, or creative. Even more than that, I feel like I’m living my purpose, and I’m connected to the world around me.

The concept of an inspired life is deeply personal and subjective. It reflects your values, passions, and desires. What lights you up isn’t necessarily going to be the same thing that lights me up. In fact, there are 7.8 billion people in this world, and there are just as many versions of what an inspired life looks like.

But no matter what a person might want, living an inspired life is rarely easy. If the stars align perfectly, it’s possible that you could be presented with the optimal mix of experiences at every turn. But even then, you would need to recognize opportunities when they emerge and then act on them rather than letting them pass you by.

The vast majority of the time, living an inspired life requires an incredible amount of intentionality. You must know what truly lights you up, know what doesn’t, and be able to work toward crafting an existence that enables you to get what you need on a regular basis. This work is a lifelong journey, but everything hinges upon getting it right.

We’ve all seen this play out countless times in people we’ve met. You know how some people always seem to be in a good mood? They have a sunny outlook, and any challenges or setbacks they encounter are like water off a duck’s back. It’s easy to think that these individuals are lucky or that they have a naturally positive disposition. That might be true, but chances are that their day-to-day experience lights them up and makes them feel fulfilled. They are living an inspired life.

The opposite can be said for the crotchety people who always seem to have something negative to say. They might deeply dislike their job and have no loving relationships, few friends, and nothing that brings them joy. They aren’t hardwired to be crotchety; they are simply living a life that is so uninspiring that they struggle on a daily basis.

No one intentionally chooses to live like this, but it happens to people all the time. Somewhere along the way, people can lose sight of what really matters to them and make choices that move them further away from what an ideal life looks like. Before they know it, they’re stressed, depressed, anxious, unhealthy, and—of course—uninspired.

You don’t want this life! We’ve all found ourselves at least dipping a toe into this end of the swimming pool at one time or another, and it does not feel good. Personal fulfillment and well-being matter. You don’t want to slog through each day with a rain cloud hanging over your head and no sign of sunny skies ahead.

Instead, your goal should be to engage in meaningful and enriching experiences every day. It might sound Pollyanna-ish to some, but you can be truly delighted by the world around you.
You might argue that this state of being has a lot to do with upholding a positive attitude. There’s absolutely truth in this, but it’s a lot easier to be a glass-half-full person when you find joy and fulfillment across numerous areas of your life. That’s why if you’re intentional about crafting the life you truly want to live, it becomes a virtuous cycle where positive experiences and a positive outlook feed off each other. The challenge lies in cultivating a life that supports this virtuous cycle.

Let’s be honest: we’re all trying to lead our best life. None of us are out there in the world intentionally losing sight of our true north and making choices that will lead to discontentment, boredom, pain, misery, or regret. And yet sometimes we find ourselves facing those emotions. More often than not, it’s the result of making the wrong choices.

Over the years, I’ve been afforded with an intimate look at how being successful and being fulfilled are not the same thing. Working as a private-jet pilot early in my career, and years later as an executive at some of the world’s leading tech and consulting firms, I’ve had access to rarified environments where I got to know a wide range of aspirational people who by all visible measures were living the ultimate life. They’d typically gone to the best schools, and many were incredibly accomplished—Olympic athletes, valedictorians, Rhodes scholars, and C-suite executives. They typically had a substantial income, a nice house, and a luxury car, and their kids often went to the best private schools. On top of this, many of them had accomplished their dreams! From movie stars to entrepreneurs and Fortune 100 leaders who are worth millions, I spent many years with individuals who “made it.” As we lounged on catamarans in the Caribbean or dined at Michelin-starred restaurants, I expected all these people to be inspired and fulfilled. But many were not. They were often stressed and unhappy, they had no hobbies, their relationships were suffering, and they were certainly not experiencing the joy of having arrived at a place of wealth, status, and power. They chased a vision of success that did not align with what mattered most to them, and their happiness suffered because of it.

But this wasn’t true for everyone. I could tell that some people had a real zest for life. They were energized by the people around them and activities they took part in.

I was perplexed by this. I wondered what differentiated the individuals who found their true north and built truly inspiring, fulfilling lives from those who didn’t. This question became the basis for writing my book, True North: A Handbook for Inspired Living, coming in December 2023.

After working for several decades in a wide variety of jobs with a broad cross-section of people, I’ve had a unique and privileged opportunity to observe the way people operate, the way they make decisions, and the things they prioritize that lead to vastly differing outcomes. I felt compelled to distill what I saw among those individuals and families who had “figured it out” and managed to build a life that was truly inspired and fulfilling. These insights are the subject of my book. I not only wrote about what I’ve learned, but I’ve been living the same principles I’ve outlined, in a way serving as my own test case to validate these perspectives. This approach has helped me shape the most meaningful, inspiring, and fulfilling life I can. It’s my passion to help those around me find their true north and do the same.

Whether you’re considering a major change in your life’s direction, trying to inspire and guide your children, or simply wondering whether you could be more fulfilled, True North is for you. I show you how simple considerations, strategies, and habits lead to more fulfilling outcomes. You will learn how to break free from other people’s narratives about what success looks like so that you can identify what truly lights you up as a unique individual. By targeting nine key principles that have the power to unlock inspiration, you’ll be able to home in on the areas that matter most. You’ll learn strategies for enacting positive change in your daily life, setting the right goals, and overcoming the fear of the unknown so you can pivot to compelling new experiences.

It’s never too late to course correct and follow a new path that would make you happier. This is your life, and you are the only person who knows how you can make the most of it.