I’d just come off what felt like a particularly unproductive Monday when I opened an email from Toni Reece, President of The PEOPLE Academy, Inc., and the brainchild behind The Get Inspired! Project. Toni, a personal and business development coach, wanted to let me know that the recent interview she conducted with me was up and on the Get Inspired! website (http://www.getinspiredproject.com/2010/03/09/day-160-evelyn-kalinosky/).
I was honored to be chosen for Toni’s pet project: Exploring what inspires us and how we inspire others. Hers is a lofty goal – conducting 365 interviews over 365 days, and sharing them in a blog format similar to that of Julie and Julia, one of her own inspirations based on the true story of a woman who writes a daily blog about her goal of creating all of the recipes in Julia Child’s cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” in one year’s time.
I’m Day 160. After having read Days 1 – 159, and gaining a glimpse into the lives of so many unique men and women, I wasn’t sure there was anything I could offer that would possibly be seen as inspirational. Yet the amazing, truly humbling reality is that someone, somewhere will find my words and my story motivating. They might be traveling a similar path or resonate with a particular word, or sentence, or thought, and in that moment a connection will be made and shared and passed on into the world.
Isn’t that what we’re all really here to do? Give and receive inspiration? Be a source of strength and a receiver of strength when it’s most needed? In a way this interview was a test for me. A test of my commitment to living a more authentic and honest life. I’ve been working very hard these past few years to embrace my imperfections, and to honor the truth that not every moment of my life is sanguine and picturesque.
In the interview with Toni I talk about this very thing: “I think in a lot of ways I put up walls for people, because I always tried to come across as someone who has their stuff together all the time, and I thought that was doing people a service and that that’s what people needed to see in order to be inspired. And then I realized that really that’s not the answer, because sometimes it can seem like it’s a goal that’s too lofty and not reachable. So I’ve been over the years learning how to be more human, to be more fully human, and to me there’s nothing more inspirational than someone who is fully human and embracing both the good and the bad in themselves.”
By listening to other people’s stories – the challenges and adversity they’ve been through – and the magnificent way they’ve managed to rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes and create a meaningful life, it’s given me permission to speak about my own journey. That’s the inspiration I’m hoping lights a fire for someone else who chooses to read or listen to my story. http://www.getinspiredproject.com/2010/03/09/day-160-evelyn-kalinosky/.
You’ll find all The Get Inspired! Project interviews here: http://www.getinspiredproject.com. Set aside some time to read or listen and share your comments with Toni. I’m sure you’ll come away energized, amazed, and yes, INSPIRED!
How do you inspire people? What inspires you? I’d love for you to share your thoughts here on my blog…
About the Author
My name is Evelyn. As Founder & CEO of Evelyn Kalinosky LLC, my coaching practice specializes in working with high-level women executives who want to achieve a more sacred kind of success. The goal is a search for significance, a journey to uncover the wealth of the self, a rite of passage to their highest purpose, and to a life that is as unique as their fingerprint.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
What inspires me? Honesty. I am inspired by people who are not afraid to be whomever they truly are, say what they honestly mean, and are willing to let others into their lives who are substantially “different.” I am not inspired by the perfect woman. I am inspired by the imperfect woman who pushes through, does her best and somehow makes it to the end of the day. Then she gets up tomorrow and does it all over again. No matter how hard it is. No matter how badly she fails. She gets up tomorrow and does it all over again. Sometimes it ain’t pretty. But it’s honest.
Kay Lorraine
Nonprofit Executive
Honolulu, Hawaii
Oh yes, Kay – I couldn’t agree with you more. These qualities are totally inspiring. I wonder if the woman who exudes these qualities even realizes that she’s being inspiring to those who witness the way in which she lives her life? I think we often feel that inspiration needs to come in some incredibly wrapped package – bells, whistles, lots of bling, when in fact none of that comes close to the inspiration drawn from someone living a truly authentic life, and who never stays down no matter how many times she/he falls. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here on my blog. They are definitely inspiring!