When inspiration walks in.

I do lots of writing, not just for my blog but also for books, magazines and preparing for my seminars and workshops. The truth is sometimes it's hard to be creative, inspirational, insightful and original. There's so much amazing information, inspiration and education flying around in all sorts of forms that occasionally, it's a real challenge to write something that I'm genuinely happy with... especially when I'm on a dead-line. For my magazine articles I have mandatory deadlines; when the work absolutely has to be emailed to my editors. And for my blog, I have self-imposed dead-lines.

Because my life is crazy (fun but crazy), I usually don't start writing my blog until about 10pm. That's after the phones have (nearly) stopped, the doors on my business have closed, dinner's been had and I've done some reading. Sometimes I sit down at my computer and the only thing floating around my tired little brain is a request from my body for sleep. Deadlines can stifle that creative flow. Tiredness can too. And so can stress.

Today is not such a day. Today I had an appointment with one of the most inspirational people I've ever met. And I've met plenty. Today inspiration walked through my door and I instantly knew what I would write about tonight.

Before Christmas I received a phone call from a woman who saw me on 9AM (a TV show I do some stuff on). She explained to me that she has significant health issues (the understatement of the century) and that nobody was prepared to help her with an exercise program because she was too high-risk.

She sounded interesting and we made a time (today) when we would meet.

In a thousand words (or less) I can't do justice to Lee's story but in brief, I have never met a person who has gone through so much emotional, psychological and physical pain for such an extended period of time and who has come out the other side with an attitude which is almost impossible to comprehend.

Her life and her life-experiences are so dramatic, so extreme and so profound that I sat listening to her with tears in my eyes (and we all know what an Alpha-Male I am!). I have encouraged her to write a book to share her story. Apart from the fact that she has had six different types of cancer and been told numerous times she has three months to live, she has also had chronic back pain for years, had one of her children die and has experienced more abuse and personal trauma through a range of almost unbelievable situations and circumstances than ten people should ever have to endure in a lifetime.

It's amazing how some people can teach you a lot about yourself and your life without even talking about you or knowing anything (specific) about you.

This is what Lee taught me without even knowing it:

1. Attitude is a choice.... always.

2. We all make things harder than they need to be.

3. Human beings are incredibly capable, resilient and strong when they have to be.

4. We major on minors.... a lot.

5. When we have to survive, we'll find a way. When we have no choice, we just get it done... we don't think, rationalise, complain or procrastinate because we don't have the time. We just do.

6. Being told you have three months to live is a quick way to discover what your real values and priorities are.... (pity some people have to get sick before they start putting things into perspective).

7. Sometimes it's good to laugh, even when there's no reason to do so. Sometimes it's good not to complain, even when there is a reason to do so.

8. Sometimes, the only person you can rely on is you.

9. 'Experts' don't always know. Sometimes the human spirit is more relevant than 'test results'.

10. If you have the best attitude in the worst situation, you have a chance. If you have the worst attitude in the best situation, you're doomed.

I've gotta say, I have one of the coolest jobs on earth; every morning I get up and I'm excited about what the day will bring. I love what I do and over the years I have met some incredibly successful, gifted and talented people. I have worked with Olympians, celebrities, business moguls and professional sporting clubs... but I've never met anyone who has inspired me so profoundly or who has taught me so much, in so little time, without even knowing it. Lee came to me for insight and direction but I was the student. There's some irony.

When I first met her I couldn't but help comment on a significant tattoo on her upper arm and some pink streaks through her blonde hair; not what I expected from the frail(!) articulate, cancer patient I had spoken with on the phone.

"What's with the tattoo and the rock star hair", I asked. "I got the tattoo last year." "I told everyone, I might be dying but I don't want to look like I am." "I didn't have a picture of all of my kids together (remembering that one had passed away), so I got Shorty (the tattoo guy) to put them all on my arm so they're always with me."

"Works for me, Lee."

Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci.) is an Australian motivational speaker, qualified exercise scientist, author, columnist, radio presenter, and owner of one of the largest personal training centres in the world.

He can be heard weekly on Australian Radio SEN 1116 and GOLD FM and appears on Australian television on Network Ten's 9AM.

Australian Motivational Speaker - Craig Harper

Thomas Alva Edison - Inspiration And Perspiration

Almost everyone knows who Thomas Alva Edison is.

Does anyone know that Thomas Alva Edison created more than eight hundred light globes before he made one that finally worked? By a small carbonized filament and an improved vacuum inside the globe, he was finally able to produce a reliable, long-lasting source of light on lower current electricity.

When Edison was seven years old, he has already developed a fascination for anything involve mechanically and chemical experiments. At the local schoolhouse, after enduring his persistent questioning and self-centered behavior, his short-tempered teacher eventually declared that his brains were either addled or scrambled.

His furious mother quickly took him home and began to tutor him herself. She was convinced that her son unusual demeanor and hyperactive behavior were just signs of his remarkable intelligence.

Although Edison had only three months of formal schooling, it did not deter him from finding ways via independent self-instruction to appease his ever huge appetite for knowledge in contemporary mathematics, physics and engineering.

Before he began his career as an inventor, he sold newspaper and candy on trains running from station to station. He became a skillful telegrapher after being trained for only three months. Telegraphy related inventions were some of his earliest master pieces.

Armed with an immeasurable patience and a kaleidoscopic mind teamed with photographic memory, his highly individualistic style of acquiring knowledge led him to scores of experiments and eventually his own related theories.

By the turn of the 20th century, Thomas Alva Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history. He had developed hundreds of devices and gadgets that improved lives around the world. In addition, he was often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory which was build in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

Among Edison's most famous inventions is the first practical and long-lasting light bulb. He also refined and developed other gadgets such as the phonograph, typewriter and the motion picture projector/ camera.

All these happened despite being partially deaf. In fact, his handicap did not hinder him from pursuing his dreams to invent. Instead, his deafness allegedly aided him because it blocked out noises that disturbed him and his work.

How often are we faced with difficulties and problems in our daily life? And how often did they slow us down in our progress? Did we treat them as challenges and play them to our advantage like the way Edison has done? Or did we stop what we are doing and give up trying?

Eric Chay of http://www.ericchay.com providing some motivational writings on positive thinking and personal development at http://www.lawofattractionfree.com