Uninspired

"Inspiration is a wonderful thing when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time. The wait is simply too long."

Know who said that? You'll know his name when I reveal it below.

Inspiration is magical when it happens, but if you do a morning show, or run a radio station, or a group of stations, you can't count on being inspired every single day.

So what do you do on the four days out of five when the magic's not there?

I don't expect anyone to share anything that will change your life.

What I'll offer is what has worked for me, and what has worked for some of the best talent I've worked with over the years.

We push ourselves out of our routines.

That's it.

Sounds blah, but it works.

For a consultant, it happens naturally. I'm in a different city, a different bed, a different drive to work, hearing different stations, sometimes different languages, every other week.

But for you, in your town doing your show, it takes concentration and effort.

You've got nothing to lose except a bit of time by trying it ...

Wake up earlier tomorrow. Take a different route into the station. After the show, go someplace you never go, be around people you never see, do an activity you've never done, eat at a restaurant you've never tried, listen to music you've never heard before.

We slide into our routines so comfortably that we do almost everything we can not to ever interrupt the ease of the commonplace.

Make yourself uncomfortable tomorrow.

See what happens.

Your new 'normal' may include doing your best to avoid routines at all costs from now on - and that just may provide inspiration on those days it doesn't appear magically.

BTW, the quote is from Leonard Bernstein.