From Brain to Story
How Real-Life Moments Inspire Blog Creativity
As I am getting closer to one year of writing Substack posts every week, I was not setting up to do so. But it seems I found a cadence I could keep. Yet, there are some periods when I have 4 or 5 articles queued and some times, I have none. Do I get nervous when it seems the blank screen will be the next post in 2 days? Absolutely.
Do I use AI to help me organize my thinking process? Again, absolutely. I created a SLM using my book as a reference model. Is it perfect? Of course not! Hence the reason why you are reading 80% of pure human sweat and stress and 20% of AI clean-up of my poor grammar and overflow of ideas (and sometimes, it’s even less AI than that).
You see, inspiration is a funny thing. It can come when you least expect it, from places you never anticipated. As a writer, I’ve found that some of my best ideas for blog posts don’t necessarily come from sitting at a desk, brainstorming with a blank page in front of me. Instead, they often emerge from the most mundane or unexpected experiences in daily life. For instance, I was recently watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" when I was struck by the perfect metaphor for a concept I had been struggling to articulate in my writing: navigating the treacherous waters of business leadership. That’s when it hit me—real-life moments are a goldmine for blog post inspiration, if you’re paying attention. So, in the best Captain Jack Sparrow’s running style, I rushed to my keyboard to write down the first draft of that idea.
The Power of Observation
The key to finding inspiration in everyday life is observation. We often rush through our days, focused on tasks and responsibilities, without pausing to really notice what’s happening around us. Yet, when we slow down and make a conscious effort to observe, we open ourselves up to a world of creative possibilities.
Take, for example, a simple walk through a park. On the surface, it might seem like nothing more than a routine activity. But if you look closer, you might notice the way the sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground. You might hear the distant laughter of children playing or catch the scent of freshly cut grass. These sensory details can serve as powerful prompts for a blog post. Perhaps the play of light and shadow inspires a piece on the balance between work and personal life, or the sound of laughter sparks a reflection on the importance of joy in our daily routines. Once, sitting in my backyard, I observed the majestic branches of an oak tree dancing in the wind. Right there, I had an idea for a post.
Or in the case which started this post, watching Captain Jack Sparrow navigate the unpredictable seas got me thinking about how we, too, must navigate the unpredictable currents of life and business. It wasn’t just the storyline that inspired me, but the imagery—the endless horizon, the looming storm clouds, the creak of the ship’s hull under the strain of the waves. All of these details coalesced into a vivid metaphor that I could use to explore a topic I care deeply about: leadership in uncertain times.
Turning Moments into Metaphors
Once you’ve observed something that catches your interest, the next step is to connect it to a broader theme or concept. This is where the magic happens, where a seemingly unrelated experience can suddenly become a powerful metaphor or illustration for your blog topic. Finding a personal experience to connect with this idea is always a winner.
The sailing scenes in "Pirates of the Caribbean" provided the perfect metaphor for discussing the challenges of leadership. Just as a captain must skillfully navigate a ship through storms and rough waters, a leader must guide their team through the uncertainties of business. Both require a steady hand, a clear vision, and the ability to adapt to changing conditions. By framing leadership in this way, I was able to create a blog post that was not only insightful but also engaging, using the familiar imagery of a beloved movie to make the topic more relatable to readers. All my posts follow the same format and will land in no more than 8 categories. This allows to stay focus on the themes to cover.
To help others make similar connections, I recommend asking yourself a few key questions whenever you experience something that resonates with you:
What emotions or thoughts does this experience evoke?
How can this experience be related to a topic I care about?
What metaphors or analogies can be drawn from this experience?
By reflecting on these questions, you can start to see how everyday moments can be transformed into powerful tools for storytelling.
Embracing the Unexpected
One of the most exciting aspects of finding inspiration in real life is that it often comes from the most unexpected places. The trick is to stay open to it, even when it seems unrelated to your usual topics.
For instance, I once wrote a blog post on teamwork after attending a local theater production. Watching the actors work together seamlessly on stage, I was reminded of the importance of collaboration and communication in any successful team. The metaphor of a well-rehearsed play became the backbone of that post, illustrating the point in a way that was both fresh and memorable. But I was also thinking about the introverts and the courage it took for some to be on stage or to do public speaking. Like a performance in front of an audience.
It’s important to remember that inspiration doesn’t always have to come from grand or extraordinary experiences. Sometimes, the simplest moments—a conversation with a friend, a scene in a movie, or even a walk through a park—can spark the most profound insights.
The Joy of Finding Inspiration Everywhere
In the end, the real joy of writing comes from the ability to find inspiration everywhere. By staying curious and observant, we can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, using our experiences as a lens through which we explore new ideas and share them with others.
So the next time you’re struggling to come up with a topic for your blog, take a step back and look at the world around you. You never know where your next great idea might come from—perhaps it’s hidden in the pages of a book you’re reading, the lyrics of a song on the radio, or even in a scene from a movie like "Pirates of the Caribbean." The world is full of stories waiting to be told; all you have to do is find them.
By finding inspiration in real life, you not only enrich your own writing but also create content that resonates more deeply with your readers. After all, we’re all navigating the same unpredictable seas, and sometimes, the best way to chart a course is through the shared experiences that connect us all.
So, are you ready to pen down your ideas? Try it. Make it a routine. Even if you write just one paragraph, it will help you in the long run. Why? You will learn to enjoy the time to observe, you will enjoy (or not) revisiting moments in your life and more importantly, it will force you to organize your thoughts into a focus delivery. And THAT is how you succeed in becoming an executive in a company.