“Life is a playground where anything can be achieved”

Introducing Tush Wijeratne… I recently read this awesome article written by Tush and his story really resonated with me. Tush is someone I have worked alongside as part of my own career journey and having read this story I invited him to feature in a guest DREAM BIG : BELIEVE BIGGER blog. I hope you are inspired as much as was when I read his words … enjoy!

Who Inspires you? This was a question I was asked in a workshop recently. It’s a very simple question and one which most people have an answer for straight away.

But is it that simple? I get asked it so many times, but why? Is it an “ice breaker” or is it to inspire a different frame of mind? And every time I get asked this question, I give a different answer. My last few answers probably included Barack Obama, Muhammed Ali, AB De Villiers, Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey. I began to question myself, “why did I give those names?”.

I don’t know any of them, so why do they inspire me? Yes, they are iconic individuals no doubt, but did they inspire me to change the way I do things, my outlook on life… or… wait for it… it sounded like the cool answer to give at the time!

In the moment. In my 40 years of life, I’ve consumed a lot of content where these names have taken centre stage, but I’ve come to realise that the impact they had on me was “in the moment”. It didn’t change me as a person the next day, or a week later. So, were they truly inspirational to me and my life? 

Role model vs Inspiration. The two people who have largely impacted my life were my parents, but they were role models. They moulded me, taught me to be a better person and helped me to navigate the complexity of life. I learnt a lot and I will always be grateful to them. But being a role model does not necessarily equate to being inspirational.

So, what is inspiration? To me, inspiration is a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm you get from someone or something, which gives you a fresh energy, an idea, an overall boost in life. Yes, this could be for the moment, but would it not be amazing if this inspiration you felt fuelled an ongoing drive to action? 

‘Human’ inspiration. Taking that definition of inspiration, I’ve been extremely lucky. I’ve had a lot of people who have inspired me. Early in my career, I had some inspirational managers who taught me the tricks of the trade, their experience and the journey they have had to get to the place they have. They inspired me by showing me what I needed to do to get ahead in my life. They showed me what the reality could be, what my potential could be. The inspirational moments did not come because they gave long speeches to the company and did the usual management pitch. The inspiration was because of the personal touch, they spent time with me as a person, shared experiences with me from one human to another. 

There was no hierarchy, there was no formal management meetings; these were pure, honest, caring conversations. They spent their own time, making me feel valued. These were the type of conversations where I left thinking, “I want to be like that person”, “I want to have that inspirational impact when I have a team one day”. Those conversations made me want to give 120% to that manager; because they cared not only about the end delivery of my work, but also me as an individual and wanted me to be part of the journey. 

I was being treated like a person; not a commodity in the corporate world. When people care, you get inspired to give them your best. There is a reason good managers have strong teams below them. I learnt this early on in my career.

I like to think those individuals made me who I am today as a manager, a leader and a coach. I was inspired to be the best I can be not for my own selfish development, but to service those who reported to me through the years. The inspiration to be the best people manager was born from these individuals, who I will always value. They told me how I should inspire others around me whilst in a leadership role which not only benefits the individuals in the team, but also the wider team, the business and me as their leader.

As I have continued in my career, other inspirations have come into my life. My peers, and even more importantly those who reported into me have provided me with various elements of inspiration. The inspiration to keep evolving and developing myself, rolling with the punches and taking on new challenges, has been key. This inspiration came from those who worked for me.

The enthusiasm and ambition to push the boundaries, gave me the boost and inspiration to think and do things differently. The blue sky thinking, the “solution-oriented mindset”, the “never say die” or “can’t be done attitude”, these were all inspired through those who worked with me. These were the traits I saw coming from my teams, and this inspired me to push my own boundaries.

Inspired leaders. As leaders we all have battles in our heads. We have good days and bad days; and you need those moments of inspiration to see you through the bad days to fight another day. Even the strongest of leaders go through these stages, and each of us tackle it in different ways; some read books, some get career coaches, there are many ways to be inspired.

For me personally at this stage of my career, those around me in my team provide me with those sparks of inspiration, and I have been lucky to have them around me. I don’t believe in hierarchy in my team, and the career level of an individual is no indication of the level of inspiration they provide. Everyone has a part to play in this world and with that comes a voice. That voice – regardless of what you do – can inspire others.

Looking back, I owe my inspiration to those who have been with me on my journey, those who coached me and those I have coached. I am grateful to all of them, as they have given me the ability to find inspiration when needed.

Young minds. When I look towards the future and my mid-life crisis (did I mention I was 40?!), I also find inspiration in my eight-year old son. How? At a young age he is fearless, he has the “can do” attitude no matter what, he loves a challenge come what may. He will always strive to be the best performer in any team he is part of, and that is through his own discipline and determination, he sees the world through a different lens where everyone is equal, regardless of size, gender, race or religion. To him, life is a playground where anything can be achieved. The cynics might call this naivety, but for me this is inspiration to be a better person, to get that extra boost when I need it, to keep going when I hit a brick wall and even remind me of what I need to do for those around me. It reminds me to strive to be an inspirational person to someone else.

Final answer? So back to the question “who inspires me?” It hasn’t been a world leader, a sport personality, a freedom fighter, an entrepreneur or a media personality. It hasn’t been one person either. At different stages in my life it has been some very special people. They all have different backgrounds, personalities, they had varied experiences when it comes to life and work. The common DNA was that they are individuals who I could relate to, talk to, spend time with, learn from and learn with – the human element. They have been, and will always remain, part of my inspiration.

You! Thank you for being part of my inspiration!

Over to you… who inspires you?

Credit: You can find the original post by Tush here.