I can’t think of a time in our modern history when we needed inspiration more than now, during the Great Recession. To get a dose of inspiration, my roommate Donata and I went to see the movie Eat, Pray, Love 
on opening night. I love going to the opening night of a movie or ballet. There’s always an excitement in the air. I hadn’t read the book, Eat, Pray, Love,
but I heard good things about it from (mostly divorced) friends and Oprah.
To have a little fun and get excited about the movie, we decided to try a new Italian restaurant in town on our way to the theatre. In Eat, Pray, Love, the main character goes to Italy (the Eat part of the book) for inspiration. After finishing our dinner, I turned to Donata and asked, “Did you enjoy your linguini in clam sauce?” To which she replied in her Lithuanian accent, “Not so much.” I had to agree, my spaghetti and meatball dinner was uninspiring as well.
, the main character goes to Italy (the Eat part of the book) for inspiration. After finishing our dinner, I turned to Donata and asked, “Did you enjoy your linguini in clam sauce?” To which she replied in her Lithuanian accent, “Not so much.” I had to agree, my spaghetti and meatball dinner was uninspiring as well.
Not to be deterred from an inspiring evening, we proceeded to the theatre where we were bombarded by violent coming attractions. The sound was so loud and the violence was so real on the screen, I cringed and had to turn away. I couldn’t understand how anyone would want to spend their free time on a Saturday night watching someone else get tortured and murdered. It reminded me of the Romans who liked to watch gladiators get killed for a good time on a Saturday night.
I was still hopeful that I would at least get to leave the theatre with an inspiring movie experience. How often do we get to see a movie with a spiritual theme on the big screen? Heck, Oprah loved it right? Now that I think about it, Oprah loved a few other movies I can’t remember too.
I sat through the movie, and looked at Donata with a question mark on my face, sort of like a dog that just saw something he couldn’t believe. “Did you see (or not see) the same thing I did?” I asked.
“I think so,” she said.
I didn’t see one spiritually inspiring thing in this movie. I saw a woman who molded herself to fit the expectations of a man she married and then left because he was the wrong guy all along. She dated some flakey theatre guy and left him. According to the movie, she gave her husband everything out of guilt, but then she spends thousands of dollars renting an apartment in Rome (which doesn’t come cheap) and hanging out eating with friends. Then, she goes to an Ashram in India and the whole scene is about her. I didn’t really see a whole lot of service on her part. Just ME, ME, ME! Then she goes to Bali for an extended period of time. She rents a beautiful bungalow (which can’t be cheap) and hangs out doing a whole lotta nothing. Then, she ends up where she began—molding herself to fit the demands of a new man. I was asking myself, “This movie ended where it began. Where’s the opportunity to forgive? Where’s the opportunity to be of service to others instead of blowing cash on an extremely fancy vacation? Heck, where’s the inspiration?!” I would change the title to Eat, Play, Pay!
Luckily for me, within a one week, the Universe brought a far more nurturing experience. I tend to eat my lunch and listen to Hay House Radio at the same time—more of an Eat, Inspire, Learn experience. To my pleasant surprise, I caught Robert Holden’s show Shift Happens 
where he just happened to have a guest from the UK, Nick Williams. The name of the show was The Work You Were Born to Do
.
where he just happened to have a guest from the UK, Nick Williams. The name of the show was The Work You Were Born to Do.
Knee deep in the middle of the Great Recession, I think most of us are asking what we were born to do while we try to juggle and squeeze multiple income streams. I absolutely loved the radio show and wrote to Nick and offered to review his books. Within a few weeks, I had not only listened to inspiration on the radio, it landed on my doorstep when Nick sent me his books How to Be Inspired 
(how ironic) and The Work We Were Born to Do
. Ask and you shall receive!
(how ironic) and The Work We Were Born to Do. Ask and you shall receive!
In Nick’s book How to Be Inspired he says that, “Often we don’t know how thirsty we are until we have a drink and, similarly, we often don’t know how much we need inspiration until we experience it.” So true.
he says that, “Often we don’t know how thirsty we are until we have a drink and, similarly, we often don’t know how much we need inspiration until we experience it.” So true.
Nicks says that usually most people are only inspired during weekend retreats or seminars but quickly lose the momentum weeks later. With the book How to Be Inspired, he wants to share how he has learned to stay inspired—“what works and what will defeat us.”
, he wants to share how he has learned to stay inspired—“what works and what will defeat us.”
Nick introduces us to what an inspired person looks like by giving us 54 secrets to how inspired people stay inspired. The book is divided into seven sections. In Section one and two, he talks about how to nurture inspiration and our inspired ideas. In Section 3, he discusses what an inspired person does with resistance and how they master their fears so we know how to deal with the bumps along the road to our destiny. In Section 4, he walks us through the process of becoming creative and harnessing the power of our passions. Section 5 (which was for me) he shares how inspired people stay inspired so the reader can join the ranks of those who stay in the flow. If the reader is wondering if he’s going to “Show Me the Money,” in Section 6, Nick discusses turning passions into profits and how inspiration calls us to growth and prosperity. Finally, Section 7 ends with addressing the spirituality of inspiration and how inspired people deal with their own Dark Nights of the Soul.
I have to say that my favorite was Secret #54: Inspired People Dream Bold Rather Than Argue for Their Limitations
I had been planning a seminar the week the book came in, and all I was getting around me were people arguing for their limitations. Perhaps I can add that inspired people know when to hold and when to fold and wait until the tide changes if they are experiencing an upstream battle. What I know for sure is that the tide always changes and opportunity presents itself again if we’re awake and ready to take the next boat when it comes in.
Nick acknowledges that he is a student of A Course in Miracles 
which means he is “Among the Ministers of God,” who first had to learn the lessons before he passed them on to us. For that, I thank him and highly recommend his book to all who hold out a little willingness to stay in the energy of being inspired.
which means he is “Among the Ministers of God,” who first had to learn the lessons before he passed them on to us. For that, I thank him and highly recommend his book to all who hold out a little willingness to stay in the energy of being inspired.
Copyright R. Ann Rousseau. All Rights Reserved. R. Ann Rousseau reviews and writes about spiritual metaphysical topics on her website http://www.explorebeyondtheusual.com/
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