How I stay motivated and inspired

Motivation has always been a tricky topic for me. When I was young I had no motivation, when i was in my late teens it was all I had, now in my 20’s it’s an art form i’ve had to mold to fit my lifestyle. Trials and tribulations over the years have reformed my views on inspiration and motivation. Not enough trials at a certain point made me lazy, too many trials at one time made me tired. It’s been said by myself and others that I prosper in chaos, hectic surroundings and the weight of the world make me flourish. I took that as fact and went on with it, partially it’s been true. As I’ve grown older and ever so slightly wiser I’ve realized that I can turn anything I want into a simple science. Even when I’m tired, even when I’m lazy, I’ve cultivated a way to keep myself motivated and inspired, these are a few of my simple philosophies and tricks to help me do so.

I dont work for pay, I get paid because I work.

I was broke, in retrospect I was incredibly happy but I was broke. The cities, tours and parties sucked me dry. Young, dumb and high on life I set out with the goal to be rich. My dream job had me in its grasp but I always wanted more. I felt that I wasnt receiving enough in return for what I supplied so my production dropped drastically. Thinking about nothing but money and forgetting my valuable skill set and love for my job actually ruined it. It wasn’t until my dad said those words to me “you don’t work for pay, you get paid for your work” that I realized it’s true. My value is in my abilities, as long as I dont cheapen myself, money will come. Everytime I pick up my laptop, hop on a flight at some ungodly hour or pick up the phone in the middle of the night to call a client I repeat those words to myself. Once I started throwing that mantra into my everyday life I started enjoying my tedious and sometimes painful tasks. I love my work now, even when it sucks. In the end because I toughened myself and started enjoying the concept of work, I made a lot of progress financially.

Visual Reminders

This one has been my absolute saving grace. When I’m not in London or in an office I work remotely, meaning my phone and laptop are attached to my hand like some sort of fucked up cyborg. Since I spend quite a lot of my life staring at a screen I figured I better remind myself why I’m doing it. This is my actual phone lock screen.

This probably seems quite random so I’ll explain. I work in music and fashion, my main source of inspiration comes from the Russian fashion and music scene. This photo is from a collection by my favorite designer, Anton Lisin. Every time a message, email or notification blocks my view of this photo I think to myself for a split moment before I open it, is it helping me reach my ultimate goal? Is this person benefiting my life? Is it someone I care about who wants to see me succeed? Is it necessary? If no, it’s for the birds. I’ve spent a lot of time feeding energy into people and things that in the end will never feed me back.

With that being said I’m also very bad at replying to my friends and it’s not because I hate them, sorry guys, love you.

Write it all down

I write every single day, even if it’s just 3 or 4 words to describe how I’m feeling, I sit down and do it. When I have a goal, I write it down. When I want to dramatically punch a wall, I dont, I write about it. Writing about myself helps me learn new things about my inner workings, what inspires me, what makes me sad and what I can work on. It truly makes it stick when it’s pen to paper.

Staying Creative

I absolutely make sure I do something creative every single day. That may be poetry, visual design, clothing design or graffiti. Even when I dont feel inspired, even when it turns out badly, it helps me remember why I do the things I do, to grow and get better.

Be realistic about your schedule

Since I work from home this isn’t applicable to everyone but I know my limits with working. I’ve had more burnouts than I can count and I refuse to have any more. I realize that I work best between the hours of 9am and 3pm so that’s when I get everything done. After 3pm a job that would normally take me an hour takes me a pot of coffee, 5 Hail Marys and half of the day to get it done. I always Start with the hardest or most boring task as well, this means by the end of the day I’m not running to the fridge to grab a beer because the last job absolutely took me out.

The orchestra can either make you dance or cry

It’s no secret, we often immitate who we surround ourselves with. The ones who praise your work, support your art and uplift your soul are the ones to keep around. This isn’t to say that you can’t try to help the negative nancies and unmotivated people in your life, as long as you believe they can change. I feel my most inspired around my friends. I may be biased but I truly believe they are the most amazing people in the world and I have won the lottery in that department. This hasn’t been without careful consideration though, I’ve had my fair share of coworkers, friends and even family members that have dragged me down to their level. It’s a deep hole to climb out of, that’s not to say it can’t be done. Surround yourself with motivated and inspiring people, watch your world change.

Your goals are not a ticking time bomb

It’s amazing when we can achieve things in a short time frame and grow rapidly. It’s also amazing when we can appreciate that flowers bloom when they’re meant to. When I stopped beating myself up for not being a millionaire by 20, I started being more motivated to get to that point and less sad that I hadnt.

Thank you for reading, sharing and humoring my written journey through this wild life. It means the world to me. Catch me on Instagram as @skyeline_ or through email at thejackalsatlas@gmail.com

special thanks to Anton Lisin, please keep doing what you do my friend.

Photo by Patrick Tomasso, thank you!