InspirationWorks, LLC

It’s a chemistry experiment, this human business of being. The chemistry experiment of mixing all the ingredients of life and observing the results moment by moment has an overall objective. The objective has been the same throughout recorded time for each and every one of our species.

Really it’s more an alchemy process than a chemistry process because we’re trying to take the day-to-day lumps of coal along with all the gems we find in the ups and downs of life and transform them into gold. No matter what the culture, no matter what the language, no matter what the race, no matter what the personality, we homo sapiens aspire to create gold. Our alchemy process is to turn the day-to-day seemingly valueless circumstances and situations into the gold of “happiness.”

This alchemy requires a magic ingredient and then a mixing and stirring of very concrete practices. That magic ingredient is what this blog is ultimately about. Mattering, that sense of making a difference in the world and knowing how to make a difference each day is the secret sauce, the magic ingredient. It requires the crucible of faith and the "muscles" of emotional intelligence that one by one we will take a look at and illustrate.

It's those muscles of emotional intelligence that will be the focus of day-to-day entries in this blog. Each post will relate to one of the seven "muscles" of emotional intelligence. So I need to give you just a little more context.

At INSPIRATIONWORKS we view emotional intelligence more like physical muscle building than studying to getting a high score on a test. Our physical muscles make up a complex system that allows us to walk, run, sit, stand, breathe, lift, bend, and many other actions to navigate our physical world.  There are tools like free-weights, universal gym, exercise bike, balance ball, to help tone your physical muscles.

If you want to play basketball well, you do a lot of drills in your practice sessions so that when it comes time to play the real game you can win based on the strength you've built and the muscle memory for effective dodging, weaving, running, blocking, passing, catching, and scoring.

The real game of day-to-day life takes metaphorical dodging, weaving, running, blocking, passing, catching, and scoring. So our model of emotional intelligence identifies the complex muscles that allow us to persevere, respond authentically, connect with others effectively, bounce back from setbacks, risk, create, and navigate our psychological and interactive world in order to experience life more richly. The seven EQ Muscles™ are: humility, acceptance, resilience, optimism, connection, creativity, and authenticity.

Just like the apparatus and tools for building physical muscles, there are concrete tools for toning, developing, and building the seven emotional intelligence muscles. Those tools are taught in our books, sessions, and courses. They're not what this blog is about.

This blog is about the daily game and one person's application of the practice sessions in order to dodge, weave, run, block, pass, catch, and score. Each "Morning Musing" will connect everyday ordinary situations and circumstances to those emotional intelligence muscles. It'll be like watching that basketball game and getting the play-by-play, color commentary, and analysis. The intent is to make applying emotional intelligence real and not just some abstract concept. The intent is to apply emotional intelligence to that alchemy process of life.