
It’s easy to be inspired, in a world filled to the brim with every type of stimulation imaginable, and with it all so immediately accessible. Ancient poetry, soul food, good music, unforgettable passages from the pages of history, photographs that bring emotion to life and speeches that move you to the core.
Inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes, inspiration comes from small things and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy for an hour or two. Sometimes, it is a long round of lightning bolts, and it stays with you a longer while, like experiencing World Domination Summit (WDS). For awesome photos and more recap, check out Chris Guillebeau’s WDS2012 re-cap.
If your job is to only inspire yourself or others, you have it easy. And it’s not enough.
You can challenge yourself infinitely more, however, by adding one component: Inspiring yourself (and others) so much that you feel compelled to take action.
Because nothing happens until you take action.

This weekend at WDS, inspiration struck me again. It hit me hard. It blew me away. It made me weak in the knees and it made me cry and laugh and dance. Inspiration from speakers that reminded me of my vulnerability and inner power. Inspiration from the generosity of people that were too busy and yet far too helpful. Inspiration from helping hands and smiling hearts.
Inspiration from obvious known facts that were music to my ears: how fortunate we are to live in this time and age, how blessed we are to have the support of such community of like-minded souls, and how powerful we can be if we only decide on our dreams and believe in ourselves.
I couldn’t help but walk on clouds of bliss – albeit with blisters and pain from walking a bit too much!
– and I could not help smiling and dreaming and planning and thinking happy thoughts all weekend long.
Inspiration was everywhere. It came in the form of a marching band of senior citizens. It came in the form of hugs from people that I now consider some of my closest friends. It came from delicious healthy food shared with like-minded peeps. It came from forming bonds during breaks and hearing stories that spanned the entire color spectrum.

Oh yes, the stories. Inspiration was at the heart of every story. Stories like overcoming breast cancer and living to play it in a humorous song on the guitar, or building a water charity that helps deliver clean water to the poorest villages of Africa after wasting away the first part of life as a night-club promoter. Stories of waking up to a miserable career after 20 years of service to a company and turning things around because it’s never too late. Stories of starting businesses and making sacrifices and building something that makes a difference in this world.
Stories of not taking no for an answer and not playing by the conventional rules and systems, stories of finding solutions rather than playing a victim all your life.
Stories of believing in the infinite power of your dreams, and the true potential within your reach.
Inspiration is the easy part. You just have to be open to receiving, to hearing stories, to watching and observing and listening, and you will be filled to the brim with inspiration.
What comes after inspiration, now that’s not so easy. That’s the part where things stop looking sexy and shiny and sweet. That’s the day after the conference. That’s the long afternoon when you are home alone staring at your monitor and trying to re-capture the moments.

That’s when you need to put that inspiration into action, the words in your head into writing, and the thoughts and ideas into motion. But how do you do that? How do you exactly go from a state of complete ecstasy to a state of total execution? How do you turn ideas into businesses and dreams into, well, reality?
World Domination Summit gave us glimpses into this one too. They were just more subtle, but if you listened carefully, you would hear them. Here are the 8 best ways that I learned to turn the inspiration into some serious action:
1. You do it with laser-sharp focus.
2. You do it with self-discipline.
3. You do it with organization.
4. You do it with efficiency.
5. You do it with saying no to what doesn’t serve toward your goal.
6. You do it with building a daily habit.
7. You do it with a system that works for you, no matter how weird or bizarre it may seem.
8. You do it with doing, with the unsexy, uncool, and yet totally necessary act of doing.
The work has to come before the prize, and trust me, you wouldn’t want it any other way because nothing, not even the world’s best melted chocolate, tastes sweeter than the kind of success that arrives after the hardest and longest days of your life.
So find your inspiration, soak up in it, take it all in, drink it up, even bathe in it. Then, start doing. Stop thinking. Start acting. Stop wasting your time. Start walking your talk. Stop messing around. Start doing the work. And do not stop until it’s done. Until you are exactly where you dreamt you would be and until you arrive there in precisely the fashion you had envisioned. Until you have something to show for, something that defines you, something you are incredibly proud to present to the world.
Something that can perhaps even inspire someone else to start their journey from dream to reality.

That’s my plan between now and the next World Domination Summit in 12 months. What’s yours?
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{ 31 brilliant comments, Care to add another? }
Farnoosh,
My plan? To follow in your footsteps on those eight ways to take action. I don’t know what you’re better at…photos or words!
It made my WDS complete to meet you, Tess. We had so much fun, so many laughs, I can’t wait to be in your glorious presence again. Big hugs! And I wanna be the first to know when you decide on where to invest the $100!
Yes, inspiration is everywhere and my inspirations can always be found at home. From getting inspiration with my family my motivations and desire to do good things for them is getting better. I like the Eighth Inspirations Action Tips and its nice to see a nice smile from the photos.
Hi Dylsen, so glad you enjoyed the tips. Can you put them to practice? I plan on doing just that after the summit. It was heaps of fun, I was smiles all weekend. Keep me posted on your actions from the inspiration!
Its uncanny how your posts reflect what weighs heaviest on my mind sometimes. Thank you for the jolt of inspiration and the call to action! Looking forward to more posts on WDS.
Best reward for my writing is when I hit the right frequency with my constant reader, and today, that was you, dear Kay. So glad to hear that you are in the same place and now know the significance of taking action on the bouts of inspiration – and you will. I just know it!
You so rightly pointed out that while it feels wonderful to be filled with inspiration, it’s even better if it motivates you to actually *act* on your dreams. Your 8 tips are perfect things to keep in mind.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Farnoosh!
Hi dear Kim, thanks for stopping by. Wonderful that this resonated with you – it’s a common challenge for everyone and I plan to work on those tips myself too. You are most welcome. Come back anytime, and here’s to getting some results from our inspiration. Right?
I’d love to go to a summit or something of the sort one day. They seem like really great experiences.
Of the eight tips, I think numbers two and six are the most important. If you have the self-discipline to develop daily habits, all the other tips fall into place one way or another.
Great post!
Hi Madeline, you should totally attend this summit in 2013 or another one. I am going to Blogworld again in January. Glad you see the importance of self-discipline too. It’s all about striking the right balance. Glad you enjoyed the post and come back anytime!
I am making WDS 2013 a priority. It’s my hometown so it’s a great way to catch up on family as well. I am really inspired to take action and implement my ideas this year.
It’s a fantastic place, that Portland of yours (and mine now
), Janet. And it would be simply lovely to see you in person and feel your energy in real life. See you in 2013 then!
Love your list! Number 2 and 6 are the hot ones and I would add a number 9…. No Fluff!
Sometimes trying to perfect something, make it ‘pretty’ or add a bunch of ‘fluff’ to develop a longer piece – just isn’t what will change the world or help someone get the tools they need to do their thing. So, my new favorite is do it now, no fluff.
Hi Roxanne, I love #9. No fluff pretty please!!! I hear you.
You are so right on! I love hearing the obvious because sometimes, I do forget about it. Thank you thank you, and let’s get to it now.
Excellent wrap up Farnoosh. It was lovely to briefly meet you at the after party. I look forward to more of your musings.
Hi dear Sam, likewise. Thanks ever so much for dropping by!
Hi Farnoosh; Another great post, I can feel your energy and passion in every word. It sounds like an awesome thing to be a part of. And I need to make my efforts more organized. I work on the site and the blog every day, but I don’t have an actual schedule. I sometimes work at something until two or three in the morning, and sometimes i may go a day or two without doing something to push forward. but the idea that what i do might inspire someone else puts a whole new light on things. i wish you luck with your goal. take care, max
Max, wonderful to have you here. Yes it was a phenomenal event. Don’t worry so much about schedules but think about what you want to accomplish every day and just go for it. And it’s OK to take breaks as long as they are necessary for you to rejuvenate and not distractions to just waste time. Ya know? Good luck on pushing forth – I know I need it too
!
Hi Farnoosh; you always say the kindest things. I will have to keep it in mind to decide whether or not my breaks are diversions or inspirations. good luck with your efforts too. take care, max
Wow… Sounds like I might have to figure out a way to make one of these things! And just from reading your post, I almost feel pumped up to go out and do something!
See you at the one in 2013, then!
Hello Grady, you are coming to 2013 then? That’s wonderful. I think the tickets go on sale in September. It’s a great investment and you won’t regret it.
I SO wish I had been there. Farnoosh, your 8 Ways to Take Inspired Action helped me write a great blogpost for my own readers. Thanks!
Next year, my dear, you can come next year, and I am so so happy the 8 ways helped you, Angela.
Thank you Farnoosh, great summary and to glad to have found your very cool site! For me the weekend was very inspiring and also provided a great opportunity to feel confident within a community of like-minders to share and talk about my own projects. And now…on to action! Hope to meet you next year.
Hi Heather, I am glad you are here too. Too bad we didn’t meet at WDS. It’s just so wonderful to know like-minded people exist in a community and that we are not alone. To next year then! Have a blast putting that inspiration to work!
Those 8 steps – they are the bricks that creates a pyramid! It’s so easy to get swept up in the excitement and inspiration. It’s so easy to think when you are surrounded by people and energy of the event like WDS (not that I’ve been to that particular thing, but I’m letting my imagination run free), and think you can conquer the world.
Then you come home, and poof!
Thanks for not only sharing about the incredible value of WDS, but the 8 steps that could help turn each of us into those remarkable people.
Love the analogy, Dolly. Everything you say is true – you are absolutely right. And the hard part is coming home and ….
! Too funny and so true. You are very dear for leaving such a thoughtful comment and I hope to see you at one of these events but more importantly, I hope we can milk that inspiration for all that it is worth
!
Farnoosh,
I love those 8 steps, especially saying no to what doesn’t serve your goal. That’s why I need to underline in red. Thank you!
Dear Sandra, how I wish you could’ve been there. Big hugs and thank you for dropping by to share your lovely energy!
Ah Farnoosh, this is such a wise post about the take-away from that inspiring experience. You summarize it eloquently with #8!
It was so lovely to meet you for a few brief moments at WDS, and again even more lovely to learn from you today. Turning inspiration into action is seriously the biggest challenge. The Summit, combined with some inner guidance while on retreat beforehand, has galvanized me into taking some huge steps toward change in my personal life. It’s shaking everything up – but it’s moving me on this path of enacting your 8 steps. Steps that I think I will print out and post as reminders!
Sarah, hello! It was lovely to meet you at WDS indeed….. I am so happy these resonated with you. I could have and perhaps should have said a lot more about my experience at WDS – last year it was 3 long posts ! – but I focused on the one thing that really matters right now on a Wednesday evening when we are home working away …. to do something with the inspiration! I am so happy this spoke to you too. Thanks Sarah!
{ 7 brilliant comments, Care to add another? }