Bowie
Inspiration can come from many different sources. Depending on our interests and affinities, we might look to sports personalities, musicians, business executives, politicians, artists or some other professional(s) in some other field(s) altogether.
We may even look to different people at different stages of our lives - whoever made an impact (and I define that broadly) at that specific point in time, for whatever specific reason. I’ve certainly had my share - there’s been no shortage of influences across all of the realms of human interest that I am and have been interested in.
Some influences, if we’re lucky, endure. They remain a constant across our lives, able to inspire across many different realms. And for me, no one - not a single person - has been as inspirational as David Bowie. I’ve written about him before, about what a profound influence his work has been on me personally.
Across so many domains, from the purely commercial to the artistic, from his philosophy on life to his demonstrated commitment to reinvention and innovation, he’s led the way, more so than any other artist that I can think of, and across many more decades than anyone else. Some of his more notable quotes:
“If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area.”
“The truth is, there is no journey. We are arriving and departing at the same time.”
And one that has become more relevant as I’ve grown older:
“As you get older, the questions come down to 2 or 3: How long? And what do I do with the time I’ve got left?”
So, when I’m looking for a new idea, or considering a change of path, I’ll read what he’s said about his work and about life in general. It never fails to move me, push me in some way. A true genius who was never willing to compromise himself and his work.
It may sound like a grandiose statement, but I feel privileged to have existed in the same era as someone like him.
There really weren’t (and still aren’t) many, quite as brilliant.
