What is it that truly inspires you? When has something special truly moved, driven or motivated you?

It’s hard to put your finger on. Sometimes it`s more of a feeling than a specific action or purpose, but you can always tell when it’s happened.

That feeling of overwhelming positivity you get when you’ve witnessed something that’s so selfless and impactful that you can’t help but feel uplifted by it.

Perhaps it’s something as simple as seeing an elderly man being helped up off the street, or perhaps it’s something big, like a movement to help those less fortunate.

We’ve all seen these acts of kindness on the news, on our Facebook feed, and even while walking down the street and so I can’t help but wonder what drives these incredible people to give back in such amazing ways.

Misconceptions of my heroes

I’ve always imagined truly amazing and inspirational people to be these giant, strong willed, freedom fighters. Basically the kind of people you would see captaining a boat for Green Peace or solemnly standing in front of an oil pipeline construction crew.

After all, anyone who would volunteer to put others in front of themselves on a regular basis would have to be a fairly colossal individual.

Interestingly enough though, after spending the last two weeks doing my charity challenge, I’ve found this not to be the case at all.

In fact, as I’ve gotten to know some of my community’s more inspirational individuals, I’ve discovered that  they’re just normal people like you and me.

The only difference, they got involved.

Rather than being satisfied with the status quo or feeling content leaving it up to others to make a difference, these people have chosen to take action with their lives.

So what is it that has led these select individuals to want to drive change and in turn inspire so many?

Simple, they followed their passion.

Passion drives purpose

Inspiring people are some of the most passionate people in the world. They know exactly what they stand for and they’re committed to supporting and even defending their beliefs.

This passion drives them to get involved and create change in the world. They see problems not as roadblocks but as challenges that simply require a unique solution.

Passion has led to amazing projects such as:

• the Adaptive Adventures project by CRIS (Community Recreational Initiatives Society) that takes disabled people on adventure tours they would never have been able to attend on their own.
• the Good Samaritans Society’s Music and Memories project that breathes new life into people with Alzheimer’s or dementia by connecting them to the music of their past.

These innovative projects, and many others like them, have all been developed, funded and implemented with the passion of regular people that were merely looking to make a difference.

The leap from inspired to inspiring

Do you have a purpose and passion that’s driving your life? Are you dedicated to making a difference with your time?

Most of us, I’m sure, all feel a deep down desire to do good, but maybe it`s just this lack of purposeful passion that holds us back.

So how do you discover passion? How do you make the leap from viewing inspiration to feeling the need to create it?

Well, ask inspiring people and they will tell you that they were once just like you. They sat on the sidelines and watched as others inspired them.

Then one day, they got up the courage to volunteer with a project that they had been inspired by. One day turned into a week, which turned into a month and before they knew it, they were driving inspiring projects of their own.

The secret to making a leap from viewer to doer isn’t a difficult one, it just takes enough courage to step up for one day.

So I urge you to ask yourself what truly inspires you, who knows, maybe you’ll also discover a passion worth pursuing.