This morning I went for a run right outside my hotel on this super wide sidewalk on the edge of this sweet little country called the Dominican Republic. It was a beautifully hot run watching the waves crash against the rocky shore. As I ran I was listening to a play list that made me think about the songwriters who really inspire me. These are my favorite kind of running days.

These songwriters don’t necessarily cause me to want to go write songs, but they inspire me to dream up ideas and to walk them out. They are also writing songs that feel like the sound track to my life.

Want to try something different? This can work in the most simple of ways. Throw a good John Williams sound track on your ipod and walk around a street festival and watch people. It changes the whole experience and can make an environment come alive!

When I get inspired amazing things happen for me. I create ideas, I re-think ideas and I implement ideas. For the longest time my creative artist side sat within playing music, but now that creative side sits within creativity itself. Creativity isn’t always about music for me but it can be the birthing of an idea that takes me to a whole other place.

So… who inspires you? A songwriter? An author? An actor? A movie? Is it a place like the beach, the ocean or the mountains?

The songwriters who inspire me…

James Taylor, John Williams, Sting, Bono/The Edge, Chris Martin, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Hornsby, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jacob Dylan, John Hiatt, McCartney/Lennon, The Rolling Stones…The list really could go on…

I’m always having conversations with people about having a job that you enjoy. When I tell people about my job, they always look at me and go…You have such a fun job. True…I do. I love my job. If you were to spend 5 minutes with me you would see that I love my job. Oh sure…there are struggles that come with this job, and as with any place you work, there are going to be issues and situations you have to work through. BUT…I do love my job and it shows.

Loving my job though isn’t quite the big picture for me. It’s just a small part of the plan. What’s the plan? Pretty simple. Enjoy life as it comes. Deal with the tough times and be thankful for the what’s been given to me. Savor life’s sweet moments…and make a good living.

My job means a lot to me. I see the good the organization does and lives that are changed through it. I love showing people what this is all about, but what surrounds me and my job plays a big part of how this all works. It’s about finding a balanced life between work, family and play. Now I’m not married but I wanted to throw that in for all you married folk.

I have several activities in my life I do outside of my job, like training for triathlons and blogging. All of these things I do are connected to each other in some way. As if one leads to the next.

The part I love most about all of this is being able to share it with others. Because even though my job is to work and influence entertainers to speak on our behalf, who I am at the core is an influencer. I’m not just an artist relations guy, I’m not just a guy training for triathlons, I’m not just a blogger or teacher. I’m an influencer.

If I’m not having fun with what I’m doing, I’m not going to do it. My job doesn’t define me, but it does help me to bring others into another world outside of themselves. Triathlons don’t define me, but people see the change in my life and they want that. Blogging doesn’t define me, but people around me see the value in it personally and professionally.

If you love something enough and believe in something enough, eventually others will see it and will want to have the same experience you are having.

So…if you are in a place where you are unhappy with your job or unhappy with where your life is in general, then YOU can do something about it. Stop waiting for the right moment and start your change now. Start looking for a way to make a living with what you are passionate about. Do something for yourself that you know WILL make you happy and get you into a healthy place. Start small and enjoy the little victories as you go. If you have a good paying job but you’re unhappy with it, don’t just up and quit. But take time to find something else and transition yourself wisely into that new job.

Keith Richard’s of the Rolling Stones was once asked about what he thought about retirement. He said “Why should I retire from something I love to do?”

Life is precious and we have been given the ability, knowledge and will to enjoy it.

Take a moment and check yourself. Are you doing what you love? Do you love what you do?