What does the “Inspired” stand for in “Inspired Video Marketing”?

“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr

The day I woke up and was to meet with my resident agent to sign my business LLC, I had no idea what my business would be called.

For the past 2 or 3 years, I had been working part-time doing videos and video marketing, not really with a name, but calling it “Katie Curtis Video Marketing” for lack of anything else and because there was pressure on me to call what I did something.

Aaaaand I kind of hated that name. Scratch that, I hardcore hated the name. It still makes me go “ick” to type it out. Yes it got across what I did but it was just… bleh! I was excited to pick a new name, yet, since I was feeling like it was such a big decision, of course, could think of nothing just right. Until I snatched the final items I needed before heading out the door, wracking my brain for SOMETHING… and the word “inspired” came into my head. Could you say it was an “inspired” thought? *smirk*

“Inspired Video Marketing”

With this name, one would know both what I did and (hopefully) the experience one would have by working with me.

I didn’t quite understand the gravity of it then, it just FELT right. Thankfully, no one else had that LLC in Michigan, and no one else had that domain name, Instagram, Facebook or Youtube.

Now though, a year and a half later, it only resonates more and more with each day. I have come to realize that there are two ways to live our lives. “Inspired” and “Un-inspired”. Within each moment we are either one or the other. Sometimes flipping rapidly between the two, sometimes mired in “un-inspired” or so “in-spired” we are almost manic.

We feel good about ourselves, or we do not. We feel good about our work, or we do not. We feel love or we feel fear. We feel our way through or we overthink. We feel driven and filled with purpose, or we feel… empty. We are in the flow, or we feel blocked. We are focusing on the impact, or we are fretting over the numbers.

Numbers, I thought I was supposed to care about these! For so long! The whole square peg round hole deal. You know what? I DON’T care so much about the number of dollars, awards, views, likes, shares and too many of those “quantifiable” things. Oh, does it feel good to make money? Heck yes. Does it feel good when a video is getting shared? You betcha. BUT. If I were to only look at those things as a benchmark for how successful my life was? *raspberry noise* Thumbs down. Those facets are far too limiting, and when I find myself drowning in those numbers, I am soooo NOT-inspired, and many things suffer as a result. (You ever worry so much it negatively affected your performance? Double whammy. Yeah, like that.)

Why do we worry about money? We always make it work and we live such blessed lives no matter how much we have! Or views! Who cares that a video got 10 views? You know who was one of those 10 views? The one who desperately needed that video. That’s who.

Instead, I want every piece of work I do, every video I create, every action I take to be “inspired”. Because I want YOU to feel inspired through the interaction. I want to create videos for my clients in an inspired state, leading to videos that have that in-quanifiable qualia, so that THEIR clients feel this state of love and inspiration perhaps even to seek out the business and benefit from their offerings!  Even if not, they can still go about their day affecting others and in this way, we can multiply our positive effects on the world.

Inspiration doesn’t always need to lead to action. To inspire = is to literally breathe or blow into- a supernatural being breathing a truth or idea into someone. Wayne Dyer would call it being “in-spirit”. Perhaps to be inspired in one instance is the “jump out of your seat and make a phone call” kind of inspiration. But perhaps it’s instead to close your eyes, smile and breathe, all while appreciating where you are right now and letting go of the fear of, say, making that phone call.

Being inspired is first. Everything else is secondary. We do not need to set aside time for gratitude or for prayer. When we are in-spirit, it flows forth. We do not need to cultivate more generosity. We need to give ourselves over to the love of life, filling our lungs with the breath of the divine and follow the impulses that arise. Naturally, these impulses lead us down the paths of helping others, sharing, smiling, thanking, effortlessly doing, and choosing things that are “good” for us. Things that lead us closer to what we really value: the connections, the joy, the happiness, the love, the purpose and all the warmth inherent in being social Beings.

Keeping my brand “Inspired” consistently reminds me to exhale the fears that plague me and instead inhale the awesome of life to go forth and love, laugh and make cool stuff.

That’s why my business is called “Inspired Video Marketing.”

Stay inspired, my friends. I want to see what you come up with.

Katie