the importance of a muse

Summary

do you have a muse. in Greek mythology the muses were the goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. they sang and danced for the gods on Mount Olympus. by definition a muse is a source of inspiration. so the question is whether you have one, and whether you’re protecting it.

1. mine is physical training. it’s been the muse for a long time. every business I’ve built has touched fitness, and when I’m in a training program I’m motivated, I want to talk about it, I want to write about it, I want to create.

2. training is also the keystone habit. when I’m in a real program, the meal prep gets done, the alcohol gets dropped, even the kitchen gets cleaner. one big habit cascades into a dozen small ones I’d normally let slide. that’s why I’m almost always chasing some training goal even if it’s a small one.

3. I learned this the hard way. for about a year and a half I had a bad lower back injury. I still exercised, five or six days a week. I refused to use the injury as an excuse to do nothing. but I wasn’t training, I was just moving. and during that window I was the least inspired I’ve ever been as an entrepreneur. I didn’t want to make new things. didn’t want to invent. I checked boxes and pressed buttons because I knew the playbook by heart, but the gusto was gone.

4. the realization hit when training came back. so did the inspiration. so did the creative ideas. that’s a muse. mine happens to be training. yours might be a person, a spouse who lights you up, a hobby, a craft, a place. it doesn’t matter what it is. it matters whether you have it.

5. and it matters whether you’re suffocating it. don’t take all the joy out of life chasing growth and money and success. find what your muse is, foster it, and protect it. it will pay you back in everything else. try harder.

Transcript

the muses of mount olympus

The most impactful business is the business that genuinely improves another human, a better human business. And to grow a business like this, you have to continually improve yourself. This podcast is a documentation of that thesis, scaling businesses and also personal growth. My goal is for you to shortcut this journey.

So if you’re ready to try hard, subscribe. If you like what you’re hearing, please share and enjoy. Welcome to the Better Human Business Podcast. I’m Jerred Moon, and my question for you today is, do you have a muse? So muse, they were the goddesses of literature and science and the arts in Greek mythology.

They would entertain the gods on Mount Olympus with their singing, dancing, music, poetry and arts. And by definition, a muse is a source of inspiration. So my question is, do you have a muse? Do you have a source of inspiration? And if you do, are you making sure that you are facilitating everything in your life to make sure that the muse in your life continues to pay dividends?

So for me, my muse specifically is physical training. And it’s been this way for a long time. So when I started an online business, everything for me has been in the fitness industry, predominantly. And so when I would work out or I would train or I would try a new training program, a new training methodology, I would like nerd out on this stuff and I was just so passionate about it and I still am.

physical training as my muse

So when I’m super involved in those things, it’s very easy for me to create content, to talk about it, to do a podcast every week for years on end. It gets me motivated. But training is also a muse for me in life. When I feel like I’m making good progress in a training program, I want to do the meal prep.

I want to make sure that the things that I am eating are also pushing me forward. It becomes a keystone habit is another thing, another way to look at it. It’s like the one big habit that just cascades down to everything else. I want the meal prep to be right. I’m going to avoid drinking alcohol because that’s just going to degrade my performance.

I’m going to be more on point with doing everything, even little things like I’ll probably clean the kitchen more often and do my laundry and be on top of all those things more than I normally would if I’m not pursuing a physical training program. That’s basically why I’m always doing a physical training program.

And that’s why I’m training. I’m always trying to go after something because that actually motivates me. What does not motivate me is what has happened to me over the last, let’s say, year and a half when I was, I’m no longer injured, but I was injured. I had a really bad lower back injury that took me forever to recover from.

the keystone habit

And I still exercised. I wasn’t training. I still exercised, honestly, five or six days a week. I didn’t let an injury become an excuse to not do something. But over the last year and a half, I would say that year and a half kind of ended towards the end of last year. So this year, 2023 has been great.

But that was probably the least inspired I’ve ever been as an entrepreneur. I didn’t want to create new things. I didn’t want to do new things. I was very, it was just such a blah state for me. And that’s what made me realize how important this muse is in my life. I need to be training for something.

It doesn’t always have to be the hardest thing in the world or the craziest race, but I need to be training and doing something, even if it’s just a personal goal. I have to be chasing it because it’s the keystone habit that makes everything else in my life work. And it also makes me more creative.

It makes me, it gives me better ideas. As an entrepreneur, it gives me more content to create more things to talk about. And that’s my muse. And I’m telling you all this just so you can see or ask yourself, okay, I have a better understanding of what he’s talking about is a muse. Do you have that in your life?

a year and a half of uninspired work

Like it could be a literal person like it was in Greek mythology. Like maybe your spouse is your actual muse talking to them, having conversations with them gets you inspired and, and you know, helps you bring more creative energy. Maybe it is an actual person. Maybe it’s an activity. Maybe you have a hobby or something like something that just fires you up and it makes you more excited about life.

And when you have that muse in place, everything else is better. We’re better entrepreneurs. We are more creative. We are thinking through solutions better because we’re in a better state. Do you have that in your life? If you do, you need to foster that. And I honestly didn’t realize this until I was injured to where I couldn’t train how I want.

And all I did was go through the motions. Like I said, I’ve never been less inspired. I still did everything. Luckily I had all the good habits. I knew how to continue to press forward as an entrepreneur. I still knew what boxes to check and what buttons to press. Just because I’ve been an entrepreneur for so long, I still did all of those things, but there was no inspiration behind it.

There was no gusto. There was nothing magical. I didn’t want to create, I didn’t want to be creative in new solutions for the company or even in the creation of content. That realization was huge for me. And so now I will always be training for something, even if it’s just a personal goal, something easy.

don’t suffocate the muse

I will always be training for something and working out and training as much as I can because for me, that’s my muse and it gets me going. It’s necessary for me to be the best version I can as a business owner, but probably also as a father and as a husband. So I will always foster that. So I’ll leave you with that today.

Think about what your muse is. Do you have a muse? And if you do, are you suffocating that muse because of the entrepreneurial side of you or the I’ve gotten too busy side? Don’t take all the joy out of life pursuing success, pursuing more money, pursuing growth. Sometimes you have to have these other things in your life and they will facilitate it in their own way.

So find out what your muse is and foster that and make sure that it’s a major part of what you’re doing. Try harder.