I never knew there is a difference between the words "Inspiration" and "Motivation" until the day I attended Dr John Demartini's talk.
Dr John Demartini, one of the illuminaries featured in the runaway success, The Secret Movie, was recently in Singapore to give a talk and conduct a workshop. Dorothea from the event organiser, Global1Events, had kindly invited us for the interesting and enlightening talk. It was full-house with about a thousand attendees in the hall. Such was the potential of the “market” for metaphysics, I thought. Or perhaps many people just wanted to manifest more money and materiality.
Among the many things Demartini mentioned, what left the deepest impression on me was how he explained he was often misunderstood to be a motivational speaker when he is really an inspirational speaker, teacher and philosopher.
The difference which Demartini pointed out is that the motivator imposes his values on you while the inspirer helps you to find your own values.
At first thought, this may sound like another guru trying to play with the semantics of words. The other day, I stumbled upon an Youtube video of Eckhart Tolle and someone cynical left a comment:
I think he's making this up as he goes along. “Meditation is something you do”. So provocative... Let me try. "Water is something you drink." Yeah I got it. He goes again. "A lie is something you believe."
This column is not about Eckhart Tolle and the above comment may not do him justice. I also do enjoy his book Power of the Now and believe he is a man of substance and doing a lot of good.
Each one of us is an individual with our own unique set of values.
What I am trying to draw attention to is that when someone gives a teaching, he has to have substance and provoke thinking. I think it is not enough to just repeat or paraphrase what others say. Teachers have to challenge the audience's comfort zone and make them walk out with more questions when they leave. That is real value.
Back to our man Demartini, a key teaching he brought out that evening is that success is relative to your own set of values. Each one of us is an individual with our own unique set of values.
In an example Demartini used, there was once a man in his audience who asked how to become successful as he was such a failure in his business. And Demartini got him to walk through a series of questions:
“How do I become successful?” the man asked.
“Where is your success?” Demartini replied.
The man said “I don’t have any.”
“Where is your success?” Demartini repeated.
“I am not.”
“Where is your success?” Dematini asked yet again.
And the man says “Look, you don’t understand me. I am telling you I am not successful.”
Demartini then explained “You are not listening to me, I am asking you where you are already successful at.” Then he continued “Do you have a good family?”
“Yes, I do have a loving wife and we are close with our kids.”
This went on until the man realised that he was already a successful man at home, including an excellent relationship with his mother-in-law who felt like a mom to him. The home is where he has put his values on.
