One of the things every human being needs more than cash and material possessions is inspiration for it has a key role bringing many things we need in life – money, wealth, happiness, prosperity, education, medical care, good shelter and so on.

Inspiration empowers us to rise up and overcome vices that destroy life and to develop positive habits that improve our life. When someone is inspired, they are able to wake up in the morning and say: "I have stopped boozing; I will be saving the money and investing it... I will no longer oversleep; I will instead be waking up at 5:30am... From today on, I will not fear anybody as long as I need them on my journey to success.... I will no longer fear to take risks...” and so on. Inspiration helps us make such crucial decisions that affect our future.

Through experience and research I have come to discover that almost everything starts from inspiration. ‘Inspiration’ comes from two words – ‘In’ and ‘Spirit’. Someone who is inspired is ‘in spirit’. It means the person is in touch with his/her spirit, which is the higher and most important part of a human being. In fact the spirit is the actual human being. The spirit can make you believe something even when your mind is giving you reasons to the contrary. The spirit is divine; it’s connects us to our creator, who is the source of faith as well as all good ideas.

When you are inspired you can insist on doing something and succeed at it even when everyone is warning you that it won’t work. Inspiration makes you see opportunities in challenges. It makes you see possibilities where others see impossibilities. It makes you become a victor where others are becoming victims. Inspiration is energy. It increases your productivity. When I am inspired I could do in one day what I wouldn’t have accomplished in a week that I am not inspired.

You could be asking: How do I get and keep myself inspired? Well, every human being has ways in which they get inspired and keep inspired. Some people are inspired by prayer, others nature, some silence, others challenges, children, and so on. For me, it’s mainly God, then what I read, what I watch and what I listen to. I keep myself inspired by reading inspirational literature such as biographical works of successful people and watching mind-sharpening series such as ‘24’. I also always ensure I keep positive company around and also reflect on my past successes however small they may seem.

I won’t forget to add that music has also been a great source of inspiration for me. Whenever I am feeling low, listening to and singing along inspirational music, especially songs with a gospel orientation, does wonders for me. Inspirational music has an element of touching deep inside our souls where nothing else can touch. It releases us from stress, worry and fear, and at the same time refills us with hope and courage to move on. For those feeling down, this weekend, I recommend the song Bless the Lord, Oh my Soul by Matt Redman.

Bake is the MD, World of Inspiration, & Founder of the Authors’ Forum in Uganda