Without knowing it, a friend of mine just texted me the magic words. “You may have inspired me to start writing a blog again.” Now, the blogging part of that is great. I have the utmost respect for anyone who puts their thoughts and voice into the world, but it’s the “You may have inspired me…” part that lights a little candle for me.

Within minutes of the text, I find myself driving down the road—on a sunny day with a warm chocolate chip cookie in my belly—reflecting on what she said. In fact, it cascades into a much larger bloom of ideas. It’s got me thinking about my role and my goals in life.

As a teacher, what more could I ask then inspiring a student? It doesn’t matter if it’s inspiring them to want to do better in school, to be a better person, or inspiring them with some content we’ve covered. Whether they remember me or lessons I taught in class—life or academic—I can wish for no better than guiding them towards inspiration.

I’ve thought about becoming a mental health counselor because few things speak to me more than the idea of inspiring people to find ways to better themselves or cope with their challenges. If my thoughts, my questions, my experiences can serve as fuel for someone else’s well-being, how could I want more?

And I’m an author with a small blog and a few books in the world. If those books or that blog can inspire anyone toward anything, then my work here is done.

As a member of the human race in general, I can think of no better success than being an inspiration. If my friends, family, or colleagues take something I’ve said or done and use it in some thought or action of their own, I have done some good. I’ve been a success. It doesn’t matter if it was a creative pursuit, an intellectual one, a small act of kindness, or a simply a thought someone hadn’t explored before, if I move the needle for anyone I have achieved a goal I didn’t realize I had.

I have no illusions I will leave a great legacy when my time comes. I don’t have children or a huge social media following. What I have is who I am. And it’s only now I realize how much of the person I want to be and the work I want to do revolves around inspiration.

When I wrote my National Novel Writing Month’s project last November, I didn’t realize how much of a theme inspiration was going to be. I haven’t discussed it much up to this point—partly because it’s a seriously rough draft, and I’m not sure that it will see the light of day—but it’s all about the “muse.” It’s about inspiration and where it comes from, where it might go when it’s not there, and where it can be found. I spent much of that month exploring the topic, and here I am 4 months later, that manuscript having sat dormant since November 30th, back on the topic.

And it’s all because a friend who didn’t know the can of worms she was opening uttered those magnificent magic words. (Be careful what you say to an author. You might just end up in a book!)

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