Inspiration can be defined as the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. It is not only in the arts but in the professional working world that inspiration is an essential ingredient of success. See this Harvard Business Review article which says Inspiration awakens us to new possibilities by allowing us to transcend our ordinary experiences and limitations. Inspiration propels a person from apathy to possibility, and transforms the way we perceive our own capabilities. Inspiration may sometimes be overlooked because of its elusive nature. Its history of being treated as supernatural or divine hasn’t helped the situation. But as recent research shows, inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated, and it has a major effect on important life outcomes.
However, this has not been an inspiring year by any standards. You probably have to go back to the Second World War for parallels in terms of the challenges to health and the resulting restrictions on the freedom of individuals – for good reason. Many of us have as a result been struggling with profound professional and personal issues. In my case my professional life has adjusted reasonably well with Teams and Zoom calls becoming a normal part of our vocabulary. I have however been struggling with various personal family issues and hence have not been able to write this blog as much as normal.
I have also been struggling to find inspiration generally as lock down followed lock down. However, I heard a story this week on the TV news that I thought demonstrated the creativity, determination and sheer ingenuity of human beings in a difficult if not impossible situation. A story about overcoming the odds and helping change the tide of history. I thought I would share this as a part of a combined Christmas and New Year blog.
In 1934 Britain reluctantly, and encouraged by a campaign from an out of office Winston Churchill, was rearming, albeit on with a very limited budget. As a part of this exercise they were designing the Spitfire aircraft which was destined to have such a critical part to play in the war to come. A captain in the War Office called Fred Hill was in charge of the design of the guns to be fitted to the new Spitfires and the Hurricanes. He was told by pilots that in combat whilst manoeuvring at high speed they only had 2 seconds for a burst of fire on an enemy aircraft.
Captain Hill then embarked on a campaign to persuade the War Office that the new planes should therefore have 8 machine guns not 4 installed, with 4 on each wing. This was a huge uphill struggle because his superiors were used to World War 1 planes having just 2 guns – 4 would be revolutionary enough and 8 incredulous. In order to demonstrate on his tight budget that this would work Captain Hill worked all sorts of odd hours - and enlisted the help of his 13 year old daughter Hazel.
On their kitchen table at home in London she worked on the complex mathematics to demonstrate that 8 light weight machine guns could indeed be fitted to the Spitfires without impacting their incredible manoeuvrability. With her father she even used an old and complex adding machine to help do the necessary calculations and equations. Between then working late at night and outside normal working time they were able to demonstrate, ultimately on a simple graph, that eight guns was not only feasible but essential. As a result the reluctant War Office was persuaded, and they were fitted to the production models of both Spitfires and Hurricanes.
The rest as they say is history with these extraordinary planes overcoming odds of 3 planes to 1 and turning the tide of the war by winning the Battle of Britain in the skies over the south of the country. Only relatively recently was Hazell’s huge contribution at such a young age recognised. At the time Captain Hill’s superior just wrote a memo thanking him for his work. Read the full story at this BBC news link.
At any time this extraordinary story of unsung heroes overcoming extensive obstacles would be motivating, but in the current times I found it provides hope and gives inspiration. Also it illustrates how young minds are our hope for the future – and they are often sharper than those of us with more miles on the clock.
It is this sort of inspiration and endeavour that will enable us in the end to triumph over the adversities that 2021 will inevitably bring. As Winston Churchill, who became a great war leader and was ultimately ever an optimist despite at times experiencing very trying personal and political issues, once said Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
I wish you all seasons greetings and a successful and inspirational new year for 2021.
However, this has not been an inspiring year by any standards. You probably have to go back to the Second World War for parallels in terms of the challenges to health and the resulting restrictions on the freedom of individuals – for good reason. Many of us have as a result been struggling with profound professional and personal issues. In my case my professional life has adjusted reasonably well with Teams and Zoom calls becoming a normal part of our vocabulary. I have however been struggling with various personal family issues and hence have not been able to write this blog as much as normal.
I have also been struggling to find inspiration generally as lock down followed lock down. However, I heard a story this week on the TV news that I thought demonstrated the creativity, determination and sheer ingenuity of human beings in a difficult if not impossible situation. A story about overcoming the odds and helping change the tide of history. I thought I would share this as a part of a combined Christmas and New Year blog.
In 1934 Britain reluctantly, and encouraged by a campaign from an out of office Winston Churchill, was rearming, albeit on with a very limited budget. As a part of this exercise they were designing the Spitfire aircraft which was destined to have such a critical part to play in the war to come. A captain in the War Office called Fred Hill was in charge of the design of the guns to be fitted to the new Spitfires and the Hurricanes. He was told by pilots that in combat whilst manoeuvring at high speed they only had 2 seconds for a burst of fire on an enemy aircraft.
Captain Hill then embarked on a campaign to persuade the War Office that the new planes should therefore have 8 machine guns not 4 installed, with 4 on each wing. This was a huge uphill struggle because his superiors were used to World War 1 planes having just 2 guns – 4 would be revolutionary enough and 8 incredulous. In order to demonstrate on his tight budget that this would work Captain Hill worked all sorts of odd hours - and enlisted the help of his 13 year old daughter Hazel.
On their kitchen table at home in London she worked on the complex mathematics to demonstrate that 8 light weight machine guns could indeed be fitted to the Spitfires without impacting their incredible manoeuvrability. With her father she even used an old and complex adding machine to help do the necessary calculations and equations. Between then working late at night and outside normal working time they were able to demonstrate, ultimately on a simple graph, that eight guns was not only feasible but essential. As a result the reluctant War Office was persuaded, and they were fitted to the production models of both Spitfires and Hurricanes.
The rest as they say is history with these extraordinary planes overcoming odds of 3 planes to 1 and turning the tide of the war by winning the Battle of Britain in the skies over the south of the country. Only relatively recently was Hazell’s huge contribution at such a young age recognised. At the time Captain Hill’s superior just wrote a memo thanking him for his work. Read the full story at this BBC news link.
At any time this extraordinary story of unsung heroes overcoming extensive obstacles would be motivating, but in the current times I found it provides hope and gives inspiration. Also it illustrates how young minds are our hope for the future – and they are often sharper than those of us with more miles on the clock.
It is this sort of inspiration and endeavour that will enable us in the end to triumph over the adversities that 2021 will inevitably bring. As Winston Churchill, who became a great war leader and was ultimately ever an optimist despite at times experiencing very trying personal and political issues, once said Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
I wish you all seasons greetings and a successful and inspirational new year for 2021.
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