The Things That Inspire Us!

Recently I was sitting with my family in a Huddle House restaurant in Rainsville, Alabama. We were visiting a family friend, and decided to go out for a big breakfast. Everyone in the Huddle House was very friendly, and since my children are very cute and endearing, one of the 'regulars' up at the bar took notice of them. He caught my eye and asked if they could have a lollipop. I said yes, and, as he was leaving, he brought each of them a lollipop, and commented on the shirt I was wearing. It was a T-Shirt from Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois - which is WAY far away from Rainsville, Alabama.

Seems he had lived in Chicago several decades ago and missed the area, and asked about what was happening in Chicago. Fortunately, though I live in Texas, I had visited Chicago recently, so I was up on some of the latest changes. It was a pleasant enough experience, and he and his cane made their way slowly out to his vehicle.

I went back to finishing my breakfast with my family and friends and thought no more about it. But our new friend was not finished. Several minutes later he once again rounded the corner and said without preamble: "Is the Italian Village Restaurant still in existence? I love that place."

Now you should know that I LOVE the Italian Village. On Monroe around the corner from the Art Institute, the Italian Village has been around for a long time. My wife graduated high school in Chicago, and so we have visited many times over our nearly 20 years of marriage, and of all the wonderful meals I have had in Chi-town, I love the Italian Village the best.

So here is the older gentleman, who loves this restaurant SO much that he will do the hard work of walking back into the restaurant just to ask me about this restaurant he loves. Having not been in Chicago in over 20 years, he was still inspired by this wonderful restaurant.

This challenges me as a creator to go the extra mile in the effort to create something really magical. I don't want to just create an ordinary logo, design an average web site, or write some okay materials, I want to create something that will inspire someone to want more 20 years later!