The two artists I want to dedicate this post to are musicians Greg Laswell and Ryan Star.

I discovered Greg’s song Comes and Goes (in Waves) when I had just moved back to Switzerland, in 2008. Things weren’t easy, and his song comforted me like nothing else could. It was like a universal voice telling me: “You’ll be fine.”

Thank you Greg.

A few months later, in 2009, I discovered Ryan’s song Brand New Day through Lie To Me, a show on which Tim Roth had the leading part (most of you know how much I like him, what a pity the show’s been canceled). I think I’ll always remember the day when I was sitting in a park, smoking too many cigarettes and repeatedly listening to that song. There was something difficult I had to go through, and I needed to accept it. For some reason, “Brand New Day” gave me courage.

Two weeks ago, I discovered another of Ryan’s songs, Last Train Home (yes, I’m slow sometimes). Same thing, whenever I listen to it, I feel stronger. My situation’s very different, but it still gives me courage.

Thank you Ryan.

I hope you two get to read my posts so you know your music makes people happy and can even help them.

Then why am I writing this in an Inspired By You! post? Because, even if NaNoWriMo and Inspired By You! don’t seem to be connected, I noticed that a good challenge is something I might need right now. Obviously, it won’t help IBY! (and I might even have no time for it in November), but I’ll be pushing myself and, if I achieve the goal of writing 175 pages, I’ll be really motivated to accomplish more, and more difficult tasks.

What are your current challenges?

Social medias make it easier to reach anyone, but let’s be realistic, celebrities don’t always answer our messages. Where would they find the time to reply to everyone? Besides, we can’t be sure we’re really writing to the right person. But it would be silly not to try!

I don’t even know where to start, and social medias make it easier to contact all kinds of artists, businessmen, etc. I want to tell everybody’s story!

I need to shake things up.

I am therefore going to London next week-end. You see, walking the streets of my beloved London and sitting at my favorite cafés makes me creative.

Right now, I mostly feel like I’m about to climb a huge mountain, but I don’t have the courage to take the first step…

Ironically enough, while rereading the draft a few minutes ago, I realized that this post, although not very interesting, is a good enough first step! And my trip to London will represent the few following baby steps.

Then, when I come back from the UK with random (or maybe not so random) notes, I’ll start contacting inspiring people and ask them if they’d want to be interviewed.

All of a sudden, things get much clearer. It’s like writing “I don’t know what to write” over and over… At some point, the inspiration will come!

See you soon!

Because we’re not always moved by an artist, it’s important to aknowledge when it does happen and enjoy the magic of the moment as much as we can.

This is why I’d like to share Sally Mann‘s photography. Although her art is controversial, in my opinion, she has a rare way of capturing the beauty of humans, and her children in particular. Using a technique (I’ll let you read about it) that gives a kind of foggy effect to her images, she’s able to show the harshest aspects of life in a smooth way, almost as if she’d take you by the hand and say: “Look, it’s death. It’s terrible and scary, but that’s okay. Try to accept it, it’s part of who you are, and it’s your future.”

Her art can be seen at the musée de L’Elysée, in Lausanne, until the 6th of June.

Weither they inspire me, encourage me, believe in my project, give their feedback, lend me equipment, give some advice or simply don’t discourage me, they’re here, and I’m blessed.

Although it’s not always good to mix up your private and professional (is this project private or professional? I don’t know yet) life, when you start something from the scratch, the ones close to you matter. A lot.

If you really want to bake a cake but you don’t have flour, you can always knock on your neighbour’s door.
If you really want to record interviews, you can ask two of your friends (very generous friends) to lend you their camera, until you’ve saved up enough money to buy one.

You might not feel as comfortable as if you had your own piece of equipment, but when there’s a good solution out there for you, why not use it and postpone you project just because it should be perfect from the start?

Tomorrow, I’ll be working on Red Shirley, Lou Reed‘s first documentary. Mr Reed himself will be attending (if Eyjafjallajokull lets him fly). I really hope to meet the New York rockstar and interview him, but arriving like that with a camera bothers me… At least I’ll thank him for inspiring me with his music.

When you’re having a new idea but you’re not sure if it’s clear enough, talking about it is a great way to see how real it is, how ready it is to come out of your head.

It can be a bit scary to submit your idea to others. We’re all scared of people’s reaction, especially since we tend to share with friends and family first. But it’s the a good way to get started.

Once you start talking about what you want to do, people expect you to actually do it. It can’t go back inside your head… You’ve got to do it. Or try, at least.