Contributed by SBOC Member:
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
My wife Abbie and I just got back from a 25th anniversary trip to Spain, and something clicked for me. I wasn’t trying to “find inspiration” or load up on content ideas. But the experiences kept showing up with moments that grabbed me and reminded me why I do what I do.
Let me show you what I saw and how I found five fresh pieces of inspiration.
Photos courtesy of the ultra talented Abbie Miller at Stories Framed Photography.
The trip’s agenda was clear: Eat and drink our way through the country with very few plans. And we did…phew…hello treadmill. The best meal of the trip at a tiny place in San Sebastián called Bar Nestor. And when I say the best, I mean we waited in line for a half hour, were packed into the corner of the bar, and didn’t even see a menu. Why? Because they only do one thing. A massive grilled steak, tomato salad drowned in olive oil and salt, crusty bread, and cold beer. That’s it. People were lined down the block for it. No options, no trying to be everything to everyone. Just passion, music, pride, and food so good it made us laugh. And it reminded me, again, that doing fewer things with excellence beats doing everything halfway. Do less, better.
While in Barcelona, we were able to tour the Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s masterpiece. It’s the basilica that’s been under construction for over a century and still isn’t finished. The church is so massive and overwhelming it makes you feel like it was built by God himself. Gaudí placed small pieces of expression and meaning in every corner including the windows. The stained glass on the east side of the church is green and blue and on the west side it’s orange and red. As the sun moves, it mirrors the seasons and the phases of a human life. It’s intentional. Emotional. Honest. One side represents youth and spring. The other, age and autumn. Inside, everything tells a story. And on the back? The most raw, arresting sculpture of the crucifixion I’ve ever seen. It’s different from everything else in the space. Bold, even harsh. But it’s the perfect way to tell the story. The tour was an incredible reminder of what’s possible when you share your feelings and vision through your work.
One afternoon in Madrid we went to a bullfight. It was as if we stumbled into a time machine of Spanish tradition. The pageantry was stunning but what stood out to me was the matador. Everyone’s packed in tight, the trumpets sound, and here comes this guy in an ornate suit, standing alone in the sun, waiting for a bull to charge him. At the end, the crowd falls absolutely silent and he waits. The bull charges. Then he acts. He’s revered across the country as a rock star because he does something no one else is willing to do: He puts himself in the path of fear and moves forward anyway. That’s the work. That’s what makes someone unforgettable. In another blog I could list hundreds of examples where THE GREATS follow their passion and do what we all fear. Seeing the matador stare down a 1,200 pound bull was unbelievable.
The Picasso Museum surprised me. It didn’t focus on the hits. Instead, it walked us through his life. His obsessions. The years he spent studying, experimenting, creating versions of the same scene just to see what else he could pull from it. Toward the end, he became fascinated with Las Meninas by Velázquez and repainted it 58 times in different styles. Inspiration is great, but what really moved me was the obsession and the ways he transformed through the years. He used repetition to sharpen his voice and expose something new. He wasn’t chasing exact perfection. He was chasing depth – his voice. Don’t practice to do something the same way every time. Practice tapping into your inspiration and creativity so you may summon it when it’s needed.
Our last night in Madrid gave us a parting gift. Abbie and I were playing cards at a little cafe, drinking tinto de verano, soaking up the final hours. And our waiter was the highlight of the evening. Middle-aged guy, dancing, singing, telling jokes, absolutely electric. He wasn’t trying to earn a tip. That’s not really a thing in Spain. He just loved his job. You could feel it. His joy elevated the whole place. It was contagious. He reminded me that how we show up matters. Today, you’re going to do work and create your business’s future. Do it with joy, passion, and creativity. People notice.
The first draft of this newsletter was all about the benefits of being a business owner. You know, no boss, no time-off requests, the freedom to travel. And sure, that stuff matters. But what matters more is what this trip gave me in return.
You don’t need to go looking for inspiration. You just need to be awake when it finds you.
Pat spent two decades in broadcasting management and hosting. After leaving the radio industry, he spent time consulting small businesses and realized the support system for entrepreneurs was broken. Where could you find help for improving small businesses and building real connections with other like-minded people. In June of 2020, the Idea Collective Small Business Community was born.
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