Table of Contents
PART I: THE ANTI-MUSE
Chapter 1: The Forces that Drain our Inspiration
PART II: THE ANTIDOTE
Chapter 2: FEAR (relinquished)
Chapter 3: SETTLING & BOREDOM (rejected)
Chapter 4: INUNDATION (relieved)
Chapter 5: LOSS OF CONTROL (reverted)
Chapter 6: DWINDLING SELF-BELIEF (revitalized)
Chapter 7: DISCONNECTEDNESS (reversed)
Chapter 8: DEARTH OF CREATING (reconstituted)
Chapter 9: INSIGNIFICANCE (reformulated)
Chapter 10: LACK OF EVOCATION (rediscovered)
Chapter 11: The Bonfire
Chapter Summaries
PART ONE: THE ANTI-MUSE
Chapter 1: The Forces that Drain our Inspiration
The opening chapter discusses what inspiration is and what its defining characteristics are. It then explains that when we’re feeling uninspired, we shouldn’t ask ourselves “What inspires me?” and then simply try to do more of that (there are real issues with that approach). Instead, it reveals that “How did I lose my inspiration in the first place?” is the question to ask. An overview of each of the 9 forces that suck the inspiration from our work life (the 9 Anti-Muses) is then provided, as is a summary of each of the antidotes (or methods for countering) that will be provided in the book.
PART TWO: THE ANTIDOTE
Chapter 2: FEAR (relinquished)
Fear is one of the most punishing Anti-Muses for the extent to which it assaults our sense of inspiration. This chapter explains how fear does its dirty work and then explains how you can fight back to overcome your fear of failure, fear of change, and fear of criticism.
Chapter 3: SETTLING & BOREDOM (rejected)
The Anti-Muse of Settling and Boredom has been lazily humming her siren song in your ear for too long now, more than happy to let you settle and become bored in your job. This chapter teaches you how to commit to breaking the stalemate and how to embolden yourself to take more risks, how to start learning and growing again, and how to make your own opportunities.
Chapter 4: INUNDATION (relieved)
We can become overwhelmed for many reasons which can cause us to feel a lack of progress, mastery, or preparedness – all inspiration-sapping forces. This chapter fights back against the Anti-Muse of Inundation to teach how to make choices and set priorities, how to stop procrastinating and get s#@! done, how to stop being a perfectionist, how to master the art of pushback, and how to ask for help and look good doing it.
Chapter 5: LOSS OF CONTROL (reverted)
When the Loss of Control Anti-Muse is on the scene, we can fall into patterns of checking out, pleasing versus pushing back, or becoming far too numbingly reactive, to name a few of the effects. This chapter illuminates how you give away your power, how you can take back a sense of power, and how you emit power.
Chapter 6: DWINDLING SELF-BELIEF (revitalized)
The Anti-Muse of Dwindling Self-Belief does her dastardly work and drains our inspiration in the form of low self-confidence, a lack of perseverance, a tendency to withdraw from the moment (not being fully and energetically present), and a sense of not being well-respected. This chapter says enough is enough and teaches you how to elevate your self-confidence, how to persevere in the face of challenges, how to be mindfully present, and how to earn respect.
Chapter 7: DISCONNECTEDNESS (reversed)
Becoming disconnected from our co-workers is one of the most surefire ways to lose a sense of inspiration felt at work. This chapter shows you how to reconnect with coworkers and reenergize interactions by learning how to go beyond mere collaboration to camaraderie. It also teaches you how to do so while still cultivating the healthy debate necessary for producing inspiring ideas.
Chapter 8: DEARTH OF CREATING (reconstituted)
When we stray or are blocked from making unique, creative contributions, inspiration tends to exit stage left. This chapter shares a powerful, detailed method for unleashing your creativity once again, thus preventing this Anti-Muse from stealing the paints and brushes we use to create.
Chapter 9: INSIGNIFICANCE (reformulated)
We’re facing an unprecedented surge in feelings of insignificance, and it’s whittling away at our sense of inspiration at an astonishing rate. This chapter teaches how to make the Anti-Muse of Insignificance insignificant. The reader learns prompts and/or mantras for leaving your mark—time-tested manners through which you can have an impact, and which are certain to invite inspiration back in.
Chapter 10: LACK OF EVOCATION (rediscovered)
This chapter explains the conditions that can externally evoke inspiration, and the behaviors you can engage in to be more likely to evoke inspiration from an outside force. It also discusses how to convert an inspiration-draining boss into an inspiration-evoking one.
Chapter 11: The Bonfire
This summary chapter provides a table that summarizes each of the 9 Anti-Muses that drain our inspiration, each of the antidotes (methods for countering), and the antibodies built up in so doing (the net effect of putting those methods/antidotes into practice).
