Inspiration seems like a magical endowment, bestowed upon special people at mysterious times. We sit in awe of geniuses, inventors, and artists; the truly "inspired."

Sometimes inspiration condescends to impart it's graces to average folk—folk like us. Oh, if we could somehow control or bottle it. 

Would it shatter anyone's reality if we stated that inspiration can actually be defined by a simple equation?

Allow us to posit this:

[ Where e = exposure, a = association, and i=inpiration]

Let's see how this holds up in a couple of examples:

1. An accountant (Walter Diemer) works for a chewing gum company (Fleer), but accidentally makes a discovery while playing around with new chewing gum recipes (which clearly the accountant has no business doing). One random concoction was less sticky, and stretchier than traditional chewing gum. It also had bubbles in it. His exposure to chewing gum materials, and his association with a chewing gum company allowed him to see possibilities others simply wouldn't. Bubble gum was born. Why is it pink? Well, the only food coloring in the factory was pink. Was it inspired? A stroke of genius? It all seems both logical, and circumstantial. That's very different than magical and elusive. One thing is certain, it was clear case of inspiration.
2. A young, mid-western boy (another Walt D.) liked to draw cartoons. As a high school dropout he began creating advertisements for newspapers, magazines, and films. His exposure to animation techniques and his background, or association with cartooning collided. Soon, a Hollywood film studio was born. After getting a raw deal from a distributor, Walt lost most of his staff and the rights to his cartoons. He was forced to come up with his own character, which was based on a mouse he once adopted as a pet. There's little doubt Disney was a genius, but does his path of inspiration fit the equation?

Maybe inspiration favors those named Walt D, as in the examples above. More likely, The Walt's seemed to be apt practitioners of:

1. Iconoclastic Initiatives
2. Relevant Resourcefulness

It's critical to inspiration that we regularly put ourselves in a position to see the world in new ways or experience new things. It's also critical that we learn to leverage what we have and know; being relevant and resourceful.

Defining and inviting the process of inspiration is one thing, while predicting or controlling it is most certainly another. However, if you plan according to this equation, inspiration just became a lot more accessible.