As we begin another school year, I invite you to consider an interesting question: What is inspiration? Is inspiration a feeling? A belief that all things are possible? A sense of purpose?

You could make a case for any of the above, but after working with students, parents, and educators for a decade, I believe that there is only one true metric for inspiration: Action.

Have you ever wondered why the martial arts are so effective and popular?  Here are a few reasons...

• There's a clear structure that delineates progression from belt to belt.
   
• The end goal is also clear: Black belt.
   
• There's no separation between theory and action—students can only progress though actions that demonstrate their mastery (i.e. break a board). 
   
• There's an understanding that the journey from white to black belt is a transformative, empowering process, giving one skills that last a lifetime.

My thought is this:  Why can't we borrow the karate infrastructure to challenge students to develop internally and to progress from belt to belt by mastering inner capabilities? Certainly, our internal powers rival and even surpass any external punches, kicks, or forms we can master.

Let me share another tool that I've used to keep myself inspired. I call it an Inspiration Folder.

When I was graduating from high school, my English teacher wrote our class an inspiring letter that reviewed the lessons we had learned from our class discussions and readings. I liked the letter so much that I put it in a manila folder.

Later that year, a classmate I admired passed away in a rock-climbing accident. It felt right to add her memorial program to the folder, so I did.