Sitting on a shelf to the right of my computer is a small plaque with these words written on it: "I finally got it all together, but I forgot where I put it." Such is life when one moves. We have it all together, we just don't know where it is.
One thing I never lose track of, the one thing that lives within my soul and provides my lifeblood -- every day, no matter where I am or what I am doing -- is my muse.
The idea of a muse is associated with writers, but I suspect that many professionals have a muse lurking in their soul. Lurking seems an appropriate description. My muse not only inspires me to greater achievements, but also compels me to work despite weariness, despite disappointment, and despite the predictions of naysayers who would see me fail. Everything I write, be it personal or professional, comes from silent conversations held with my muse.
His picture sits on a bookcase directly in front of me; a shadowy presence with dark eyes that penetrate the vastness between his dimension and mine. Those eyes, as alive as the sun shining in my window, glare out from beneath knotted eyebrows. In the picture, his mouth seems pursed, as if at any moment it would open and he would comment on my work. The eyes and mouth stamp him with a countenance of despair. I often glance up from my keyboard to look into his face. When our eyes meet, I feel his presence slip into my soul. It is there that I hear him speak to me, whispering words that linger in my subconscious long after I have turned my attention away from his silent, beckoning stare, and back to the chore at hand.
My muse is Edgar Allan Poe. 
I expect that many, if not all, the Janes of the world each have a muse pulsating within. Understanding their muse may be worthwhile -- if you would endeavor to make friends with them and sell them your products or services. The Internet is a marvelous way to connect with Jane through her muse. In fact, because the Internet allows Jane to be anonymous, she may be more willing to share this personal information with you, should you be wise enough to ask. Learning who Jane uses as a muse will open her secret, inner desires to you...inner musings that you would not learn through normal channels.
A muse is, after all, as personal to an individual as fingerprints or DNA. Whomever, or whatever, Jane uses as her muse identifies her in a uniquely different way than anything else in her life. Connecting to that uniqueness can be the start of a long, profitable, and enjoyable, relationship.
What's not to like about that?
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