Be Inspired
Get Yourself a Mentor and a Friend
Just as you gain insight and ideas from your reading, do the same by deliberately cultivating professional relationships with people who spark your creativity and intellectual curiosity. Early-career scholars do well to find mentors who can guide them through the tricky waters of publishing and other elements of academic life. At the same time, peer-to-peer relationships can help, at any stage of career, to keep us on balance, work out ideas, and provide mutual support.
So where do you find these people? Start with your current department. Then network further, at conferences and events. Make yourself available to peers and senior faculty to answer questions, brainstorm ideas, proofread manuscripts, and provide feedback. They’ll start to do the same for you.
The enormous benefit of strong professional relationships with talented, creative colleagues cannot be overstated. Find those with whom you have rapport, and use those relationships to feed your creativity.

