Taking a page from Greg Storey's playbook, I decided to keep the title of this entry short and sweet, since the body of it will be long. So very long.

2009 is shaping up to be a tough year for most industries in the US as well as countries that have economies affected by the US, which is pretty much everyone at this point. But fortunately for us, being those in the webby industry, 2009 has the potential to be an amazing year.

Greg has already made the call for our community to help each other out, and I would like to make the call for each of us to make 2009 the year that we give back to the people who inspire us.

First, some back story

Recently I was fortunate enough to reconnect with a reader of this site from its WordPress tutorials heyday. Although the reason for that reconnection was fairly mundane (read: business related) the outcome was something that I very much needed even though I wasn't aware of it at the time.

As we started up our conversation this person let me know that through the teaching I did here, and the mentoring that happens through that teaching, he had began a journey that lead to a great job in a fairly prominent place.

He thanked me for giving of my time and knowledge. In a very small way I inspired him to get more fully into this brave world of interwebs development. The position he has now, and the responsibility that comes with it is due completely to his talent, tenacity and drive, let me be clear.

But to know that the inanity that I spew out here on a daily basis has actually helped someone, and have it come from them personally, was something I desperately needed to hear at that moment.

Which got me to thinking

There are a number of people that inspire me on a daily basis. Some of these people are friends, some of them are not. But all of them consistently make me push harder, work faster and live better. In 2009 I want each of them to know how much I benefitted from their examples.

So here we go. I will highlight each of them in groupings: Personal, Professional and Art.

Personal

Heather — It would be impossible to quantify in a medium as limited as language how my wife inspires me. Here selflessness, passion, love, long-suffering and patience are on the order of magnitude usually found in Saints. Every thing I have that is worth loving, protecting and cherishing is because of her.

Sean Evans (Morydd) — Sean is my great example of fatherhood. I strive everyday to be half the father that he is. Through his courage to share the events around the life of his first child Aiden, I saw what selfless love, strength and determination is.

Every man who is thinking of being a father, or who is a new father should go to Aiden's site, read it and then act accordingly, period.

Rich Bowen — Rich's name would show up in every area of my life if I were to highlight inspirations for every facet. He is easily one of the most giving, brilliant and talented people I know. Our years working together made me a developer worthy of hire. He helped rekindle my love of reading and writing, two things that I will always be grateful to him for.

Chris Fehnel — I have only spent time with Chris in person once, but what was immediately clear was that Chris had something worth sharing with the world. He didn't know what it was at the time, but it was obvious to him, and those that met him that it was there. With the launching of Eat Weird we are starting to see what that something is.

Chris is genuinely, simply in love with life and experiencing new things. The courage it takes to put yourself out there as he is doing should be an inspiration to all of us. Go watch his show and take a little of that love for life with you into you own world. You, and the world will be better for it.

Professional

Michael Heilemann — I am fortunate enough to call Mike a friend and at times in the past a colleague. The thing that continually inspires me is his uncompromising vision. Against all argument, against all opposition Mike will never waver in his conviction. This is a quality that I wish I had more of, and one that I think our industry needs more of.

Gary Vaynerchuk — What can you say about Gary V? His energy, gusto and commitment to transparency and honesty are second to none. If I wasn't a fan of him before, his handling of the cork'd hacking would have done it. He is truly an amazing personality and I continually learn from him. Plus, he has a kick ass search experience on Wine Library TV.

Brandon Cotter — I hope to never, ever do the whole have my own company thing again, but if I ever am forced to I think I now know how to act as a CEO. The CEO and Co-founder of Viewzi is an incredible example of how to do the startup thing. His vision, passion and commitment to the dream has just been amazing. He is also a snappy dresser, can't forget that.

Travis Isaacs — Travis is the Directory of Viewzer Experience, and other than the snappy title, Travis is a phenomenally talented designer who, get this, fights for the user when designing.

It has been my experience that designers on his level leave that usability stuff to the usability guys. Travis designs UI's thinking about the user experience the whole time. Take 37signals attitude, and mix in artistic talent and you get Travis.

Art

Joshua Davis — Joshua is easily on the most interesting artists working today. I attended his keynote at Future of Web Design in 2008 and it was one of the best talks on inspiration I have ever attended. Joshua helped us see that the tools of art are varied and can be found in the unlikeliest of places. Plus, he has a righteous last name.

Anton Peck — It seems that every time I hit Anton's site I see something new that makes me want to punch him in the throat. The man is amazingly talented. It is a crime interwebs, a prosecutable crime, that Anton isn't filling his bathtub with monies generated by his illustrations. Expect to hear from my attorney.

I demand the next time you need an illustration for a webby project, that you contact Anton first. Don't make me come over there interwebs, cause I will do it and bring a 12 pack of woop-ass with me.

Kevin Cornell — Kevin's art is only surpassed by his wit. I marvel at his ability to create something beautiful with so little detail.

His Mojo illustrations are brilliant and beautiful which is amazing when you step back and realize how much is implied, and not shown. His work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is very close to perfection.

Phew, that was a lot of writing

So, yeah to all the people I highlighted here, thanks for being who you are and for sharing who you are with me, in one way or another. I don't want this to become one of those blasted "memes" but I encourage you to take a moment and thank the people who inspire you.

2009 is shaping up to be a hard year for everyone. Knowing that what we do and who we are touches people is sometimes a better gift to give than money, and it costs us nothing more than a couple of minutes in front of our computers.

Let people know that what they do makes a difference in our lives this year internet.