Perhaps Plato said it best when he opined that music ‘gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything’. Music can help us to grieve, help us to move on, help us to say what’s in our hearts when we can’t find the words, help us to cope, inspire us, motivate us and so much more. It seems to me 2013 was an especially good year for motivational music. As a small business owner, when my work days got a bit too long or I needed a little push to get a project completed on time or I just needed to work through some things, I’d load one or more of these tunes up in my media player and get a move on. Here are my top favorite motivational/inspirational songs for 2013:
#4 Applause by Lady Gaga. Just for fun, whenever I hear this on the radio, I imagine it playing as I come out onto the stage at my first huge workshop, where I’m speaking to 100+ small business owners and entrepreneurs about web design, social media and email marketing. What? It could happen!!
#3 Brave by Sara Bareilles. What’s more motivational or inspirational than someone encouraging their fellow human beings to step into their power and just BE everything and anything that they are? That is precisely what Ms. Bareilles does in this anthem. I especially love when she belts out right in the middle, “Show me…how big your brave is!”
#2 Carry On by Fun. Ok, yes, technically it was released in 2012, but I never heard it until 2013 and as a mom with a son entering the military this year, it especially hit home for me. Believe me, there were times I felt like I was sinking…but I had to carry on. I had no choice. The alternative was to curl up in a ball and die. I couldn’t change it. I had to find ways to be okay with it. I had to Carry On.
There are two underlying reasons this tune really resonates with me. First, there is a cadence in the beginning that reminds me of the marching my son would have been doing in boot camp at the time. Also, the final stanza creates a kind of “aura” for me that just prompts me to think of my husband and how supportive he was of me while I was trying to cope.
#1 Roar by Katy Perry. I once heard it said, “as little girls we are taught to ‘be nice, be quiet, behave.’” This little number flies in the face of that old-fashioned notion that women, or anyone for that matter, do not (or should not) have a voice. But that’s not the only lesson here. We also learn that sometimes we are the ones holding ourselves back from success and that we can be our own hero, even if we’re no one else’s. (Oh and the video ROCKS, by the way.)
So those are my top picks. What are your favorite songs that inspired, motivated or otherwise touched you in 2013?
Add yours in the comments below!
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Thanks for the videos Bonny! I LOVE Roar!
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