Can You Still Hear the Music?

Can You Still Hear the Music?

I'm glad I was able to find the graphic above for today's podcast. Sometimes it's hard for me to find a graphic to "fit" what the topic of the day is and sometimes I have to kind of "stretch" it a bit to make it work -- but this one seems to fit perfectly with today's topic.

Let me get off track a little right off the bat, o.k.? Music is POWERFUL! Music has the ability to make us laugh, smile, sigh and even cry. I believe that music - perhaps on an even level with love - is the most powerful force on earth.

You don't have to agree with me. After all, this is MY blog and MY thoughts, right? But, I can almost promise that you have been moved to tears of sorrow and/or joy as well as had your foot tapping - whether you intended to or not - due to music.

Music is PASSIONATE! And, many times, this passion is what makes music so powerful in our lives.

Think about it. The passion attached to someone that we love is connected to a song that has "just the right words" to it. The two mix together to move us in a powerful way! The passion attached to the pain we feel when someone we love has died can be connected to a song that, again, has "just the right words" that express exactly how we feel at the moment. Powerful.

Have you noticed how even babies just HAVE to move when music starts playing? I've seen that with my own kids and it has always amazed me.

I would sing to all three of my sons while my wife was still carrying them in her stomach and they would get very still as I would sing. My oldest - obviously being the first born - went through a very long ordeal in labor before the doctors finally decided that a Cesarean section needed to be done. By the time he was born, Jacob was very stressed and crying like crazy. When they handed him to me I began to speak and sing to him and he calmed down immediately!

O.k. now - have I painted a pretty good picture of the passion and moving force that we find with music? I hope so and I hope that you can relate. I know you can because, again, music IS such a powerful force in our world.

Now then, in connection to what we began talking about yesterday based on the movie, "August Rush", I must ask the question found in the title of today's article - "Can you still hear the music?"

"Music" in this sense can be a variety of things in your life. I want you to think back 10, 20, 30 maybe even 50 years ago and ask yourself what it was that made you smile and sing? What made you happy? What made your heart soar?

Do you remember what it was like when you saw that special someone for the very first time? What about the very first time that you spoke to that person? Were you nervous? Elated? Excited?

How did you feel when you went out on that first date? How about when they said "yes" to your proposal of marriage? The wedding day...the honeymoon?

How long ago was that? Now fast forward to today. Is it the same or have you allowed all of the "stuff" in life to drag you and your relationship down to where you have forgotten the joy and the passion of your relationship?

Now let's connect this to your "job" and/or what you wanted to be "when you grew up".

What were your plans even when you got married or when you first got out of college or whatever time you were looking at your life ahead in a brand new way?

What were you going to do? How were you going to go about it? Who was going to stop you? Were you going to be the BEST at whatever it was? Was it going to make you happy and provide you and your family with everything you ever dreamed of?

What happened?

(Now, again, I know that there are some of you that are doing what you love and have always been doing what you love. I want to hear from you! Send me a note and let me know how you have kept it this way - mike@futureyouuniversity.com )

For many, the "dream" has vanished and they find themselves doing something other than what they had planned as well as finding that they dread each and every day. They find that because of this dread, they are physically and emotionally exhausted most - if not all - of the time. Due to this, many times the life at home with the family is not at all what they had planned either.

What happened?

Can you still hear the music in the midst of all of this or has it been silenced by all of the "stuff" that is weighing you down? Am I connecting with you here?

Here's the thing - the music STILL PLAYS whether we can hear it or not. It's still there and it still has the ability to move and inspire our lives.

The "music" I refer to can be called "passion", "drive", "motivation" or whatever it is that you want to call it. Whatever it is that puts the "wind in your sail" and gives you that feeling that, indeed, anything is possible!

Can you still hear it? Can you still feel it? Do you feel the sense that it IS still there is you will be take the time and the effort to listen?

Here are a few questions to lead us into tomorrow's discussion:

If money were not an issue, what would you be doing? Are you doing that? If not, why not?

Give it some thought, wrestle with it, write down your thoughts and join me tomorrow as we continue this discussion and, in the mean time....listen for that "music". It's still there!

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike