My “Motivation” Playlist

The right song at the right time can completely alter the direction of my day.

Some songs make me just want to lay down and take a nap. Others make me want to cry. Some make me laugh, and some help me learn about personal finance. But nothing can improve my mood better than the songs in my “motivation” playlist.

The following songs are musically awesome and very diverse (from a Broadway Musical to Rock/Metal), but they also send a message that I frequently need to hear. Being successful isn’t easy, but being lazy sure is. Listening to these songs re-energizes me and gives me the motivation to keep working hard on improving my life and becoming the best version of myself.

I hope you like some of these songs, and maybe one or two of them will motivate you as well.

Lunatic by Andy Grammer

Favorite Lines: “You can do this, you can do this. You are not a lunatic. Crazy would be leaving it behind.” and “There’s just one thing in my life that I know for sure: there is no turning back now.”

Sometimes conventional wisdom tells you that you can’t be extraordinary. I imagine Andy Grammer wrote this song to all the people who told him to quit doing music and get a “real job”. People can call you crazy and tell you not to follow your dreams, but who cares?

They definitely weren’t right in Andy Grammer’s case, as he beat the odds to go from a street performer to a guy with a top 100 hit (and hopefully more to come). He’s even so popular, some awesome financial blogger did a parody of his song “Keep Your Head Up”.

Download Lunatic Here

Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional

Favorite Line: “Vindicated. I am selfish, I am wrong. I am right, I swear I’m right, swear I knew it all along. And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well. I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself.”

You guys already know I love Spider-Man, but this song really sums up why I can relate to him so much. He may have super powers, but he has the emotions of a regular guy. Sometimes he gets confused. Sometimes he’s unsure of himself. But deep down, he knows he is incredible and can do amazing things. I may not have super powers, but I can be flawed and great at the same time just like Spider-Man.

Download Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack Here

Long Live by Taylor Swift

Favorite Lines: “Long live the walls we crashed through” and “We will be remembered”

Make fun of me all you want for liking Taylor Swift, but this song really gets me fired up. This song is all about doing something incredible and having someone else there with you every step of the way. Sometimes you need someone special with you to accomplish something great. If you find someone who believes in you, supports you, and will help you do something worth remembering, hold onto that person!

Luckily I found that person in Tag!

Download Long Live Here

Wake Up by Lostprophets

Favorite Line: “Wake up, wake up, wake up, and we will never lose. Wake up, wake up, wake up, it’s time to make a move.”

Sometimes you just need a fast paced, high energy song to get your blood going. This is it for me. I haven’t listened to this song as closely as the other ones because this one isn’t about the words as much as the energy. This song makes me wanna get off my @ss and do something!

Download “Wake Up (Make A Move)” Here

Defying Gravity by Wicked the Musical

Favorite Lines: “I’m through accepting limits ’cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change but ’till I try I’ll never know.” and “And nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever going to bring me down.”

Wicked is an incredible musical, and this is my favorite song of the whole show. The title, Defying Gravity, is motivational in itself. In this song Elphaba decides that she’s not going to let anyone, most importantly herself, keep her down any longer. She is literally able to fly in the story as soon as she believes she can. I’m never going to defy gravity myself, but that’s not going to stop me from trying to do the impossible anyway.

Download “Defying Gravity” Here

What Music Motivates You?

Now that I’ve shared some songs that motivate me, I’d love to hear what songs get you motivated! I need to add more songs to my playlist. Five isn’t enough!

And if you need some inspiration, here is a drawing I made on my new Android Tablet app Skitch. Expect more of these drawings in the future because they are fun to make and easier than finding a relevant creative commons picture.

Kevin McKee

Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.