#Musicalmotivation: From lyrics to leadership

For those of you who haven't had the (dis)pleasure of meeting me ... basically any song that isn't written by Nickelback can bring me to tears in a matter of seconds. Why am I sharing this very deep and embarrassing piece of personal information?

First off, it's because I want to publicly state that I despise Nickelback and the long-stringy-haired horse they rode in on.

And slightly more importantly, it's because I want to explore the power of lyrics and how they can make us better leaders. There is something about taking a string of words and tackling it with a melody that can really move you. I've never been a fan of spoken word or slam poetry, but the second that an acoustic guitar shows up to the party, I'm hooked.

I've been known to pull the car over on busy streets and toss on my four-ways because I'm crying too hard to keep myself and other motorists safe, all because of a country song.

To honour the theme of this post, I am going to (attempt) to keep my narrative short and focus on powerful lyrics that can turn me into a human waterpark with just a few notes. Feel free to sing along ...

John Legend - If you're out there

Notable notes:
"We're the generation that can't afford to wait, the future started yesterday and we're already late."
"If you're ready we can shake the world. Believe again, it starts within."
"We don't have to wait for destiny, we should be the change that we want to see."

If that doesn't make you forget to shoulder-check and accidentally cut someone off in a weepy fit, nothing will... and I'm sorry to alarm you, but your heart is made of tin. It's amazing what a few words can do. Here's one more, just because I'm dragging ass this morning and am in definite need of some melodic motivation ...

Rascal Flatts - Stand

Notable notes:
"When push comes to shove you taste what your made of."
"On your knees, you look up, decide you've had enough ... you get mad, you get strong, wipe your hands, shake it off, then you stand."
"Every time you get up and get back in the race, one more small piece of you starts to fall into place."

Doesn't that make you want to jump up from your cubicle, have a good cry in your car and then go change the world? I've got goosebumps just thinking about it.

Many different things can motivate us in a plethora of ways. We just have to let them work their magic. Whenever you can, take a step back and pay attention to what's going on around you. Thank the stranger who held the door for you, dance and sing to a great song that comes on in the grocery store, give out high fives and hugs like its your last day with arms. Always remember that the smallest drop has the power to make the biggest splash, it just might need a little help. Look at, listen to and feel the music of the world around you... there's no better motivation than that.

I would like to leave you with a lyric from Great Big Sea's "Ordinary Day" that is so simple in its beauty and it always picks me up when I need it most ... "I've got a smile on my face and I've got four walls around me."

Let's talk tangibles

First things first, I'd like to start by saying how irritating leadership is... well, as a concept at least. How many articles can you read about being transformational before you LITERALLY transform into something else? Not that it wouldn't be wicked to be an AutoBot, it's just that I don't see how it relates to my abilities as a leader. Wait, I like this tangent ... let's think about Optimus Prime for a second ... talk about leadership! He casually saves all of EARTH and it's not even his own planet. I digress, the point is that we need to blow up the buzz words and start talking like real humans (or OpPri) in order to fully understand what leadership is and, in turn, become better leaders ourselves.

Now, I'm not saying that all of the literature and research on leadership isn't beneficial for our development ... I'm just saying that there's WAY too much of it to boil down to create our own leadership style. If we have any How I Met Your Mother fans out there, it would be a hell of a lot like Ted's first day as a professor ... for those who aren't fans, become fans.

In order to open the leadership Cryptex, I believe that we need to focus on the tangibles. The see, feel, touch, hear, dos and don'ts of day to day leadership ... they make the difference. It isn't the transformational vision of the CEO of AmeriCorpCapitalMarketMegaBros & Co.. It's the day to day moments, the "be all you can be" of every day life ... THAT'S leadership in its truest form.

So what are these moments? Well, they are all around us. To quote Mother Teresa (get used to her, she's my GIRL), "We cannot all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love." Now, I recognize that this sounds pretty damn cheesy ... but hear me out. The thing about small things is that they are never small things. Think about the last time that a complete stranger smiled at you on the street. After the minor  I-may-know-him-but-don't-recognize-him-but-don't-want-to-look-like-a-forgetful-jerk inner panic that you felt, didn't you feel AWESOME? That random dude with the cool hat just looked at you and flashed his pearly whites, for no other reason than the fact that he thought your hat was cool too ... or whatever accessory you were rocking that day. He didn't have to smile - he could've frowned, scowled, or worse, flashed you some weird hand gesture that made you feel uncomfortable... but he didn't. He smiled. A good old-fashioned Mister Rogers smile.

These moments are what I'm talking about. They are tangible. You can feel them, remember them, share them with someone else ... and most importantly, they ignite your heart. They light your pilot light on days when you definitely aren't heating the whole swimming pool to a comfortable 80 degrees (Fahrenheit ... ofcourse, we want to keep our skin if at all possible). These moments make you better, even if you don't realize it at the time. Because of these moments, you are a better person for at least the whole day ... at least. And that is something that should not be taken lightly, especially in the world that we live in today.

So, to finish off my very first post I want to leave you with this thought: How many times a day do you choose to frown instead of smile?