I start every coaching program, presentation, speech, and 1:1 session with the subject of mindset. I’ve written a couple of blogs on this, so I won’t go into too much detail. But I know that if you don’t have the proper mindset you won’t succeed. It’s just fact.
In the Mindset Module I created for my clients I discuss music as one of the ways to change your mindset. It can change a mood quickly, both positively and negatively. Music is very important in my life; I use it as motivation and to bring me down to earth when I need it. I have several playlists, PUMP UP, POSITIVE, GRATEFUL, PARTY and DANCE. The most used is the PUMP UP and GRATEFUL playlists. As you might guess, PUMP UP is used to get me going, get me pumped up before an important meeting or presentation, or to get me going when I just feel like staying home and hating the world. It motivates me and makes me feel good. I use the GRATEFUL playlist almost daily, usually on the way home from the office. It comes in very handy when I had a tough day, it reminds me what is important in life and what isn’t.
About a year ago, I heard Finneas do his new song “Only a Lifetime” on the tonight show, and it was just a wow moment for me. In one song he brings out exactly what it took me years to discover, the only thing that really matters in life is family and friends. In the first verse, he asks “How do you know if you’ve done everything right? Is it the love you have at hand or the cash you kiss at night?” I mean come on, it doesn’t get any clearer than that! I worked my ass off for years and years chasing dollars, spinning that hamster wheel trying to get more, more, more, when all I really needed was already in my life. It took a tragic loss for me to realize that I have been a fool, I already had everything I need.
The last verse of the song just nails it.
“It’s family and friends, and that’s the truth
The fountain doesn’t give you back your youth
It’s staying up too late at night and laughing under kitchen lights
So hard you start to cry”
That’s what it’s all about folks. So the next time you’re with a group of friends for a weekend getaway, or after eating Thanksgiving dinner with your family, playing some music and having a glass of wine. Stop and look around, soak up what you already have, and know that all that you REALLY need is right there with you. Smile and be grateful.
Link to Spotify Only a Lifetime by Finneas
Finneas O’Connell. PHOTO CREDIT: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images