4th of July Celebration Songs – A Way to Re-Ignite Your Work
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Flag waving, parades, hot dogs, lemonade, family and friends. It’s the 4th of July and you’re looking forward to a break from work.
How about if you not only get a break, but return to work with a new sense of excitement, boldness, ownership, inclusion, and pride?
These 5 Independence Day songs (plus a bonus song) might just do that for you…
1. “Coming to America” by Neil Diamond
Got a dream to take them there
They’re coming to America
Got a dream they’ve come to share
They’re coming to America…
You’ve lost the dream and work is pure drudgery. Your energy and anticipation have dissipated. Revitalize by remembering when it was new. Feel what our forefathers and foremothers felt with the awesomeness of “Coming to America”.
If the song isn’t enough to re-kindle your spirits, read Alli Polin’s “Clear the Dust Off Your Passion”. Alli will get you re-directed. I like her observation and suggestion that “If your current perspective is ‘this sucks’, clearly you need to tap into a more powerful perspective”.
2. “Fireworks” by Katy Perry
‘Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on, show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go “Oh” “oh” “oh”
As you shoot across the sky-y-y…
Need encouragement to do the next big thing at work? Katy Perry’s “Fireworks” can give it to you. Listen and then go and schedule that appointment with your EVP to pitch your proposal, meet with that potential client and score your next sale, change the direction of your key project despite the nay-sayers — Be bold and let your flame shine!
3. “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie
This land is your land. This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me…
Is there a change coming at work that you’re resisting? When Woody Guthrie sings “This land is your land. This land is my land”, I’m hearing ~~~~> Take Ownership. You’ve got to own it if work is going to be something worthwhile or continue to be worthwhile.
In Leia Cator’s Daily Celebrations Blog, she relays that Woody once said:
“Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it.”
Be open. Be flexible. Go with the change by making it yours — tweak it if need be. You are the caretaker that the future needs.
4. “Our Country” by John Cougar Mellencamp
There’s room enough here
For science to live
And there’s room enough here
For religion to forgive
And try to understand
All the people of this land
This is our country…
You’ve been barraged with conflict at work. It’s open warfare.
Yet, when you get back to work after the 4th of July, you will find a way to include rather than exclude. You won’t push “them” away or isolate. You will include those with differing ideas and demeanor, even those you find difficult to work with. You will find a way to utilize the power of differences — and you and your team will be rewarded with inspiration and innovation! Let John Mellencamp’s song be a reminder that “there’s room enough here” to include because this is our country (cross out “country” and insert “team”).
Need a bit more on managing conflict? I like the thorough compendium that Karin Hunt put together, “June Frontline Festival: Conflict Edition”. She includes posts from some of my fav leaders on Twitter:
- Lolly Daskal (@LollyDaskal),
- Jennifer V. Miller (@JenniferVMiller),
- Jesse Lyn Stoner ( @JesseLynStoner ),
- Tanveer Naseer ( @TanveerNaseer),
- Terri Klass ( @TKlass).
5. “Living in the Promiseland” by Willie Nelson
Give us your tired and weak
And we will make them strong
Bring us your far off songs
And we will sing along…Leave us your broken dreams
We’ll give them time to mend
There’s still a lot of love
Living in the Promiseland…
I saw Willie Nelson on a flight from Los Angeles to Austin this past March and couldn’t help including something from him in this post.
If you’ve been given the the “worst” assignments, teams, customers, etc. and wonder “why me?”, revive yourself with “why not me?”. Feel your strength and know that you have the power to turn the situation into the Promiseland.
Follow your gut and heart and you’ll see a new world come about.
And don’t forget about the pride you’ll feel when you’ve taken those “worsts” and turned them into the “bests”. Want a preview of how your heart will pound when that happens? Listen to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud To Be An American” (this is the bonus song) …
Your Favorite 4th of July Songs?
What’s on your playlist for July 4th? Would you mind suggesting a few Independence Day songs in the comments below? And if your song leads you to a more positive path in your work (or life!), please tell me about that, too.
I hope this holiday will rejuvenate you. I hope you’ll find that the songs celebrating Independence Day will motivate you to…
#TakeThisMoment to re-ignite your delight in your work! ~ Jackie Yun
Thanks, Jackie, for a most inspiring post about the 4th of July holiday and for ways to feel re-energized and motivated work-wise! This is definitely a post to bookmark for times when one needs a lift 🙂
To that end, I thought you may appreciate this poem that feels right on topic:
My Comfort Zone
by Unknown
I used to have a comfort zone
where I knew I wouldn’t fail.
The same four walls and busywork
were really more like jail.
I longed so much to do the things I’d never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.
I said it didn’t matter that I wasn’t doing much.
I said I didn’t care for things like commission checks and such.
I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.
I couldn’t let my life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strength I’d never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door.
If you’re in a comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.
Reach for your future with a smile; success is there for you!
Hello Dorlee,
Sean Haldane, a neuropsychologist and poet, says that “If you read a poem and it gets to you, it can shift your perspective in quite a big way, and writing a poem even more so.”. I found the poem you shared motivating, inspirational and encouraging! And I’m sure others will too — and consequently will feel the big shift.
How is your own poetry writing coming about? Your poem “How Does A Person Know Her True Self” is quite heart-deep.
Thank you for all that you share,
Jackie
Such an imaginative post, Jackie!
What a great way to help infuse one’s work spirit with vitality.
At school, when music was a part of the curriculum, we sang This Land is Your Land, with slightly different lyrics:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From Bonavista to Vancouver Island
From the Arctic Circle to the Great Lake waters
This land was made for you and me.
…and now I have an ear worm! 🙂 (Refers to a song that you can’t stop singing for the rest of the day.)
Now, off to read Dorlee’s poem, which I somehow missed, thanks to your generosity of spirit!
Marianna,
Glad to be a pointer to Dorlee’s poem. Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.
Thanks for popping in and sharing the Canadian lyrics for “This Land is Your Land”. Curious, I discovered via Wikipedia that “This Land is Your Land” has also been revised for Sweden, the UK, Wales, Ireland and Turkey!
Here’s the Welsh version by Dafydd Iwan translated into English (The Welsh version caught my attention because of our Welsh Corgis!):
[In wandering along lonely pathways
On the vast moorland of the old Arennig [mountain, near Bala],
I would hear the breeze whisper softly:
‘This land belongs to you and me.’
Chorus:
This land is my land, this land is your land,
From Snowdon’s summit down to its beaches,
From south to north Wales, from Anglesey to Monmouth,
This land belongs to you and me.]
Now, I’m wondering how “entrainment” might boost our inspiration and productivity at work. Yes, that idea is from your post: Your Toe Tappin Time Keepin Heart!!
By the way, I’m listening to Blue Rodeo’s “Five Days in May” and can see why they are a favorite of yours. Loving it!
Cheers to you,
Jackie