While it has been said that music can soothe the savage beast, the right song can also fuel a riot (remember the mosh pits of the 90s?).  Music speaks to us on a subconscious level, sparking memories, generating energy, and changing our moods.  Runners use beats to maintain endurance, soldiers use chants to keep cadence, and boxers use tunes to pump them up as the step into the ring. Sometimes it’s the lyrics that connect to our experiences or maybe the artist that inspires.  But other times it’s just the sound – the dance of the melody, the roll of the drums, the slight pause before a high note is belted out – that seems to affect us our spirit.

Just like a high performing athlete, you should use musical inspiration to help keep your head in the game when it comes to your career.  Studies have shown the tremendous value that music has on mindset, motivation, and all things neural (read more about it here).  It can steel your resolve before walking into a negotiation.  It can calm your nerves after a tough day.  It can even help clear your brain in order to welcome in a fresh batch of innovative ideas.

With that in mind, allow me to introduce our new series – Soundtrack of Success.  From time to time we’ll feature a song and share a few thoughts inspired by the music.   Since this whole post is getting a bit long, I’ll leave you with a song that serves no other purpose than to simply celebrate music itself – “Music” by Madonna.

You can enjoy the official video below, but please be forewarned that there is a bit of risqué material in it.  (C’mon people, we are talking Madonna here.  Is anyone surprised that there is a stripper pole involved?)

For those of you who are looking for a tamer way get your electronica fix, you can listen, courtesy of Spotify.  (You will need a Spotify account to listen this way.  It is free to download on a desktop/laptop computer but will cost you $ from a mobile device.  Nope, they aren’t sponsoring this, I just want to share the music with you however I can.)