Wake Up and Dream Catalyst: Short inspirational thoughts for the day. Raising questions & hopefully opening a dialogue with people interested in learning how to turn their dreams into plans and start navigating their way towards them.
Thought for the Day: Last year I started posting Saturday's Songs for the Soul in honor of my brother, Larry Bogdanow, who passed away from brain cancer. Larry was a true Renaissance man who loved the all forms of art. He was also amazing at finding new music and renditions of the classics by varied artists. As gifts he would put together cd mixes which all who received them cherish to this day. Since I am celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the start of this blog all month and 79,400 page views since it's inception, I will be sharing the top 10 Songs for the Soul posts from 2013. Today I will share the 1st 5 (from #10 to #5 in popularity by # of page views which may not be fair since as people began to view the blog more often posts got more exposure!). In 2 weeks, I will post the top 5 posts from this series.
Thought for the Day: The rest of this week's blog posts have been focused on the psychology of self confidence: how it is built & how it can be reinforced. Therefore, I chose a few songs that relate to how rising up singing can build self confidence. In the 1st 2 songs, "The Greatest" & "You Can Let Go Now Daddy," the hero in the song is building self confidence. Read on to see how the artists, Kenny Rodgers & Crystal Shawanda, also boosted their self esteem by recording these songs. In the third song, "Here Come the Memories,"a singer songwriter, Sally Spring, epitomizes how an amazing voice & passion for music helped build self confidence.
There are many more songs that exhibit how self confidence can be nurtured. "Summertime," "High Hopes," gospel & protest songs come to mind. Do you have a favorite? I'd love to hear the confidence building songs that inspire you, so feel free to share them in the comments section & I may share them in a later post.
I hope you enjoy the music & come back for Sunday's Comic Strips tomorrow. Have a great weekend! Barbara
"The Greatest"
"The Greatest" written by Don Schlitz & performed by by Kenny Rodgers, has meaning on two levels. The obvious one is the story line which shows how a child builds his self esteem.
If you have never heard it, you are in for a wonderful surprise. The less obvious back story relates to the artist, Kenny Rogers, one of Country Music's greatest artists, who was able to show the Music Industry that older artists can have hits. Many people do not know that older artists in country music are discriminated against & have difficulty getting air time. The
images on the video found on You Tube are also inspiring.
"You Can Let Go Now Daddy"
The second song, "You Can Let Go Now Daddy," was the first single by the Canadiancountry music artist Crystal Shawanda. It is a touching testimony to how a father's relationship to his daughter leads to the development of self confidence & independence. It was also a huge hit for the artist on her first album.
"Here Come the Memories"
The third song is a testimony to the determination, perseverance & passion which led to Sally Spring's confidence in herself. As a young child she loved to sing & wanted to make music. She taught herself to play the guitar & became a performer despite a a physical difference. I met Sally in 2007 at the New Song Festival where we studied together. She is a wonderful talented singer songwriter from NC who is an inspiration to all, but rarely says a word about the
challenges she overcame to make music. She humbly says it's just a part
of who she is & she does not see it as anything out of the
ordinary. Her CDs have charted #1 in Europe & #2 worldwide.
