Great Motivational Lines from Rush Songs

This album came out 35 years ago. I was 1 year old...

(No, not Rush Limbaugh. The Canadian rock trio, Rush.)

If you have been following my stuff for more than a week, you know I love this band. One of the things I love most about them is the awesome lyrics they write. Unlike most bands who write 50% of their songs about being in love, 45% of their songs about falling out of love, and then, for the remaining 5%, throw in an occasional “political awareness to show that I am not shallow” song, Rush songs cover a wide spectrum of topics. Not only do I find the music to be awesome, but I quite often find myself either reflecting or pumped up as I sing along (I also then realize that I can’t sing, but that’s the topic for another post…)

Here then are 5 great motivational lines from Rush songs (in chronological order):

1) Subdivisions

Album: Signals

Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights…

Perhaps my favorite set of lyrics ever. The song is about teens who have trouble fitting in when they live in the ‘burbs, so when they grow up they move to the excitement of the city. But then, as the lyrics above indicate, they eventually give up on their dreams, get frustrated, and move back to the suburbs out of memories from a quieter time (thus perpetuating the cycle). I know, it’s a very happy song…

Every time I listen to this song (which is quite often), I am reminded of the dangers of losing site of my big picture dreams, and to not settle for an existence that will result in restlessness and frustration. This is true regardless of whether you love or hate the suburbs.

Rush Wants to Know: Are you “losing the race to rats?” Have you “sold your dreams for small desires?”

2) Marathon

Album: Power Windows

Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride
More than high performance
More than just a spark
More than just the bottom line
Or a lucky shot in the dark
In the long run…

As the title indicates, this song is about the importance of constantly moving forward and not looking for just one big flash. The line “in the long run” is repeated through the song as a reminder that life is a very long marathon and not a quick sprint. And yet, too often, it seem like people look for a fast solution. Get rich quick schemes, rapid weight loss programs, one huge romantic gesture, etc. Much more often than not, these have no lasting effect.

I also appreciate the sentiment that it’s ok to get overloaded, misstep, or take a break. But at some point you have to get up and put one foot in front of the other. Remember: nobody gets a free ride.

Rush Wants to Know: Are you taking steady and constant action to progress your life, or are are you just fumbling around, looking for the “lucky shot in the dark?”

3) Mission

Album: Hold Your Fire

Hold your fire
Keep it burning bright
Hold the flame ’til the dream ignites
A spirit with a vision is a dream
With a mission

Fairly obvious lyrics. What I like though is the concept that just having the dream isn’t enough. We all have dreams. What they are saying here is to hold on to that dream until it ignites. This is a great balance between the commonplace advice of never giving up on your dreams and the importance of actually doing something about it.

A follow up line: “But dreams don’t need to have motion / To keep their spark alive / Obsession has to have action / Pride turns on the drive” Having dreams is great, and you don’t need to do anything about them to stay passionate. But at some point you need action and drive.

Rush Wants to Know: Are you holding onto your fire and keeping it burning bright? Are you keeping the dream alive until it ignites into drive and action?

4) Bravado

Album: Roll the Bones

When the dust has cleared
And victory denied
A summit too lofty
River a little too wide
If we keep our pride
Though paradise is lost
We will pay the price
But we will not count the cost

Perhaps my favorite Rush song ever (and by extension, perhaps my favorite song ever). Top to bottom, the lyrics in Bravado are awesome!

Simple point: If you try your best, keep your head up, and still come up short, do not count it as a failure. To quote Stephen Pressfield from the War of Art: “…it’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.”

Rush Wants to Know: What are you not attempting because your are afraid of being denied victory?

5) Resist

Album: Test for Echo

You can fight
Without ever winning
But never ever win
Without a fight

Achieving anything of note is rarely easy. Sure, you can make it fun, minimize the unpleasantness, and outsource the stuff you hate. But ultimately, there will be challenges (Ding Happens after all). If you are unwilling or unable to dig in and fight when needed you will never really win.

(Random side note: I think I instantly fell in love one year at a wedding when the bride’s sister said, “My favorite band is Rush,” and then quoted this song. Unfortunately for me, she was married with three kids. Hmm, maybe I should have heeded the songs advice of “never winning without a fight…”)

Rush Wants to Know: What struggles are you avoiding that are preventing you from winning?

Summary

You’ve probably noticed a theme amongst the songs here. They all focus on going after your dreams and not giving up when things get tough. Go figure, I’m the Motivational Smart Ass, remember?

Motivation gets a bad rap, mostly due to the fact that people have now realized that motivation isn’t enough. (Remember, “obsession has to have action?”) As a speaker, my presentations have a healthy dose of practical advice and actions people can immediately take. But this is not to say that motivation is meaningless; it’s not. Motivation is a critically important component, because no matter what great info I have, if I am not tapped into my inner drive, I will never take action on that information.

As I re-listened to these songs I found myself getting pumped up. I hope you’ll give them a listen too. But if Rush isn’t your thing, you can probably think of a handful of songs by artists you like that get you motivated. Use them to your advantage. Listen to those songs in the morning, or when you are feeling down or particularly unmotivated.

And please, if Rush isn’t your thing, keep it to yourself. I don’t think my heart (or blog) could take that kind of rejection…:-)