It should be of no surprise to all you crazy kids that I am a child of music – I mean I sang a song for you guys! I was fortunate to be born from two families that are very inclined when it comes to music; my father is a multi-instrumentalist, all his brothers and sisters play instruments and/or sing. My grandma is killer with the maracas, and my mom is, well, my mom! So needless to say, since I was able to speak I’ve been singing and once I had the hand/eye coordination in my middle school years, I began to play any and every instrument I could get my hands on.
Music evokes emotion. In it’s truest form it is harnessed and expressed through moments of praise and inspiration – and I’m not necessarily talking about religion. Music moves people from the side of rooms into the middle and makes them act like idiots. Music apparently causes people to wear trench coats and shoot up their schools, because clearly it has nothing to do with parenting. There would be no film industry without music as I’m sure staring at moving images in silence wouldn’t have lasted – the entire horror genre would be non existent because it is the sound accompaniment which creates the sense of impending doom.
What does this have to do with making money online?
Well, let’s think about this for a second… You’re having a bad day and nothing is going as expected. No matter what you do you can’t concentrate on the task at hand – whether it be finishing an ebook that you’re writing, or doing some more link building for your latest affiliate driven review site. In an attempt to shake off the dissatisfaction you get up from the computer and start pacing around your home, with your thoughts moving a mile a minute – and this is obviously not helping.
When you’re in this state of mind there is no point working at all. It’s better to pack it up and call it a day, because without the right state of mind and focus on what your doing, the results will not be optimal.
The cure: listen to your favorite song!
Personally, I have music playing in the background all day while I work. I don’t have it blasting at 11 on the volume meter (spinal tap?) but I do have my speakers set to a nice listening level where it is not distracting, so I can still absorb the vibe and good feeling while increasing my productivity. I create a play list to typically last 1-2 hours and when it’s done I’ll create another depending on my current mood.
If you don’t typically listen to music while you work, this could be even more effective for you because once you feel yourself getting off track or loosing your groove – close whatever windows you have open and find that favorite song. Let that song play and allow yourself to feel the goosebumps forming. Take a deep breath and sing/hum along. Close your eyes and pay attention to the lyrics so you can subconsciously translate them into your current state of being. I can almost guarantee that after listening to a few of your favorite songs, you will go back to the task at hand with a clear mind and a better sense of what needs to be accomplished – and you WILL get it done!
Remember – music evokes emotion. Happy, sad, mad, etc… Use the power of music to change your mood and remind yourself that it can be used strategically to accomplish exactly that. One could even go as far as creating play lists for various situations i.e. a “tight deadline” play list which energizes you fills you with excitement at the challenge ahead. A “creative” play list which sparks your mental palate while working in Photoshop or Illustrator. A “brainstorming” play list when you feel an idea coming on and you need to map your thoughts.
Here’s a little taste of what I listen to depending on what I’m doing (keeping in mind that my music taste is extremely broad:
- Jazz (Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bob James) – Usually when I’m building sites for flipping. I find the varying tempo and chord progressions keep my momentum going, while the pleasing tone of piano, sax/trumpet and contra bass prevent me from getting ahead of myself.
- Hip Hop (De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Common) – I typically have consciously-driven hip hop playing during the mid-day afternoon. After I eat lunch I get a wave of tiredness, and this is easily combated by the grooving percussion and rhythmic lyricism of my favorite hip hop tracks. Sometime’s I listen to my own music as well.
- Heavy Metal (Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Tool) – I’ll sometimes have a few beers while I’m putting in hours on the weekend, and nothing blends better than alcohol and hard rock. I find I come up with the most genious ideas while getting drunk and listening to people scream. I’m dead serious.
- Funk/Soul/Big Band (Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, Willie Hutch) – The raw aspect of live instrumentation from the 60’s to the early 80’s accompanied by the unbelieveable vocal stylings of the greats always brighten my mood. Soul music can take me from thoughts of burning my computers and crushing my dreams to regrouping and appreciating what I have – rather than what I don’t have yet.
- Pop (Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson) – Pop music makes me feel good. I’ll usually put on some up tempo tracks when Veronica comes home from work, so neither of us have the time to engage the thoughts of dissatisfaction and stress.
- 80’s Retro (Hall and Oates, Journey, Madonna) – We absolutely love 80’s pop! I guess it’s because it was playing all the time when we were children, and we absorbed the nostalgic elements which satisfy us now as adults. We rock out to retro on weekends.
What kind of music moves you guys and gals? I’d love to know!
Cheers,
Elijah
That is so true, you have hit the nail on the head!
I always have music playing in the background and sometimes when things aren’t going my way, I just sit back, smoke a cigarette and listen to some songs.
It always works for me, frees my mind up to let the creative juice flow!
I’m really digging Newton Faulkner at the moment, not sure if you have heard of him being in Canada. My favourite song by him is “People should smile more”, its awesome.
You should create a Last.fm account, it is great for getting music recommendations and keeps track of what you listen too as well.
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Err when did Metallica and Tool become classified as heavy metal?
Anyways, I always have music going when I am on the computer.
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We usually start our day with
1. Love Song – SKY
followed by
2. If You Steal My Sunhine – LEN
followed by
3. Wake Up – RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
followed by
4. A letter from Home – Ulrich Schnauss
and by the 5th song money starts flowing in like crazy so we take a break
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@Mark – I absolutely knew you would respond with like-minded intentions. I’m the exact same way man.. take a step back, like a smoke and turn up the volume… My kitchen is right next to my office so I often light up a smoke and have the speakers blaring while I empty my head. Newton Faulkner – can’t say I have, I’m going to check it out for sure!
@Jarret – Hey dude! Glad to see you’re alive. I’m not one for sub-genres, so as far as I’m concerned heavy metal is anything involving distortion, double kick, excessive palm-muting, finger tapping, harmonized guitar solos and head banging. And dude, Metallica has been heavy metal since 1983. Every band you and I listen to now, or in the last 10 years would not be around if Metallica didn’t intensify what Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath perfected. If we’re going into sub genres then that’s a totally different discussion! Metallica is thrash metal. Tool is progressive hard rock.
@Franz – Hey, thanks for stopping by! Oh man, wake up by Rage… at the end of the track when the bridge begins to build up with the bass, and then Zack looses his mind as he scream’s “Waaaaaake Uuuuuuuuuup!” bye bye! At that point money should be pouring out of your ears!
Elijahs last blog post..Less Talk, Less Love, More Money!
I can always count on Little Feat to draw me back to center.
@ Mark: Good call on the Newton Faulkner track. I just looked it up and – thank you – it brightened up my miserable Tuesday Morning in the office. I call it ‘Happy Music’ 🙂
@ Eli: for the most part, I try not to have musci on while I am actually working, instead opting for regualr ‘musical breaks’ throughout my day. Step away, light one up, clear the head and listen to a nice tune. Regroup my thoughts and get back to it!
Nice post!
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For my rock fix I like to go grunge – soundgarden, alice in chains all the way…..mixed with a healthy dose of early Helmet; to settle down a little before i have to go and hit a wall or drink till i pass out, i’ll peruse some union of knives and slow down with some mark knopfler which makes me head into something a little more complex and turn on some anouar brahem – i mean – jazz on an oud….fuck yeah! maybe some Zoe Rahman….or even Chroma Key. Kevin Moore would make me search for some prog rock, but I don’t like looking up my own arse too much so I prefer to hit some blues where there’s nothing better than some Kelly Joe Phelps and Harry Manx. I start to feel a little contemplative and Mark Duetsch on the Bazantar hits the spot. A small foray into Bob Brozman via a little Two Gallants with a detour through amon tobin, tycho, trentemoller (just before those lonesome gallant cowboys make me slit my wrists in sympathy)……and on to Mahler…..maybe a little Dvorak to round out the day. Bach cello concertos for special occasions only ’cause it can be more of an aphrodisiac than rhino horn…especially when you hit the sarabande in Suite No2 (if she hasn’t orgasmed by the latter half of the Gigue, then you’re doing something wrong).
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Oh man, I have like music running 25/8, it’s always on. Either I work, have a beer, make love or whatever, it’s always there and I just love it.
I like to listen to 90s pretty much, probably since I grew up with this music, it was there all the time when I was a child.
I also love Queen, U2, Alphaville (Forever young mmm….), Nine Inch Nails, REM and such, and the reason why I like these is that my father used to listen to them every time he and I were in a car, it kinda sticks to you if you hear it everyday.
And of course HipHop – DMX, 2Pac, Onyx, Wu Tang, The game, Jay Z, P Diddy – I love to listen to them when I am at a party or just chillin’ with friends.
And when the party hit’s the roof and I am naked running around the house with beer in both of my hands trying to find the swimming pool then I like something from Punk Rock or hard Rock – Metallica, Slipknot, Blink, Green Day, and such.
Oh and I just hate/can’t stand the new pop songs.You can kill me, but I hate them all these “I kissed a girl”, Britney Spears, etc
I also try to avoid all these techno/trance stuff.
And some of the relatively new Brit bands are also good – Coldplay, The Killers
Basically I like to listen to everything that has decent lyrics and melody/music.
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Wow, man I can really relate to this post Elijah! I am all about some up beat music to get my blood flowing! During my day job, if i’m having a rough morning.. i throw on some old school rap or some AC/DC or Motley Crue, before long my entire attitude will change!
Same thing at home, crank up the bass and new or old school hip hop and i’m ready to take on the world haha!
Nothing like listening to a good beat while you’re working, i do that daily! I’ve gotten some great post ideas that way as well.. just listening to lyrics!
Great post man!
@Underdogblogger – What a rant! I love it.. yeah, if she hasn’t wet her pants half way through, there’s definitely something not meshing well. Man, those early Helmet albums bring back some seeeerious memories!
@TheMoneyac – I love NIN dude.. Reznor is one of my all time favorite music producers.. gracefully under Quincy Jones, David Foster and Rick Ruben. Naked, Swimming Pools and Slipknot are meant to be together.
@Jake – You already know what it is man! Dude, I will blast AC/DC till my time ends – haven’t listened to the newest album though, I heard it’s balls to the wall rockin!
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It definately comes down to the mood or what motivational needs I’m trying to inspire. Lots of classical or jazz for relaxing before writing. Rock genre or alternative to get the blood flowing in the morning. iTunes shuffle when I’m searching…
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@Gennaro – Hey man! iTunes shuffle when your searching, that’s so fitting 🙂 Jazz is probably my absolute most favorite genre of music. It’s funny though, because I got into Jazz via Hip Hop. When I was younger I would frequent old record stores looking for stuff to sample, and during the process of listening to these old records I developed a deep love for all things jazz, soul, blues and funk.. especially 1960-1980.. Some of the most amazing music!
Elijahs last blog post..Less Talk, Less Love, More Money!
I don’t know of any internet junkie who is not also a music freak. I’ve gotta start the day with a little upbeat number. Can’t beat Innervisions by Stevie Wonder or maybe some Jill Scott.
When it’s time to get to work, I gotta get amped with something heavy and guitar laden, Rage Against the Machine or even some Jimi Hendrix.
While I’m working, classical music definitely keeps me focused and efficient. (I don’t know enough about it to give you any particulars, I just tune in!)
On the way home, I’m so happy to be off work, only classic Funk will do. Prince, George Clinton or Bootsy Collins anyone?
To wind down the day and get some internet work done nothing is better for me than chill music like Zero 7, Michelle Shaprow, or even Air.
On the weedends I can get down with classic HIP HOP…everything from Eric B and Rakim, to Boogie Down Productions, and Notorious BIG.
Damn, I love music.
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@Quinn – Dude, I totally missed your comment! It’s like hiding in between to massive responses. It’s good to here from you man! Feat is pretty cool… Anybody that collabs with Dave Matthews makes awesome music!
@T Edwards – Man, it doesn’t surprise me that you know of Air, there beats are some of the sickest I’ve ever heard. It’s really challenging to make music that is so chill, but yet so groovy. Man, I’ve got this thing with Stevie that I can only listen to him on vinyl.. it just doesn’t sound the same when it’s an mp3. It’s all about waking up on Saturday and taking Hotter Than July out of it’s sleeve and putting on some “All I do”… Man, that track should be in the dictionary under the word Erection.
Elijahs last blog post..Less Talk, Less Love, More Money!
@Neal – exactly dude, that’s exactly why I was saying those who don’t have music playing regularly could benefit from it’s powers even more.. especially when taking those much needed “musical interludes”. Dude, I don’t know why, fucking askimet keeps putting legit comments into holding – i’m going to get rid of this shit – it’s ridiculous…
Why not start a blog about music, that would be great niche! I have always music (Iron Maiden) in the back ground when I work, it helps me concentrate.
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@Tom – hey, thanks for stopping by! I do have a music blog – mrbluereviews.com. I just don’t give it the love it deserves. I love Maiden! One of my all time metal favs..
Elijahs last blog post..Music And Making Money Online
Great lineup! Music really helps me when I’m feeling unmotivated too.
Great blog! This is my first visit here and it wont be my last.
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Very true..There is this band called Jal over here (not here in India, just a few miles away in Pakistan). Must say, they simply touch your hearts with their music..And there is one another guy called Atif Aslam..Though his songs seem like he is sneezing, they get you the goosebumps..i just love them..
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@Carla – Hey girl, thanks for stopping by! Music is definitely a great motivator. Your blog is awesome as well, I’m all about living an earthly lifestyle..
@Anand – Hey, I’ve never heard of Jal but I have heard of Atif Aslam. A great majority of my friends of Indian so I’m always exposed to great music from the far east!
Elijahs last blog post..Music And Making Money Online
Hey Elijah,
try this combo : melodies of life (nobuo uematsu) + site flipping
“proven” to improve your productivity. LOL
And now you know the secret to the average novelist’s success… A lot of writers build up a playlist to suit individual scenes or entire novels to play while they write. They’ll pick a song to suit what they’re writing and just loop it, or meditate on it before getting started.
I’ve always wanted to write a novel based on a song…
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@Elijah
Definately. A lot of hip hop, especially the earlier stuff, stems from jazz and blues. A lot of the sounds, rhythms, and samples from hip hop are straight out of that scene.
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@Desmond – Hmmm.. interesting. I’m always up to try different “formulas”… wink wink.
@WordVixen – Hey girl! I can totally see that being a fruitful journey.. music can definitely assist in mentally creating scenes and moods.. It doesn’t surprise me that writers use music to guide their creative steps..
@Genarro – Totally man, as far as I’m concerned, everything stems from jazz and blues.. including rock and roll.
Elijahs last blog post..Music And Making Money Online
Haha! Its good to meet someone else that does this too. I listen to music all the time. I’m really into some of the new stuff by Gavin Rosdale. I am a sap when it comes to beautiful love songs. I’ll admit, they sometimes bring me to tears. I can hear the laughter now!
Thanks for sharing!
@Stephen – hey dude, nothing wrong with being an emotional guy, I’m definitely not a tough dude when it comes to things that pull on the heart strings.
Music is the universal language and a must for anyone seeking inspiration!
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