This post is really a labor of love from my side. I carefully compiled this list of 20 songs after considering the opinions of my friends from all round the world. Each one on this list was picked up on the merit of its lyrics and energy. Most of the songs are upbeat and full of energy. A few are oldies.

20. When the going gets tough -- Boyzone/Billy Ocean

I like the version by Boyzone a little bit better. This song is very catchy and the lyrics have a message. If you find something difficult to do, remember:

“When the going gets tough, The tough get going”

Commit yourself to your dream.

“I’m gonna put this dream in motion
Never let nothing stand in my way”

19. I get knocked down Chumbawamba-Tubthumping

This song is packed with tremendous energy. In fact listening to this number makes one jump up and dance. Definitely this is the most upbeat songs in the list.

These two lines make my day any time:

“I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down”

Unfortunately there is a weird woman who sings weird lines in the song. Only because of that this song is placed low on this list. Hope you enjoy this song as much as do.

18. Life is what you make it-Hannah Montana

This is a really cool song with a deep message to all. The lyrics are simply gold. Yet, because this song was sung by a teenage girl with really no deep conviction in the message that she gives, makes this song at #14 in our list. Because this song is a bit deep, one has to listen to the lyrics carefully to get motivated.

“Don’t let no small frustration
Ever bring you down
No no no no
Just take a situation
And turn it all around

With a new attitude everything can change
Make it how you want it to be
Stayin’ mad, why do that?
Give yourself a break
Laugh about it and you’ll seeLife’s what you make it
So let’s make it rock “

17. All Star- Shrek

“Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed”

People who do not have the willingness to pursue their own dreams put others down by demoralizing them.

DONT LET THESE NEGATIVE PEOPLE AFFECT YOU

“You’ll never know if you don’t go
You’ll never shine if you don’t glow”

17. Tim Armstrong -- Into Action [Ft Skye Sweetnam]

Let’s get moving into action
Let’s get moving into action
If you last too slow, no satisfaction
That’s something out there, there’s an attraction
If you hesitate now, that’s a subtraction
So let’s get moving, go into action”The lyrics say it all. Enough of discussion and speculation. Lets get INTO ACTION!

15. If you want to sing out, sing out -- Cat Stevens

Did you watch the movie “American Beauty?” In that movie, the protagonist gives up a high paying pressure cooker of a job and starts flipping hamburgers at a local restaurant. The only reason he does so is because he finds this job less demanding and more satisfying. He always enjoyed flippin’ burgers when he was a kid. Why not now?

Who says that a perfect life is one that comes after you graduate from a big college and take up a million dollar paying job. Who says that the only way to be happy is to go about in fancy cars and dine in expensive Hotels?

There are a million ways in which to live your life and no single way of life is better than any other.

Well that is the theme of this song.

“Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
‘Cause there’s a million things to be”

Do what ever you want buddy. There is no shame in pursuing your dreams. The dream may be big or it may be small. But what matters most is that it is the dream that YOU want.

“And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
‘Cause there’s a million ways to go”

14. Danger Zone -- Top Gun/Kenny Logins

Top gun was THE movie to be watched in the 80′s This was a big break for Tom Cruise. It is amazing to see the movie now and still be excited about it. This movie has everything. Girls, cool Bikes and best of all MiGs, the F-14s. Tom Cruise is in his element in this movie. In the movie, Tom plays the “Maverick” taking risks to accomplish seemingly impossible stuff. In a way Tom Cruise typifies an Entrepreneur.

An Entrepreneur is also some one who does not stick to conventions. He is a wild child, a vanguard, a Maverick. He does not do what others blindly follow. He trusts himself and goes for the kill. He knows that nature has gifted him with special faculties which others are not endowed with. To the people around him, he may be seen as capricious, whimsical and eccentric or even hot headed, but the entrepreneur knows only the DANGER ZONE. An entrepreneur always takes the road less traveled.

” You’ll never know what you can do
Until you get it up as high as you can go
Out along the edges
Always where I burn to be
The further on the edge
The hotter the intensity
Highway to the Danger Zone ”

13. You’re the best- Karate Kid/Joe Esposito

The lyrics really say it all. I will post the lyrics in the entirety here, because I feel that not a single word of it was used in vain.

“ Try to be best
‘Cause you’re only a man
And a man’s gotta learn to take itTry to believe
Though the going gets rough
That you gotta hang tough to make itHistory repeats itself
Try and you’ll succeedNever doubt that you’re the one
And you can have your dreams!You’re the best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down
You’re the Best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down
You’re the Best!
Around!
Nothing’s gonna ever keep you dow-ow-ow-ow-ownFight ‘til the end
Cause your life will depend
On the strength that you have inside youAh you gotta be proud
starin’ out in the cloud
When the odds in the game defy youTry your best to win them all
and one day time will tell
when you’re the one that’s standing there
you’ll reach the final bell! “

12. Day Dream Believer -- The Monkees

This is an old song, from the 60′s. Even though the song is old, it is quite fresh and simple. This number reminds me of The Beatles, but some how, I feel this song is as good as some of the best Beatles tracks around.

When you are down and out and just listen to this number and you will surely be cheered right up. Especially if you are an entrepreneur, a Day Dream Believer or a wild goose chaser.

Some of the best parts of the lyrics which I liked:

” Oh, and our good times starts and end
Without dollar one to spend.
But how much, baby, do we really need? “

and

” Cheer up, sleepy jean.
Oh, what can it mean.
To a daydream believer
And a homecoming queen.“

11. Mad Mission -- Patty Griffin -- Kiwi Version

“ It’s a mad mission
Under difficult conditions
not everybody makes it
To the loving cup
It’s a mad mission
But I got the ambition
Mad, mad mission
sign me up “

Just check out the Kiwi version of this song here:

It is very touching.

10. Rain drops keep fallin’ on my head -- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid- Hal David and Burt Bacharach

For those of us to whom this is more than just a song, but an actual attitude towards life. All ye who eke out a living enduring the monotonous humdrum of daily life. All ye masses who forgot what it is to be carefree and full of spirit like Ol’ Butch and Sundance. Yea!those who believe in fighting the blues cos ” it won’t be long before happiness stands up to greet…” Touted as the most optimistic and happy song of the century…..I dedicate this song to the eternal optimist that is inside every one of us…..

AND REMEMBER……

(Butch) Don’t ever hit your mother with a shovel, it leaves a dull impression on her mind…..
(Etta Place/Katharine Ross)Do you know what you are doing???(Butch) Theoretically enjoy!!!

P.S: This is a comment by made by one of the youtube member on the movie:”No one can set out to make a film with this kind of magic. Just can’t be forced or remade with the same magic. One of those very few films where it just happened. ”

9. My Life -- Billy Joel

You can skip the first one minute of this song. But, what then follows is sure to inspire you to live a good clean independent life.The meaning of the song is best summarized by Blacksabbath84:He’s pretty much just saying that other people need to leave him alone, and in exchange he’ll leave them alone--”I don’t need you to worry for me ’cause I’m alright”, “go ahead with your own life, leave me alone”, “you can speak your mind but not on my time”--and stop trying to force their beliefs, values, etc. on him.

8. Green Day -- Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Whether it is a startup you are planning to come up with or something which all and sundry generally avoid doing, then the path which you have to take is a long and lonely path, one where the only companion you have is your own shadow.

“ I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don’t know where it goes
But it’s home to me and I walk aloneI walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I’m the only one and I walk alone.”

7. I believe I can Fly -- R.Kelly

This is a very inspiring song by R. Kelly. This was written for the movie SpaceJam. There is nothing that is impossible to a hardworking and persevering soul.

“If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it”

Whatever it is that you believe, that you will achieve!

“I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly“

6. Unwritten -- Natasha Beddingfield

Nobody knows whats going to happen to them next. Everybody’s life is “unwritten.”

So,

“ Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten, yeah “

Trust your self and work out your inner ambitions in the world outside.

5. Jonny Lang -- Anything’s Possible“

Johnny you won’t be nothing unless you do what you’re told”,
Study medicine or study law,
And please put away the guitar,
The best you’ll ever be is a local star at the local bar,”

This was what he had been told in the days of old.

But,

“I went and did it anyway,
Family helping all the way,
Now I’m here today,
5 records later,
So you can hear me say,….…..you can succeed,
It might not be easy,
But anything’s possible, “

4. Hungry Heart -- Wild Striker

This is shown at the beginning of an anime series and it covers the journey of a wild and talented dark horse, Kanō Kyōsuke, as he tries to realize his full potential and make it big in the world of football.

The lyrics for this song is not english but still there is so much energy and vibrancy to this song that you cannot feel unmoved.

In the beginning he had a lot of interest and passion for the game. But as time passed, he lot the initial zeal.

“ My weak and youthful dreams were almost destroyed,They remained as I had envisioned them long ago “

He meets a girl who rekindles his passion for the game.

“Before I realized it, my heart was on fire”

Now he is firmly focussed on the present moment. He wants to work hard and get away from a dream world into reality.

” Yes, over time, I came into grip with reality.”

He sets his eyes on a stage in the distant future, where national level games would be played. Now, he wonders, what version of himself at that point in future would be there in that stadium? Would he be a beaten man, sighing over lost opportunities or would he be a highly talented and hard working player scoring goals for his team?

“There’s a stage that glimmers with blue lightI have taken my first step towards it. What kind of me will be waiting there? “

3. Hearts on fire -- Rocky -- John Cafferty

Here you can see Rocky training hard to reach his goal. How many of us are doing THAT, doing which takes us nearer to our goal?

“ Heart’s on fire, strong desire, rages deep within
Heart’s on fire, fever’s risin’, high “

This is truely one of the most inspiring songs. If nothing else, at least watching this video would make you go to the gym for the next few days!

2. It’s my life -- Bon Jovi

The basic theme of this song is that this life which you are living is YOURS. Don’t live a fake life trying to please those around you. Find the thing you love and do it. Do whatever you want!This is YOUR life, take control of it! This life is very short. Even before you finish blinking your eyes, you will be old, dead and gone. You might as well as try and do the things you love. Do it YOUR way. That is the only way to truly live. It’s now or never.

Take no crap from nobody, you are the ruler of your fate. You are your own boss. DON’T LET OTHERS DICTATE YOUR LIFE FOR YOU!This is one of the best songs around. Claim your lost individuality by trying to live the words of this song!

1. Never Give up on a dream -- Rod Stewart

Please take time to watch this video. This video is sure to touch you and change you forever. Just watching this video is sure to overwhelm you tears.This video is a tribute to Terry Fox.

Terry’s spirit is something that is made of the stuff of legends. He was truly a great man and the few years that he lived brought nothing but joy and blessing to all.Terry was very passionate about sports. He was not tall like the bigger kids around him. But what he lacked in height he more than made up by the sheer capacity of his determination. He was good in cross country running and also in swimming.

Unfortunately, when Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

Marathon of Hope:

Instead feeling down, disheartened and hopeless, Terry started working on his new prosthetic leg. Though his family wept, he felt blessed on having beaten cancer. (He thought he had.)

Terry Fox had a dream. And the dream was to collect one dollar from every Canadian by running across Canada and then use this money for research in a bid to cure or arrest cancer.

Fox sent letters to various companies soliciting their sponsorship. The final sentence of his letter was: “…I’m not saying that this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to.”

With dogged determination that was characteristic of him, Terry started his marathon in the fall of 1979. When the news of Terry spread across Canada like wildfire, funds started pouring in. He met the Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He helped kick start a CFL game between Ottawa and Saskatchewan, kicking the opening ball. There were many other interesting events along the run.

Terry was half way cross the journey when he said he felt as if he’d caught a cold. Doctors said that cancer had invaded his lungs. So, Terry arranged a press conference and told reporters he had to go home. He had run 3,339 miles (5,376 km).

Terry’s health gradually worsened and by June 28, 1981 Terry Fox died, with his family beside him. By then, Terry Fox had raised $24.17 million, equaling Canada’s population of 24.1 million at the time. This was the dream for which he set about in the beginning.

“How many people do something they really believe in? I just wish people would realize that anything’s possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try.” …..Terry Fox

Apart from the Terry Fox video, even the lyrics of the song are very beautiful and inspiring.