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Inspiration and motivation come from the strangest places. My latest motivation comes from the musical The Greatest Showman, and it’s reprogrammed my brain to get stuff done. If you’re desperate for motivation to get out of debt, this movie is on point.
Hugh Jackman and the entire cast bring me front and center to the start of the circus, but it’s filled with so much more than a dry history. The characters sing and act with so much emotion, it tugs at all of my heart strings.
The movie itself has nothing to do with getting out of debt, but the hope, passion, and inspiration is the fuel you need to keep working toward your goals.
I didn’t expect to fall in love with this musical, but I was immediately captivated by the characters and songs. It’s filled with so much hope and vision for a better tomorrow and gives me permission to dream wildly about my future. I still tear up when I listen to the the songs and apply them to my life.
With songs titled “A Million Dreams”, “This is Me”, “Come Alive”, “Rewrite the Stars”, and “From Now On”, I can’t help but feel inspired to grow and dream. Movies and songs have such power over our emotions and can bring a lot of good stuff to the surface.
When I think about my family’s future and our hopes and dreams with this blog, one song really sticks out and resonates with me. It’s the last song of the movie, “From Now On”.
The lyrics play on repeat in my head every time I feel unmotivated and stuck. It reminds me why I get up early and stay up late writing, planning, and learning. The lyrics reveal the bigger picture of my family’s goals and our future.
We’re both burnt out, over worked teachers who just want to spend more time with our growing daughter. That’s hard to do when we work so many hours at school and our second jobs bartending and serving. I hate that I get to spend so little time with her, and when I am with her it feels like I’m constantly thinking about grading, lesson planning, IEP meetings, best practices, and all the ways I’m failing as a teacher.
And on top of that I feel like I’m failing as a Dad because I spend so much time away from our little girl. We work so much to provide for our family and build our future, but it pulls us away from each other and the smiles, giggles, and snuggles of our daughter. We want to change that.
So here’s the lyrics. I hope you can find meaning in them too. And if you haven’t watched the Greatest Showman, do yourself a favor and have a movie night. I think it’s incredible and hope you find value in it too.
From Now On – The Greatest Showman
“I saw the sun begin to dim
And felt that winter wind
Blow cold
A man learns who is there for him
When the glitter fades and the walls won’t hold
‘Cause from then, rubble
One remains
Can only be what’s true
If all was lost
Is more I gain
‘Cause it led me back
To you
From now on
These eyes will not be blinded by the lights
From now on
What’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight
Tonight
Let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart
From now on
From now on
I drank champagne with kings and queens
The politicians praised my name
But those are someone else’s dreams
The pitfalls of the man I became
For years and years
I chased their cheers
The crazy speed of always needing more
But when I stop
And see you here
I remember who all this was for”
Reading lyrics is never the same as listening to the song, but there’s so much wisdom when you just read it, even if you haven’t seen the movie. When I hear this song, a few things stick out that apply to dreaming, setting goals, and motivation to get out of debt.
1. There’s Always Hope for a Better Future
When this song plays in The Greatest Showman, PT Barnum was at rock bottom. Everything he worked so hard for fell apart and he felt lost and hopeless. Maybe you can relate.
Nobody likes going through hard times. When you suffer a setback or major financial disaster, it’s devastating. It feels like you’re trapped and the walls have fallen down around you and it’s so hard to pick up the pieces and move forward again.
But the silver lining of struggle and hardship is that it creates clarity of what really matters. The things that matter most are pretty simple. My family and friends. I cling to my family in hardship and refocus my goals on them. When I realized my student loans were slowly draining my bank account, I felt devastated and paralyzed by despair. I couldn’t think of a way out.
Then I thought of my family. At that time I wasn’t married and didn’t have kids, but I desperately wanted to. I knew that my student loans had to go and I needed to make big changes. Out of desperation, I clung to the dreams of my future family and within a year I married Jenna. As a team dreaming of our future family, we paid off $73,000 of student loans in less than 4 years on two teacher salaries.
I needed to hit rock bottom to find the clarity to hope and dream for my future. Now anytime I feel lost or dismayed, I think of my daughter and what I need to do to spend more time with her.
2. Don’t Get Distracted by the Dreams and Lives of Others
Take a minute to think about the dreams you’re chasing. Are they your dreams? Or are you dreaming of the life other people have?
It’s easy to look at other people’s lifestyle and play the comparison game. I do it a lot more than I’d like to, and every time it distracts me from our actual goals and leaves me feeling discouraged.
When you focus on the dreams of others, it pulls you away from your own dreams. It might even cause you to try to “keep up with the Joneses”.
The truth is, you never know what other people’s finances look like. Maybe they’re putting everything on a credit card and piling up debt. Or they could be super on top of their finances and paying cash for everything. You’ll never know, so it’s pointless to try to keep up if your finances can’t support their lifestyle.
Focus on your goals and put up blinders for everyone else. You don’t need to impress anyone, and to be honest, nobody is really paying attention to how you’re spending money and budgeting. Just do you.
3. The Most Important Promises You Make Are to Yourself
When I dream about my future, I visualize spending more time with my family and traveling. I also imagine a life where we don’t have to stress so much about money and how expensive daycare is.
Right now our jobs and income are so limiting, and I want to break free so we can pursue our real goals of working from home and spending more time with our daughter. I want to watch her grow up and for that I need to be present instead of dropping her off at daycare.
Earlier this year I made a promise to myself and my family that this blog and my new business venture of creating Facebook Ads will grow until I’m not dependent on a teaching job. I promised my wife she can quit her second job. That’s not our reality right now and it kills me. But I know that it will be our reality. I refuse to give up on my goals and break my promise. It’s not even an option.
Your goals should be so close to your heart that it’s impossible to forget them. What really matters to you? Feel the promise in the depths of your heart and let it pour out into action. Do whatever it takes to make your dreams a reality. That’s why I’m up at 4:45 on a Friday morning hustling hard. It’s not easy or convenient, but I do it anyway. I owe it to myself and my family.
“From now on
What’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight
Tonight
Let this promise in me start
Like an anthem in my heart”
Is the Greatest Showman the Right Motivation to Get Out of Debt?
My wife jokes that The Greatest Showman soundtrack is the soundtrack for my life, haha. I laugh, but it’s pretty much spot on. I listen to it all the time, especially when I need to feel motivated and determined. It never fails to get me going.
What’s your motivation to get out of debt? Maybe it’s not music, but a picture of your family or a quote that inspires you.
What promises have you made to yourself that you’re desperate to fulfill? Your dreams are too important to put off even one more day. It’s time to make a plan and turn your dreams into your reality.
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What promises have you made to yourself? What motivates you to reach your goals?
Our budget and goals changed our lives and it can change yours too.
As an Educator and Personal Finance Blogger, Jamie has helped hundreds of families learn how to budget, save money, and pay off debt (go here to subscribe and start your debt free journey). Read our debt free story, “How We Paid Off $73,000 of Debt in Less Than Four Years”.
Motivation comes from the strangest places. I watched a Star is Born the other day and for some reason I drew a massive amount of motivation and inspiration from it.
It really does come from anywhere, and sometimes when we least expect it. Thanks for sharing!