12 parenting advice tips from Bruce Springsteen lyrics

There are very few things that have provided me as much comfort and inspiration as the music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen has from my childhood through adulthood.

And I should know. Something of a "super groupie," I've attended over 50 of The Boss's concerts, including two trips to watch the Jersey poet and his E Street Bandmates work their magic on their latest tour.

As also the parent of two beautiful daughters, I am often reminded of those life lessons built into the music and lyrics that are so engrained in me and have been a constant source of companionship and reference throughout out the many phases of my life. The common theme of overcoming obstacles and believing in yourself are a central theme in most.

Here, I’ve shared my interpretation of some of Bruce Springsteen’s words and wisdom that I’m working to incorporate into my own children’s lives for “this part of the ride.”

Matt Sayles/AP
12 parenting advice tips from Bruce Springsteen lyrics. In this Feb. 12, 2012 file photo, The Boss performs during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

1. New York City Serenade

“So walk tall, or baby don't walk at all."

Whatever you choose to do in life, do it with pride and confidence. Others will respond to the positive manner in which you carry yourself.

1 of 12

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.