Travel Tune: Madonna – “Jump”

Madonna has been around the block a time or two: she’s embarked on eight world tours, scooped up a kid in Malawi, and waved her red Kabbalah string all over Israel. Hell, she’s even seen Vanilla Ice’s nethers.

How did she achieve such amazing feats by the tender(ish) age of 54? Despite the level of personal and professional comfort that come with being Madonna, these things didn’t just fall into her pilates-toned lap — she’s seen the world and done crazy things because she dives headfirst into what she wants. We as world travelers could learn a few things from this ballsy approach to life, and luckily the Queen of Pop has blessed us with the song “Jump” which reveals her infinite wisdom as a badass vagabond:

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I haven’t got much time to waste, it’s time to make my way
I’m not afraid of what I’ll face but I’m afraid to stay
I’m going down my road and I can make it alone
I’ll work and I’ll fight till I find a place of my own

I won’t shun you if you don’t like Madonna or this track from her mid-aughts reinvention as a disco diva, but it would take a real stick in the mud to say that this song doesn’t dish out some sage advice. Like the dudes doing parkour around Tokyo in the video, sometimes you just have to say “f*ck it” and jump. Buy a plane ticket on a whim! Take a job in South Korea while you’re young! Run away on a cross-country road trip without telling anyone! Well, maybe tell someone so your parents don’t send out a search and rescue team. But you get the picture.

Add “Jump” to your travel motivation playlist and maybe if you listen to it enough you’ll overcome the mental block keeping you from seeing the world. Just don’t blame me if you end up doing something crazy like taking up parkour and breaking your neck — you can blame that one on Madonna.