People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross

POINT TO PONDER:

People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross.

-Unknown

STORYLINE by Rajiv Shah:

Susan Boyle stood backstage at the Clyde Auditorium waiting her turn to audition for the 2009 season of BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT. She was forty-seven years old, overweight, with an awkward haircut that was graying at the temples and thick caterpillar eyebrows that furrowed when the stage lights turned her way. She walked onstage in her outdated dress, coal black stockings and microphone cradled in her hand – seemingly the evening’s joke for the audience. The audience scoffed when she said she wanted to be a professional singer and shook their heads when she stated that she wanted to be as successful as Elaine Paige.

Susan’s story to get onto the stage wasn’t easy. She had turned up to audition at the urging of her mother – two years prior – right before she passed away. Susan was so distraught at her mother’s passing that she did not emerge from her house for five days. She had been living at home with her mother - caring for her when she fell ill - and well into her forties Susan had never been kissed or married. Susan was awkward, unattractive, and her greatest dream was in becoming a professional singer seemed reserved for the young and beautiful.

That’s what Susan believed as she had been quietly taking vocal lessons and singing with the choir at the local parish church. Her mother was ailing but encouraged her daughter to risk - to get up onstage in front of more people than the numbers in her church provided.

Susan wasn’t sure she had what it took. She loved to sing and her mother believed in her, but the voice of doubt kept ringing in her head. She reasoned that singing contests were as much about looks as they were about her voice. And who was she to believe that someone in their forties could become a pop star? Susan Boyle wanted to pull out of BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT.

Susan had already dropped out of another competition called X-FACTOR a few years earlier but she had good reason. In 1995 she auditioned for Michael Barrymore on his show, MY KIND OF PEOPLE, only to be mocked by Barrymore during her audition because of her looks. When her mother passed away in 2007, she put singing in the farthest recesses of her mind.

Two years had passed since her mother’s death and in her memory, Susan kept her audition. She now stood before BRTAIN’S GOT TALENT judges Amanda Holden, Piers Morgan, and the infamous Simon Cowell who was notorious for being cruel to untalented contestants. As the audience squirmed, Susan Boyle put the microphone up to her lips to sing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables.

The rest of her audition can be seen at the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

REFLECTION:

Doubt is a dangerous adversary. It is most dangerous because it comes to you as a voice that seems to be your best friend, an advisor, and protector. It feeds on your fears and stops you from pursuing your dreams by outlining all the possible pitfalls along the way. It will make promises of failure and play them over and over in your head should you find the courage to pursue your dream. This voice is most dangerous because it sounds LOGICAL and REASONABLE and when pitfalls come into your path, as they always will, it will seize the opportunity to exaggerate them. It is the voice that will tell you that Susan Boyle’s story is not your story and cannot be – the details are different - she posses more talent than you, is luckier than you, and her story cannot be yours.

So you might continue as you always have, keeping your hobby just a hobby, following your passion only when you have the time, and secretly wanting more than you feel comfortable to admit. Because the voice has been right all along - dreams are meant to be dreams and that this is the reality you deserve.

Comments

[Ramesh]

Every life has a story. Write your own as the author says.

[Chen]

Susan Boyle teaches us an age old lesson: not to let other people's view cloud your own view of self worth. She did not get discouraged with comments about her appearance or clothes. she believed in herself.
Good reminder. thanks

[M.Zhao]

Ms. Boyle story and your personal Reflection very inspiring.You are true that Doubt is a dangerous adversary.
It stops risk taking.
Thank You for very good story every week. I share with my friends.
Zhao

[micro CEO]

2 thoughts come to mind in Boyle's story. First it's interesting to see how confident (nervous yet confident) she appears on the televised audition. She may have had doubts but she clearly knew she could sing well AND she knew that her homely appearance would make the impact on audience all the more powerful. In other words, she capitalized on her disadvantage (appearance) and turned it to her advantage (exceeding expectations). This was also the case for Paul Potts (another amazing singer who became a sensation on this show, also despite his homely appearance).

2nd, I have read that any doubts she may have harbored were as much due to her age as her appearance. Now age is one of those self-limiting factors that pressures many to give up saying "I'm just too old for that", or "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". We've been told that only a child can fully master a new language, or all the great mathematics achievements come out of young scholars, etc. While there is certainly some truth to these *on average*, there is nothing to stop us from taking up a new discipline and fully mastering it, whether one is 40 or 50 or 80. (If there are any disadvantages to being older, they are only related to health/constitution and available time due to work, family, and other worldly responsibilites that weigh heavier on us as we age. ) There are many successful cases of atheletes, musicians, and scientists who started late and still had great results. I hope I can continue to challenge my boundaries through my 80s and 90s.
To paraphrase from a favorite move, Gattaca, "There is no gene for the human spirit".

[G3B]

As the judges had mentioned in the audition, this video and the reflection was a 'Wake-up call' for me too. Thank you for yet another wonderful article. I also thank CEO for his excellent comment as that comment is another article by itself.