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Ellen Rohr Business Expert |
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The ‘Good News’ factor
BY ELLEN ROHR,
contributing writer
Could you be the only person on the planet who has not yet seen the YouTube clip of Susan Boyle auditioning for the TV competition, “Britain’s Got Talent”? If so, go to www.youtube.com and search for Susan Boyle.
Susan is the youngest of nine kids. She had learning challenges as a kid and was bullied for that and her awkward looks. She honed her skills at church, and doing karaoke at the local pub. At the time of the audition, she worked as a church volunteer and was looking for a paying job. When asked why she finally came forward, she said, “I did it for my mother because she always believed in me!” Her encouraging mother died two years ago, leaving Susan alone and depressed. Still, Susan went through the paces — whatever it is that one must do to end up on the audition stage of “Britain’s Got Talent.” And she brought the house down.
I asked if you had seen the video because if anyone on the planet has not seen it yet, it is probably you. I meet and work with lots of contractors. I make it a point to ask about movies and books and great TV and theatre and sporting events. We have access to so much information that it is understandable that you get overwhelmed. However, what are you doing all day that is all that important? Why isn’t there time for a ball game with your kid or a transporting hour of reading?
And so many have abandoned what they really, really want out of life. They point to the economy or their responsibilities and they say, “I have to do this; I have no choice.” As Susan sang, the last line of her song, “My life has killed the dream I dreamed.”
“Sell your cleverness. Purchase bewilderment.” ~Rumi
What’s great about the YouTube clip is the reaction of the judges and the audience. Even Simon Cowell shelves his cynicism and replaces it with a meter-wide grin. You feel the shift in consciousness. To use a British term, we are all gobsmacked. You can’t stop smiling. You get goose bumps and maybe feel your eyes well up. It feels fantastic.
By the time someone forwarded the clip to me, over 41,000,000 people across the globe had already viewed it, within a few days of the show airing on British television. I’ve watched it about a dozen times because it feels so good to experience that shift, that moment, when you know her whole life led to that unexpected performance. You are witnessing talent and timing and the pure magic of synchronicity. The feeling is important. That energy and vibration positively impacts the world. Hope and joy and laughter trump fear and anger. We need more good news and feel good moments!
If you’ve seen interviews with Susan, you will be underwhelmed at her star power. She is shy and answers questions with as few words as possible. She seems so like your charming cousin, who entertains at family functions but has never had the gumption or the opportunity to do something with her talent.
Yet when Simon asked her what her ambitions were she answered without hesitation that she wanted to be a professional singer, with a career like Elaine Paige. (Elaine Paige is known as the First Lady of British Musical Theatre.)
Up until the moment that followed, how Susan was going to create a career like that was not apparent. It was downright impossible, if you were to consider it rationally. Susan is too old, too dowdy, too remote to become a world-class singing sensation. And no one else believed. Her career could well eclipse Elaine Page’s career. She had the goal and she took steps in that direction. She made her way to the stage of “Britain’s Got Talent,” not knowing what would come of it.
So, how about you? Why not now? At age 65, Colonel Sanders started knocking on doors, selling his recipe for fried chicken (11 herbs and spices) and created a franchising empire. Mary Kay was squeezed against the glass ceiling at age 45. She decided to quit her sales job after 25 years and start her own business. A week before the planned opening, her husband died suddenly and unexpectedly. She and her son pressed on through the fear to multi-billion dollar sales of Mary Kay cosmetics. For every disappointment in life, there is an opportunity to transform it.
Consider a big shift. Consider doing what you really want to do. Consider putting yourself out there even if you might fail or others may judge you and bully you. Take the next few minutes and make a list of your Goals. Goals are things you want to have. What do you really, really, really want to have?
Your Goals for this year….
List and prioritize this year’s Goals. Goals with “A” Priority are reflected on the Top Project list.
Goals for any time…
Then, take action! Refer to your Goals. Then, take a swing. What could be done to move in the direction of your Goals. If you don’t know, try something. This is where the Top Project list comes in. The Projects are things to do that will move you in the direction of what you want. You can even delegate some of the Projects. Yep. It’s that easy. It should feel great! And if you have never written your Goals down, I encourage you to do it NOW. If you have, you know that this is one way to get what you want. Simple and powerful. Most folks don’t dare acknowledge their dreams. I encourage you to be one who does.
“Our truest life is when we are in our dreams, awake.” ~Henry David Thoreau
You can positively and powerfully impact the planet. Do things that feel good. Stop and acknowledge someone engaged in an act of kindness or forgiveness. Notice when someone shifts the energy in the room by laying aside ego and blame. Set your sight on the point on the horizon that calls to you and sail in that general direction no matter what fears manifest or naysayers step in your way. You may not achieve your Goals. Like Susan, the world may conspire to help you have even more.
“Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.” ~Susan Boyle, The Washington Post
Let’s hang on to this! Let’s create more of this. I added to my Goals list for 2009….
• “Send Susan Boyle a video of an inspiring moment!”
Help me out by sending me one of yours!
Have you ever wasted money (maybe lots of it) on marketing that just doesn’t work? Join me for the Grow Big in a Recession program. I promise this strategy will help you grow calls NOW or I will give you all of your money back. www.growbiginarecession.com. Ellen@barebonesbiz.com.
