47 Year Old Unemployed Dreamer Brings Me To Tears
My wife sent me an e-mail message with a You Tube link attached and said, “Jim, check this out – it will inspire you”. I immediately clicked the link and waited in anticipation as the video uploaded on my computer.
The next thing I know I am observing a video of a very common looking, middle-aged woman being interviewed in some sort of waiting room or lobby. In the interview I am experiencing her as a plain, very simple spoken, down to earth, authentic woman.
I remember noticing a stream of doubt and negative judgment streaming through my mind, attempting to distract me as I continued to observe this interview. I was intrigued as this woman spoke. The more she answered the questions the interviewers asked the more captivated I found myself. But the doubting, negative voice in my head kept demanding that I exit the video and move on to something more productive. It harshly judged this person and doubted her capacity to inspire others.
Thankfully, through a lot of arduous work, I have developed an ability to quiet these limiting, negative, judgmental impressions that often attempt to derail me from that which I have chosen to focus my attention on. Rather than joining the chorus of doubt and negativity I simply said to this judgmental voice, hush! Let’s just watch the clip and see if it inspires.
This heckling presence in my head quieted itself in disgust as I commanded my mind to pay closer attention to the interview that was unfolding.
What happened next amazed me, lifted me up, enlivened me, caused my heart to overflow with the energy of unlimited possibility, transformed my mood, and brought me to tears.
It turns out that this normal looking woman being interviewed on the video was Susan Boyle who lives a quiet life at home in Blackburn, West Lothian, England with her cat, Pebbles. She’s a contestant on the 2009 television show called Britain’s Got Talent. Susan is a 47 year old, unemployed dreamer who entered this competition as a way of fanning the flames of a vision she has been feeding since she first began singing at the age of twelve.
Suddenly the interview moved from the pre-contest setting of the hotel lobby to the big stage of the actual competition. Now Susan was standing in the center of a huge stage, set in a large theatre, filled to its capacity with energized onlookers. Seated in the very front row in an elevated section sat the show’s three, well known and sometimes controversial judges, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan.
Simon began to ask a few questions to give the audience a sense of the contestant before she performed. He asked the usual what is your name and where are you from questions. When Simon asked her how old she was, Susan said 47 and the audience gasped while Simon rolled his eyes.
Then he asked Susan, “What is your dream?” Without pause she boldly proclaimed, “My dream is to be a professional singer!”
With that response the camera began to pan the judges and audience for their response. I saw people smirk, roll their eyes, and nonverbally shout “yeah right!” The same doubt-filled, heckling voice that had invaded my awareness a few moments earlier was now raising a ruckus in the minds of everyone in that auditorium. I noticed myself wanting to join them. Once again I attempted to command my inner cynic to be quiet. I have to admit that at this point I was not completely successful. The cynical voice in my head was no longer willing to wait for Susan’s performance to let the facts determine her vocal quality and capacity to inspire. It demanded that I prejudge and doubt.
Simon continued, “Why hasn’t the dream worked out so far Susan?” She replied, “I’ve never been given the chance before, but here’s to hoping that this will change that.”
Simon followed up with, “Who would you like to be as successful as?” To which Susan replied, “I want to be as famous as Elaine Paige.” The audience literally laughed aloud at that one!
Finally Susan announced to the judges that she would be singing the song, I Dream The Dream From Les Miserables.
Now, the moment Susan had rehearsed in her heart, in her mind, in the shower, and in front of her bathroom mirror thousands of times over the past half a century was dawning in her actual experience. The camera panned backstage where they queued the music. The audience held it’s breath, expecting a total flop but quietly hoping it would not be too embarrassing.
The music began to play. Susan then gracefully and confidently held the hairbrush, I mean microphone up to her lips and began to sing. Eight simple but powerful words into her song, the hecklers were silenced, doubters became believers, nervousness gave way to awe, limitation was lifted, hearts were moved, and enthused support filled the concert hall. I felt as if I had been transported from my kitchen stool in front of this You Tube video right into the music hall. I sat there along with the judges and the rest of the audience completely mesmerized by Susan Boyle and her splendid performance. Tears of admiration and appreciation welled up in my heart and began to flow down my face as I allowed myself to be inspirited and transformed by this beautiful, 47-year old unemployed dreamer.
Susan had a dream. She dared to picture herself as a successful singer. She persisted in nurturing this picture of herself no matter how many people rained on her parade. Even though the opportunity had not presented itself in nearly four decades of dreaming, she playfully and patiently kept singing in the privacy of her own home or for anyone who would listen. All the while, Susan imagined herself performing on enormous stages and delighting huge audiences.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Britain’s Got Talent offers her an opportunity to share her unique gift with the world. When this opportunity knocked, Susan Boyle boldly stepped forward and answered the call by accepting the challenge. She put her hat in the ring and dared to sing. And sing she did! As of this writing over four million people have experienced this performance on You Tube. Many of them, like me have been forever changed by her performance.
Susan Boyle has reminded me just how powerfully and creatively magnificent we are as human beings. We truly can create whatever we can imagine. When we dare to clarify what we want, picture it in our mind’s eye, feed the picture with positive energy, infuse it with rich sensory perception, we seed our subconscious mind with a powerful imprint. When this imprint is nurtured and fed on a regular basis, it gathers strength, fuel and momentum and one day it leaves the launch pad of our minds and begins to inform our thoughts, direct our feelings, express powerfully creative words, guide our behaviors, attract opportunities… and the next thing we know… just like Susan Boyle… we find that our dreams have become our reality.
May Susan’s example inspire you to create the life of your dreams?
Jim M Anderson - Samurai of Self-Development
PS If you haven’t had a chance to view this yet, do yourself a big favor and take the time to experience it. Her is the link. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
