The Boyle Factor:
If you were privileged to witness the debut of Susan Boyle on America’s Got Talent, you have probably never forgotten it.
I still get chills when I see the video clip! However, if you missed it, let me give you a brief synopsis: A middle-aged woman, plain and rather dowdy in appearance, walks on to the stage to be grilled by Simon and the rest of the judges. The camera pans away to show the smirks on the faces of the audience. Simon grills the woman about what she is doing there; his message seems to be that she is not “star” material. The woman’s diffident answers do nothing to dispel this myth! Finally, with a dismissive “go ahead,” Simon gives the woman the nod to begin to sing. She opens her mouth, and . . . the entire room is shocked, then spellbound, then on their feet, many of them in tears! Singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, Susan Boyle showed everyone that what was inside her was nothing like the outside! Her sweet, clear and powerful voice rang through the hall, her performance became an overnight sensation. She went on to have the single most pre-ordered album on Amazon to date and to sell millions of records worldwide. She embodied the ideal of “Believe, follow your dreams, don’t give up and great things will happen!”
This 48-year-old, seemingly unremarkable woman teaches us a valuable lesson. Some people dream and some people make dreams happen. Susan Boyle took her courage in her hands and walked onto that stage, probably knowing that she would be laughed at and even booed. However, she was strong enough to follow her dreams and she achieved miraculous results, despite what must have been a great deal of fear and doubt.
In my new book, The Ambitious Woman, I speak of dream stealers. Dream stealers are those who say that you cannot do what you want. They always try to “bring you back to earth” with their “wise advice” and encourage you to shoot for lesser goals. The problem with dream stealers is they are so often people we like, respect or even love! They may be family members or, as in the case of Susan Boyle, they may be people who are put in positions of power over others. However, just because someone says you cannot achieve your dream does not make it true!
Believe, follow your dreams, and don’t give up. Never let anyone tell you that you are too old, too slow, no talented enough or that your dream is unrealistic. The fact is that if you can dream it, you can do it with hard work and focus!
If you want to see Susan Boyle rock the house with her beautiful rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ you can view it here.
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