What Do Clay Aiken and Susan Boyle Have in Common?

To answer this question, you have to see these videos:

Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent Audition (20M views  right now on youtube)

Clay AIken’s AI2 audition

Oh, and watch this Josh Groban video too while you’re at it. Josh Groban on Ally Mcbeal singing “You’re Still You”

The “no chance, dude” syndrome.

What do these performances have in common? These made us realize just how readily we judge people based on appearance.  I call it the “no-chance-dude” syndrome because you clearly did not give a person a chance to show you what he or she can do before tagging him or her a ‘wannabe’ or worse, a ‘loser’.

That is, until the universe closes in on you and slaps you in the face. You know that  feeling of deep shame that comes with the realization that you were completely wrong about a person? That’s a cosmic slap right there.

You see, there are people who know they aren’t “average” but are being forced by society to believe they are. They get shoo’ed at every turn and get judged mercilessly by others.

Most of the time, you know there’s something special about you, but the general consensus (your friends, co-workers and the people you meet) says otherwise.

The mistake is believing what people say and not sticking to your dream.

You become average ONLY when you believe what people say about you. When you just give up and agree with them, you acknowledge that you don’t have it in you to excel. I just posted about mediocrity, or being average (a post that was supposed to come out on Easter lol). And, now here’s a post to describe how mediocrity is sometimes NOT self-inflicted.

Have you ever felt that you have something special to offer but people aren’t buying it? If they don’t see it because they get blinded by their own perception of what is supposed to be talented and beautiful, you don’t just give up on yourself.

The EVIL guys I work for online have this term… “DHV” or “demonstrate higher value”. No one will really know you’re great until you show everyone you’re great.

Watch the Susan Boyle audition again and sing along with me….

“I Dreamed a Dream”  (from Les Miserables)

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame

And still I dream he’ll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.