Why were there tears in your eyes when you first saw and heard Susan Boyle sing? (Don’t be ashamed to admit it. We all had tears.)
One reason is that there’s a part of all of us that roots for the underdog – and Susan certainly was the underdog. Fat, unattractive, frumpy, middle aged, unemployed – a target for ridicule.
Then she opened her mouth and all of our biases were turned on their heads. We started cheering for the underdog who was fulfilling her dream.
For some people, though, there was something else going on. Some people watched Susan and reflected on their lives and realized that they hadn’t achieved their dream. Some realized that they were afraid to go for their dream. They heard all of the people cheering for Susan and they knew that people had never cheered for them like that.
Then these people dug a little deeper and acknowledged that they hadn’t achieved their dream because they’ve been afraid. They’ve set up imaginary barriers that have held them back.
For many years I worked as a Paramedic in a major New Jersey city. I treated thousands of patients and dealt with death every day. Death didn’t bother me at all. I knew it was simply a part of the cycle.
What did bother me was what I heard from so many people in their last moments. So often they were begging for more time. They told me what they hadn’t done yet in their lives. They told me what they had been afraid to do. And now their time was up.
If you’ve ever been on one of my coaching calls, you know that I’m very supportive, but I have no tolerance for excuses. Excuses are the barriers you’ve put up, blocking the way to your dreams. I won’t have any of it.
Watch Susan’s video again. There are so many powerful moments.
Notice how confidently she walks on the stage. Listen to the ridicule, cat calls and laughter from the audience before she started to sing. She smiles through it all. She knows what coming next.
Look at her smile during the eleven second introduction to her song. She knew what was coming. She was the ONLY person in that entire theatre who knew what was coming.
Look at Simon’s eyebrows jump up as he hears her first notes.
Feel the impact of knowing that the moment she opened her mouth and started to sing, her life changed forever. She became famous around the world.
Then imagine how she felt as she ended her song and heard the audience go wild for her.
And notice how she blew a kiss to the audience as she walked off. As one person posted on this blog, she knew she slayed the dragon.
So many times people tell me they couldn’t possibly do an interview on a radio talk show. They tell me they can’t possibly write a powerful press release. They tell me all the things they can’t do.
At that point I can pretty accurately describe their lives – and it’s not a happy story.
I have the life I’ve dreamt about because I ignore fear. Fear may be there. I just don’t acknowledge it.
I want you to have the life you dream of. I’ll do whatever I can to help you. But in the end, it’s up to you.
You can live in fear and give up. Or you can ignore the fear and have an incredible life.
Here are some of the lyrics of the song Susan sang. Read them carefully and see how they apply to your life. Do you have tigers that come in the night and tear apart your dreams? Why do you allow them to tear apart your dreams?
Susan couldn’t have picked a better song.
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
