If you somehow have not seen the video of Susan Boyle’s audition for the show, “Britain’s Got Talent”, here’s the link. This is ‘must see’ Internet video.
Over the last day this video and this lady have been one of the hotter topics on the Internet and TV. I have watched the video a handful of times and my reaction is the same each time. I smile. My eyes get a little watery. I root for her and enjoy the enthusiasm of the crowd. And it makes me feel guilty about my initial judgement which set my expectations so low.
Susan is physically the near opposite of what our culture defines as beautiful. Yet she sings like an angel. Her audition performance is a stunning contrast to our expectations. Obviously no one was more surprised than the three judges. The Daily News has a very nice article here.
I don’t know about you, but, her audition hits several important chords for me.
- Do not abandon your dreams. Ever.
- Do not let the opinions and expectations of others govern your actions.
- Conventional wisdom is suspect.
- The old saw “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is totally validated.
- I am so rooting for her to win!
However you react to Susan, her audition is a wonderful lesson.