When Paul Potts, a mobile phone salesman from New South Wales, announced that he was “here to sing opera” on the television show, Britain’s Got Talent – think American Idol with an English accent – it was all that Simon Cowell, his fellow judges, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden, and the audience could do not to snicker out loud.
Poor guy. Rumpled suit. Gap in his front teeth large enough to drive a red double-decker London tourist bus through. Slouched posture. A near-grimace of self-doubt on his face that was truly painful to behold. An embarrassing moment just head. A car wreck you just couldn’t take your eyes off. So I had to watch.
And then the miracle. A voice suited for the Royal Opera House in London or the Teatro alla Scala in Milan stunningly bursts forth on the opera classic, Nessun Dorma. The loquacious Cowell had no words – Amanda openly wept. Audience members, including some who looked like they were on their way to a U2 or Linkin Park concert and might possibly have never heard of opera, gave Paul one standing ovation after another.
The timid phone salesman found his voice.
Many people seem to simply be going through the motions in life. Too many disappointments. Too many failures. Too little recognition and affirmation.
Of course, it’s possible that some of us have given up dreaming and daring for the simple reason that we have held on to the wrong dreams for too long. We’ve been trying to sing someone else’s song and haven’t found our own calling, our own gifting, our own purpose that transcends gap teeth, rumpled suits, and any other shortcomings real or perceived.
Have you found your voice? When your moment arrives, will you be ready to sing?
Mark,
Interesting link; thanks for sharing. Now lets talk politics.
Yes, I’m definitely crying. I don’t know if there’s a higher form of human approval than to have Simon Cowell tell you you’re absolutely fantastic 🙂
MH
Did someone say politics? Coming your way soon! Might even have something that stirs the pot a little!
Paul Potts for President!
GJ
That being English detail is going to hurt his efforts to get on the ballot!
Mark- Congrats on starting the blog- enjoyed the commnets here as well as the video- some stuff is just plain good stuff sometimes- ’nuff said.
Welcome to blogging. I look forward to reading your thoughts and ideas. I’m curious about your boss’s motivation for encouraging blogging among employees. How does the company benefit? (I’m not being cynical at all here because I trust the source, merely curious.)
Angela is referring to Mike Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson, who blogs and encourages Nelson associates to blog. I think there are a couple ideas at work, but probably first and foremost is that blogging is a new form of communicating and interacting that is growing in use and overall impact and we need to learn from the experience as the world of publishing continues to evolve and change early in the 21st Century.
Make sense?