Daring To Dream: The Audacity of Scotland's Susan Boyle

The world has embraced YouTube’s brightest new star and Britain’s Got Talent participant, Susan Boyle. In just a few short days, she's received over 16 million hits of her extraordinary performance. That’s an amazing feat.

Why has she captured our hearts? She’s talented, as good as any performer I’ve ever seen. But many talented individuals never capture the imagination of the world. Nor do they gain the admiration of Simon Cowell. Seriously, she left him grinning like a man in love.

Here’s why we love her. She’s a bit awkward and without pretense. How many people would admit on international television that they’re 47 and have never been kissed? While she’s blessed with the voice of an angel, she’s certainly doesn’t fit the music and entertainment industry standard of stunning attractiveness. We love her because, in addition to being incredibly talented, she’s real. She didn't hide her dream, her nervousness, her talent and ultimately her joy.

I see her, and I see a bit of me. My dreams, my fears, my joy, the fact that I don't meet industry standards of physical perfection either. Seeing Susan, real as she is, reassures me that even in these tough times, I don’t have to be perfect to have my dreams come true. Neither do you. What a relief.

What can we learn from Susan Boyle about accomplishing our dreams?

1)Accomplishing a dream takes great courage. Susan put herself out there, risking ridicule because she believed in herself and the talent she possessed.

2)Dreams don’t happen in a vacuum. No one sings like that without a lot of practice. She didn’t dream about singing, waiting for her day to arrive. She put in countless hours practicing and was ready when the door of opportunity opened.

3)She believed in herself. With certainty, yet completely lacking arrogance, she proclaimed, “I’m going to make that audience rock.”

4)Susan Boyle owned the stage. Watch her body language as she steps toward her dream. Everything about her walk said, “Pay attention world, I’m here.” Accomplishing a dream means commanding attention. Confident body language cues the world to pay attention.

5)Doors don’t open automatically. When asked why she hadn’t accomplished her goal of being a professional singer, she replied, “I’ve never been given the chance before.” Some dreams take a long time to come to fruition. Susan never gave up her dream of singing in front of a large audience and when she had the chance, she seized it.

6)While the world can be cruel, it embraces people with talent who take risks and go for the gold. On the flip side, those who make fools of themselves are ridiculed and the rest of us are abhorred that no one has told them the truth about their ability along the way. Either that, or they haven’t been willing to hear truth when it was offered. Those who accomplish their dreams know the truth about their ability.

Susan Boyle’s story is a modern day fairytale at a time when we most need to believe that extraordinary things can happen, and the real reason she’s captured our hearts is because she invites each and every one of us to pursue our dreams as well. Thank you, Susan Boyle, for reminding us that dreams really do come true.