Confession time: I am mildly obsessed with watching the talent-competition reality shows like America’s Got Talent and The Voice — mostly the auditions and the finales.
Okay, maybe more than mildly. And maybe I find myself moved to tears over and over while watching these shows. Or clips of the most amazing auditions on YouTube.
Like this audition, on the 2013 season of X Factor: Meet Carly Rose Sonenclar
I watch these moments, and something remarkable unfolds in each and every one. Carly Rose Sonenclar, undoubtedly, was BORN to do this. Her entire life (albeit short, at 13 years) had built up to that one shining moment. The entire time she’s singing, you know it. She loses herself in the moment, totally surrenders to the intensity of performing. The instant she opens her mouth, you know you’re experiencing something huge. Something that will change her life, and possibly the lives of everyone witnessing.
It’s the moment a dream is realized.
And it’s a moment we all deserve. One that’s within our grasp — whether we recognize the possibility or not.
It starts with the uncertainty leading up to the moment. Can I really do this? Will they get it? Will they really see me? Am I good enough?
The nerves can be overwhelming. The doubt can be suffocating. But at some point, the urge to live our destiny overpowers the uncertainty. We *know* that we are meant to do this. We feel it from the bottom of our souls. Anyone who gets a peek inside this dream knows it’s real, in a big big way.
We take a deep breath and summon the courage, because we know there’s really no choice. It’s either take the risk and go for the dream…or regret it forever. Be brave, girl. Be bold.
Then it happens. Our particular brand of magic is unleashed on the world, and the shockwaves ripple out — touching and inspiring and shocking and awakening everyone in reach. We surrender to its power, and as it consumes us, those who watch or listen or read are forever changed on some level. The most amazing part of this whole process? It just comes so naturally to us. Whatever it looks like on the outside — singing, dancing, speaking, writing, performing, healing, competing — it’s all the same inside. We pour our souls into it, and it takes over.
As we leave ‘the zone’ — as athletes often refer to it — we come back down to reality and wait. Will there be applause? Did it work? Here’s the funny part — even though everyone is blown away, in awe, eating it up…we still aren’t sure. Until it comes. The validation. The confirmation that YES, a star was born here. You have arrived. We see you.
This is where I tear up. Without fail. In that instant, when all the work has paid off, when the recognition strikes, when the soul is applauded. Because in that instant, perfection is attained. That soul’s destiny is affirmed. No matter what happens going forward, there will always be that moment.
So now I ask YOU…what is your big dream? What is the dream that is so far-fetched, so scary, so out of reach that you could never even consider going for it? The one thing you fantasize about doing? What dream do you keep putting off until that ever-elusive “someday” — when you get your finances stable, when your kids are grown, when your husband gets that promotion, when you finally get married? Someday is now. There will never be a better time to take the first step toward your big dream than RIGHT NOW.
What will it take to get you just a little more aligned with your dream? Just seek out that one small step you can take today.
Because you, too, deserve to get 4,833 yeses.
xo,
