inputs/outputs

Susan Boyle is an example of why raw talent is (sometimes) irrelevant.

Love her or hate her, what could we learn from this?

Any video or news story that goes viral has a memorable and home-hitting story attached to it.  Even the inane stuff.  For Boyle, it was the emotional connection between her and the people who are too scared to live out their dreams.  Those people that believe they aren’t good enough, or that no one will take them seriously (a large percentage of the population, in my opinion) – Boyle gave those people a voice and those people roared with applause when she got off that stage.  Not only was there an emotional connection, but it was the type of emotion that made the masses want to show support, whether it was through re-tweets or through CD sales.

I don’t think Boyle cared about the result of her audition.  You could tell from the minute she walked out.  This was about that moment, right then.  No formal training, no aspiration to have a hit record.  Just her, a stage, and her creation.  This is precisely the attitude that brought her to her current level of success.  By doing it, she had already opened a door that most people in her shoes would’ve run from.  Remarkable.

Boyle separated her audience into two crowds:  believers and non-believers.   And the believers, most of them, admitted that she wasn’t a Mariah or a Whitney.  The non-believers were annoyed that there were any believers at all.  And it’s this duality that made Boyle’s story even more remarkable.  The non-believers found the story to be an illustration of how silly humans can be when their expectations are shattered.  The believers found the story to be a reminder of how the underappreciated can win through perseverance and courage.  Neither story is more important than the other; what is important is that both stories exist and are re-told daily.  If it were only one or the other, she would’ve been a passing YouTube phenomenon and that’s about it.

Though there are many success stories related to someone’s talent, this was not one of them.  The fact that Susan Boyle’s voice isn’t remarkable is what makes her story remarkable.    The fact that she is adored and also despised is what makes her story interesting.  But most importantly, the revelation that it’s not always about raw skill is what makes her story valuable.

It was about doing it, knowing that there will be those who laugh at you and that there will be those who wildly cheer you on.  It’s boring, otherwise.