Sales Laundry

Tonight I was at an elementary school talent show watching children do their absolute best to entertain us with singing, gymnastics, karate, piano, jump rope and much much more.

Six singers performed, one with a truly beautiful voice, but she is not the one anyone is going to remember.

Everyone will remember contestant number 7.

Contestant number 7 was a six year old little girl in the first grade with black bouncy pigtails.

She walked out from behind the curtain to center stage standing close to the front edge under a single spotlight in an otherwise dark auditorium.

It took a while for her music to start so she just stood very still, holding her microphone against her chest, waiting and staring out into the black.  In the silence you could hear her nervous shaky breathing until finally her music began.

Within five notes it was obvious this six year old did not have a singer’s voice.

Within fifteen notes no one in the room cared.

What she might of lacked in natural ability she more than made up for in her self-confidence and heart, putting everything she had into her performance.  She belted out her song like it was the final encore of a two hour sold out stadium concert.  It was a huge, powerful sound coming out of such a small person.

When she finished, the audience roared with emotion punctuated by whistles and shouts that did not end until the emcee called for calm.

In a room of a few hundred people, this very nervous little girl, lacking both natural talent and professional training sang on pure heart and confidence, doing her absolute best with the talent she had been given.  She gave us every ounce of energy and emotion her little body could muster and everyone forgot about that whole not singing so good part, and she was rewarded like she was a star.

There will be times when you have to take the stage against people that have more talent, training and skill than you possess.  There will be times when you are at a competitive disadvantage for one reason or another.  There will be times when your friends or co-workers will tell you that you have no chance and that you should not even bother showing up.

Sometimes they will be right, but almost always, finding the courage to do your absolute best regardless of the odds will be a more rewarding experience than not having taken the journey at all.

When you reach one of those circumstances that you think you cannot win, summon the confidence to at least be the one who will be remembered.

“Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”

Woody Allen

Image courtesy of Corbis