Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Britain’s Got Talent came bursting back on to our screens last weekend with a bang attracting over 11 million viewers. Last season the country sat in amazement as a whole host of young talented people stole the show. Last years winner George Sampson told the story of the underdog coming from a disadvantaged background doing everything it took to win so that he could pay for his mum to have a house.

If the first episode was anything to go by this year is going to be the year of “Not Judging a Book by its Cover.” 48 year old Church worker Susan Boyle took to the stage to the audition and proclaimed that she was going to sing for the judges. All three judges on the panel sniggered and smiled when she said that, as based on her appearance they thought they were about to hear the most terrible audition ever and that she was kidding herself if she thought she could be a singer. Then to the amazement of the judges she belted out an outstanding rendition of a song from Les Miserables.

Susan is now already one of the favourites to win and her performance has been viewed millions of times over on YouTube. After the performance she got an apology from all three judges for the way they treated her before she sang which is very rare indeed and I hope it has taught them a lesson. With shows like this and X-Factor in the audition stages its like we as a country want to laugh at people more than we want to see some talented performers which I think is part of what is wrong with today’s society.

So many times in life we are quick to make judgements and assumptions about people based on what’s on the outside but I think it’s time we started taking more of an interest on what’s on the inside. I think Susan is just one of many people out there who haven’t been given the chance to live their dream or been taken seriously because of their appearance, the way they speak or the way they act. I hope Susan inspires more people to go for their dreams no matter what their situation or no matter how much they think people will laugh at them. Its society today and peoples attitudes which is stopping talent like this being discovered and I think it’s about time that we the people gave these people the chance to shine.

We here at Talented Young People want to know if you find yourself falling in to this trap or if you have ever been judged unfairly and you can share your views by clicking on the link below:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=700


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Delivering on Talent

In this week’s blog I want to talk about a situation every young person wanting to achieve something with their life will experience the moment they have to deliver on their talent. Whether it is a trial, an audition, an exam or a job interview everyone will have a situation where the time for talking and practising is over and where they have to show they are better than all the competition.

I got thinking about this subject this week because X-Factor is starting to reach the business end and because last weekend the football team I help coach kicked off their league campaign.

In X-factor before the weekend they had whittled it down from the first auditions and now all the hopefuls had one more chance to sing one more song and based on those couple of minutes would learn if they were going through to the next round. They had all been put their because the judges thought they had talent but if they didn’t deliver in those few minutes then it was all for nothing. Not giving a good performance wouldn’t mean they didn’t have talent but it would mean they hadn’t delivered on their talent. Being on TV in a situation like that the nation judges you at home on if they think you are good or not they don’t take in to account if you are having a bad day or if that song wasn’t suited to you as they don’t really know how talented you are or could be as they only see you for those brief minutes.

Now delivering on talent is a lot different in competitive sports especially team sports. In this situation delivering on your talent depends on a lot of factors including the opposition, your team mates, your tactics etc. As coaches we believe our team is good but it’s not until others see your performances and see your results that they will judge where you stand. It’s like we took our team to a tournament which was for children in the age group above our team but we wanted to test them. In that tournament we didn’t get any points and looking at the results some people would say they weren’t talented but the experience we got from that tournament helped us to win our first game of the season 2 – 0.

When trying to work out if someone is talented or not you can’t judge them on one performance or a few minutes. Talent is relative as just because you are the best at something in your local area it doesn’t necessarily mean you are better than somebody from another county as the competition in that area may be a lot higher. So if you are in a football team and you finish second in a very competitive league you may be better than a team that wins the league at an easier standard of football.

So just remember success isn’t always based on talent but you can use your talent to achieve great things. Like talent success is relative, if you want to achieve great things and push your talent to the furthest is can go you have to challenge yourself as winning a football match against a team which aren’t anywhere near as good as your team it doesn’t teach you anything or help improve your game but losing to a better team can help teach you things that will make you a better player and a better team.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

What is Talent?

In the UK millions of people are getting caught up in the second series of Britain’s Got Talent. After a successful first series and after the concept being sold to TV networks across the globe the UK’s thirst for TV talent shows still remains. For those that don’t know anything about the show it’s a talent competition with the winner getting the chance to perform in front of royalty at The Royal Variety Show (wonder what winners in other countries win?)

The series has got me thinking and has been a subject of many conversations I have been having recently. The show brings up the question of what is talent? The show has no limits and is just about people performing in front of the judges which has meant we have seen some weird and wacky people and talents on display from people breaking things over other peoples bodies to people re-enacting theatre whilst using a bouncy castle as their stage.

The next question it raises is what level or standard do you have to be at something to be considered talented? Many people have claimed to be able to say what talent is and what standard you have to be at to be considered talented but I don’t think it’s that simple as talent is something very subjective.

I think it’s hard in a show like this to say who is the most talented as I think you can only say who is the best performer. Contestants only get a minute or so to perform one act to the judges in order to progress to the next round. With this set up I think it is possible for people who may not be so-called talented but who are able to perform brilliantly to give that illusion. It’s like someone may not be a great singer but can perfect one song which they have been working on for years and go in and impress the judges.

The show as well as showcasing the best of our country also promotes the worst side of our society by encouraging the live audience to boo off any act they don’t like. It’s like a pack, one starts jeering and they all join in getting some pleasure out of watching someone break down or go off stage. In this country people seem to be ridiculed for being different or standing out for actually having the guts to try something. I have got a lot of respect for anyone that goes on shows like this and gives it a go as it is not the easiest thing to do.

So going back to what is talent? To me talent is something that people dedicate themselves to and show that they can do better or different than other people and who are always improving and wanting to improve.

Have you got on opinion on what talent is? Then why not get involved in our topic of the week and give us your thoughts by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=428

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com