Eurovision Song Contest

Did you join the ten million people in the UK who watched the yearly phenomenon that is the Eurovision Song contest? Again the competition was filled with unusual costumes, routines and presenting but most importantly an array of talented young people. All of this was of course coupled with a vote which was based more on geography, history and politics than the talent they actually saw on screen.

In a fair and just world it would be the most talented act that would win every time but the voting you see on the programme represents the state of the world, where it's not always the best people that win or get the best rewards. The world would be a great and easy place if it was always the most talented and deserving people that finished first all the time but that doesn't mean that talent and belief can't get you to where you need to be in the world.

No matter how fair or unfair the world is no one will ever know if they are the most talented person in their field or industry. The pop act that are number one in the charts are the act that have sold the most singles or downloads that week. The world’s fastest sprinter is only the world’s fastest sprinter because someone was there with a stop watch and recorded it he didn’t beat everyone in his division in a race. To add to this you have to think about the people who haven't got recording contracts or haven't competed in an athletic event as there are many people with amazing talents who either don't get the breaks at the right time or pursued their talent. Then there are the people who have talents that they don't know about.

After reading that you may be feeling a bit of doom and gloom but to be armed with this information is a positive thing as by knowing these facts you should start pushing harder not just to be better than the people you are in competition with but to have your own personal competition to keep bettering yourself and to not stop. You should always be looking for new challenges and not stay in the box in which you or your industry has been defined.

Going back to the Eurovision there has been a lot of press this week saying that countries should pull out of the competition because it is deemed not winnable. Now yes granted the competition isn't based on talent but it doesn't mean we should pull out of it. I think instead we should enter talented young acts that need experience of working in front of a crowd or being on TV. UK's entry Scooch may have come back home with an appalling point score but they have gained the experience of performing at the competition, been seen by millions around the world, are now featured on a Eurovision CD and DVD and have had major press attention in the UK. Before the Eurovision it may have been Scooch who but they now have a platform to do even greater things from.

Even if you think you have no chance of winning a competition or you think that the competition is not winnable you shouldn't not enter. The entering of the competition and the experience of competing is what we gain from it. A lot of the time we learn more from losing than winning. If you feel like you can't win then start competing with yourself and pushing yourself to give the best performance you can and to learn as much from the experience as possible.

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

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/