Keep on Moving

In life there are many setback and obstacles put in our path. Some we can control or see coming, some we can’t. In life there will be so many opportunities and times where you think you can’t go any further and feel like giving up on your quest to fulfilling your dream. Well this week I’m here to encourage you to just keep on moving.

When we get a knock back sometimes it becomes hard to see what we should do next as we may have pinned our hopes on getting that job, that scholarship getting on that course etc. And because we pinned all our hopes on that one thing we didn’t stop to think, “What if I don’t get it?” “What am I going to do next?”

With every success or failure it is important to keep on moving. Failures and successes shouldn’t deter you from the path towards achieving your dream. If you experience a failure its up to you to pick yourself up and look at how you can keep moving. Keep on moving could be a case of finding a different course or a different source of funding and keep on moving can be simply putting in more time working on your talent. Every day is precious and the longer we are stopped for the harder it is going to become to achieve your dream.

Keeping on moving won’t guarantee you success but it will put yourself in a position to grab opportunities that are out there. If you keep on moving it will show prospective employers, agents etc. that you are committed to your dream and that you don’t let any setbacks get in your way.

By committing to keep on moving you may find better opportunities out there than the one you just missed out on. You will also be more aware of all the opportunities that are out there so it will help you make better decisions on what paths to follow.

So if you have just received a knock back remember it isn’t the end of the world, dust yourself off and keep on moving by going out there and finding new opportunities. Never stop!

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

Fame

Last week the American box office smash hit remake of Fame came to our screens in the UK. The original Fame was a classic film and one that many people either studying performing arts or working in performing arts have seen. So I thought it only right that I comment on it in this week’s blog.

I’ve seen the original and last week saw the new release and although I loved the original I do still like the remake. I think the way they have adapted it has made it relevant for young people today and focuses on a lot of the problems people in the performing arts world have trying to make it in the business.

I will try not to spoil too much of what happens but for those unfamiliar with Fame it centres around a handful of students who attend the most recognized performing arts school in the country which happens to be in New York. The film follows the individual characters from auditioning to get in to school to graduation and showing how the quest for fame changes and affects each of them.

Coming out of the film I felt very uplifted. In a current culture of people wanting to be famous more than they want to be talented and the rise of reality TV I think it put performing arts back in to perspective. The film showed that fame doesn’t always equal happiness and that you can love your talent without having to be famous for doing it. It showed that success isn’t about becoming famous it is about being happy which is a message many young people need to hear as sometimes some people can become to obsessed with becoming famous.

So if you can please go and check out this film it is very much worth a watch.

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

Is it worth it?

This week saw the first live show of X-Factor hit our screens and as per usual it has been headline news all week in the tabloids with over eleven million people watching over the weekend. One of the headline stories have been twin act John and Edward who have encountered the wrath of the tabloid press and the general public.

The twins have been highlighted throughout the audition process for their over the top personalities, their attitude and their antics which included singing over others or signing other peoples lines at bootcamp and then giving one of the worst auditions at the Judges house section and still getting picked.

Without knowing them the press has brandished them as vile creatures and the general public have got on the bandwagon by starting up Facebook groups which are about wanting them kicked off, voted off etc. It was to the amazement of many that they managed to survive the first round of the live shows as they were the favourites to go out. The scorn against the pair has got that bad now that the judges and presenters are having to try and counterbalance it with being nice to them at any chance.

Yes they aren’t the most talented act on X-Factor but I think they know this and this is why they have done what they have and acted in the way they have to get where they are. Instead of being credited for how they have managed to get themselves in to the top 12 they are being despised because of it. To get in to the top twelve if you aren’t the most talented on the show must be harder than if you are the most talented.

However in light of the reaction to the pair they now must be thinking was it worth it? Yes they have got themselves their fifteen minutes of fame but I think they are going to find it hard when they come out of X-Factor to either be taken seriously or to get work. Sometimes we can get so shortsighted in our goals and will to succeed that we forget to look at the bigger picture.

I think there is something to admire in John and Edward’s determination to get where they are but it is a great case to look at for long term success. If you are going to put a lot of hard work in you need to make sure it is going to be worth it and if you are going to use a high risk strategy you have to be very careful and be prepared to accept the risks.

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

Volunteering and the Recession

Something that crossed my mind the other day was I wonder how volunteering has grown or changed since the recession. Are people out of work using this time to volunteer or are they spending their time doing other things? With the shortage of jobs are young people doing more volunteering to bulk up their CV and make them standout?

I think bodies that support volunteering in this country should be doing more at the moment to try and make sure as many people out of work are volunteering as possible. I remember in the past we have had things like Millennium Volunteers and the Year of Volunteering but I think it is time for a push again.

During a recession there should also be more volunteering opportunities made available to cope with the demand. Instead of volunteering organizations thinking right we can be more selective in who we take on because of the demand their should be agencies working with people to find them a volunteering opportunity that is right for them.

During a recession, profit making enterprises may feel like they capitalize on the situation by getting people to work for free for them in return for some work experience and a reference but I think it is important that we make sure that people aren’t getting ripped off and are getting something out of it.

If you have some spare time on your hands be sure to find out what volunteering opportunities there are in your area. You will be surprised by what is available to you. Just always make sure to check out the organization and the position first to make sure that it is the right place for you as if it is you will be amazed by what you can get out of volunteering.

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

Student Loans

In many cities and towns across the UK over the last week you will have noticed that its that time of year again as students descend on University for Freshers Week and to start their term. This year there has been a record number of students applying for University and getting placed so there will be even more of them wondering around your local area.

However due to the record uptake and the recession it has caused problems with student funding with many students still waiting to receive their allocated student loan. Without student loans many people would be unable to afford to go to University and it is causing many problems and stress for students up and down the land. Some students don’t even know yet how much they will be receiving in payments so can’t even budget yet as they have no clue how much they will be entitled to.

The University year doesn’t get delayed because of students not getting student loans so students have been forced to try and get money from other areas whilst they wait for the money to come in. Some are getting loans from high street banks, some are having to get jobs and some are having to borrow from friends and family. These solutions are only going to add to their long-term debt or affect their ability to achieve on their course.

Universities still expect their fees, landlords still expect their rent and other things have to be paid for including food, bills, books and all other imaginable essential living items regardless of whether your student loan has come in or not. This means that some people will leave University in more debt than they should do or even worse still have to leave the course because they can’t afford to be on it without the student loan.

Many of the current MP’s got their University education for free so its about time they did something to help put pressure on the loan companies to sort this out or find a way to deal with the problem as if it isn’t rectified it could lead to a brain drain from University with high achieving students being forced to quit their course. If left any longer this problem will have unfair affect on students from poorer backgrounds, those who don’t have friends or family who can lend them money, or savings they can dip in to. Students from wealthier backgrounds may be able to deal with the situation and keep on going but University should be for everyone regardless of their financial situation.

Have you been caught up in the Student loans problem? If so we would like to hear what you think and you can share your views by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=780

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

Excuses

I personally think that excuses stop us from achieving so much in life and I think we are growing in to an excuse culture. In sport if a team or an individual loses they say its not because the opponent was better than them but instead blame it on things they did wrong or other factors like the referee. If somebody doesn’t do well at school it can be the school system, their background, teachers or anything else that their parent can think of which is to blame. I think it is about time we got out of this excuse culture.

In sport I think if you can’t see or admit when a team is better than you, you will never succeed. Saying a team is better than you can be a positive experience if done right as you can use that team as your motivation to get even better than them. The high majority of sporting matches are won by the better team and with only a few really being down to bad referring decisions or other circumstances. If you make excuses it stops you from improving or working hard which is the only way you are going to become the best if not you will be making excuses all season.

I think it is also time that we stopped blaming our situation in life or our background and using that as an excuse to why we don’t achieve. There aren’t many people in the world who’s life is actually perfect and there will always be someone better of than you or worse off than you. Everyone has problems of some kind and normally it’s the ones that don’t about them who have the biggest.

If you want to succeed in life you have to cut out the excuses because they only stop us from reaching our full potential. I would rather achieve something than have to always be coming up with excuses. You have to remember that the more you make excuses the less people care and in the real world excuses don’t cut it.

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

Pushing it too far

Now if you have been talking about TV this week the chances are you have been talking about Derren Brown and his lottery trick. Last week live on TV he put together a show where he proclaimed to have managed to predict all six lottery numbers that were going to be drawn. On the show you saw a set of balls on screen but could not see the numbers and then after the lottery had happened Derren turned them around and they did in fact match the lottery numbers that were shown, however this doesn’t mean he predicted them.

Regardless of whatever technique you were to use to predict the lottery numbers the percentage chance you had of predicting them all correctly would still remain the same which is approx 1 in 14 million as there are that many different combinations that can come out. However Derren’s show was crafted so well that he got many people believing he had actually predicted the numbers.

This isn’t the first stunt Derren has pulled, over the last few years he had done Russian Roulette and a show on mind control how he managed to get people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. Now both of these tricks might like his recent stunt be fixed but these two were plausible that he could actually pull them off, with Russian Roulette you never have a worse than fifty percent chance of getting it wrong and the idea that you could through the art of suggestion get someone to do something is again very plausible. However with the lottery stunt I think he has tried to push the envelope too far and it has come unbelievable.

In the human spirit there I something that wants to believe that there is someone out there that could do something amazing and we would all love to be able to predict the lottery which is where Derren gets his fan base. I think if Derren tries too many of these stunts, too often I think he will lose any credibility he has. In my opinion Derren is a great TV presenter an a great illusionist but as for having the powers he proclaims I’m not too sure, I will however give him one thing he is great at getting people talking and if this show has caused people to try their hand at maths and problem solving to try and prove or disprove his trick it will have done something good.

I think it is a wise lesson for young people to learn from Derren Brown that if you push things too far that you may become unstuck so always be sure to think about what you are going to do and your next move before you do it because as soon as you lose your credibility then you’ve got problems.

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