| |
| |
|
Success Information |
|
|
|
Success Involves Ignoring Critics
Critics can destroy or inspire you. Your own self critic is often the most deadly critic of all. I was thrown out of the school choir at the age of 8. The teacher said someone was growling. She walked along the row and announced that I was the growler! From that day onwards, I have had little if any confidence when singing. Maybe she was right but maybe she was wrong. I have since learned that so called experts are not always right. They can't be because they so often disagree with other 'experts'. In March 2005, there was a comic relief week in the UK when money was raised for various charities. Several celebrities volunteered to take part in a singing competition based on a British version of the Fame Academy of the famous American film - Fame. The judges were Craig (who is involved in putting on dance shows), Richard Parks (the headmaster of the Academy) and Lesley Garrett (a lively and popular opera singer). Opinions were also asked from David and Carrie Grant (the voice coaches) and Kevin Adams (the fitness and movement trainer). On Thursday, 3rd March 2005, the singers competed for survival in the competition. First up was DIY celebrity, Nick Knowles. Cat, one of the two presenters, spoke to him: "Everyone seems to say that you're confidence is growing. Would you believe that to be true?" "Yes, thanks to David and Carrie. I think I have progressed a lot since I first held a microphone ten days ago and I'm really enjoying it now." Nick sang the old Beatles' song about singing out of tune with great power and feeling: "What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?" His performance was magnificent in my opinion but the views of the critics differed greatly. Richard Parks said Nick had shouted; the voice coach, Carrie, said he didn't shout; Craig said he was out of tune. Lesley said his tuning was improving. She added: "The voice is the window to the soul and I think your soul is fabulous. You just need to clean your windows a little bit." Konnie, the next singer, had infuriated some of her teachers by her lack of concentration. Her performance was probably the worst of the evening and no improvement on previous performances. But at least she kept going to the bitter end. Lesley said her tuning was awful but she needed more work. The other two judges gave little hope. Craig said: "You completely crucified that song and to make it worse you screamed it at us. You were completely out of tune. But you did show confidence". Richard Parks, Head of the Fame Academy, had told Reggie Yates (top of the pops presenter) that he was vocally chronic. Richard said that singing was Reggie's biggest problem but Carrie told Richard that he was Reggie's biggest problem: "Richard, you have discouraged that boy so much that he is trying to scrape what confidence might be left off the floor." Without confidence that you can do or learn to do something, progress is practically impossible. Lesley Garrett, the popular opera singer, also scolded Richard: "You must never tell anyone they can't sing. Every one can sing and every one can improve." Next was Jon Colshaw, the impressionist. He began the competition as someone who could not sing but David Grant, one of the voice coaches said: "He has made more progress than anyone." Richard said he had been shaken but not stirred by Jon's rendition of 'From Russia With Love." Craig agreed with Richard. The criticized bit back: "I'm very surprised that the two of you heard anything from so far up your own bottoms." Richard was desperate to reply to this insult but Paddy one of the presenters pointed at his own bottom and said: "We'll have to leave it back there!" The audience roared their appreciation. Richard is not their favourite. Kim Medcalf, who has a beautiful voice, then took a risk by singing an upbeat song instead of a ballad: "If you want to taste my kisses in the night,Jump, Jump for my love" Many men would be only too willing to jump for her kisses but the two men judges on the panel did not like her performance. Lesley, however, loved it. The amount of disagreement over the ability of nearly every singer was huge. The same disagreement occurred after Chris Calhoun sang. Chris had had a bad day on the Wednesday and was described by Carrie Grant as a complete confidence sieve. On Thursday, he sang about a depressed man whose despair was eliminated by his girlfriend:"Then I look at you and the world's alright with me Just one look at you and I know it's going to be a lovely day." Richard said the tuning was off. Lesley said "Today you were relaxed; the tuning was fine." The critics could not even agree about singing in tune! Debra, who was next, sang beautifully and moved beautifully. Craig, however, was not totally happy: "You should learn to move in high heels." Paddy, the presenter, said "I am interested to know how you know how you should move in high heels." The audience, who dislike Craig as well as Richard, laughed loud and long. I think I have made my point. Experts disagree not only about our ability to sing but about our ability to do most things. So let's not pay too much attention to them. They may of course be right but let's at least try very hard to do what they say we can't and find out for ourselves whether they are right or not. Lesley Garrett in the above account was certainly worth listening to. That is not surprising. She is not only a critic; she is also a great singer. I am not saying ignore the critics all the time. Just ignore them most of the time! About the author John Watson is an award winning teacher and martial arts instructor. He has recently written two books about achieving your goals and dreams. They can both be found on his website http://www.motivationtoday.com along with a daily motivational message. The title of the first book is "36 Laws To Ignite Your Inner Power And Realize Your Dreams Now! - Acronyms, Stories, And Pictures...Easy To Remember And Use Everyday To Grab Your Life And Soar With The Eagles" The book can be found at this URL http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php The book uses acronyms, stories and pictures to help readers remember 36 laws that can gradually transform your life if you apply them. You are welcome to publish the article above in your ezine or on your website so long as you do not alter it and keep in the words about the author and the 36 Laws.
MORE RESOURCES:
Success - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Living A Life Without Limits The starting point of all great success and achievement is dreaming big dreams. There is nothing more important and nothing works faster. Success in Life and the Mystery of Focus If you are wishy-washy and undecided about you want and go to see a very powerful person who knows exactly what he wants, he will get out of you what he is looking for since he is more focused than you.Define your aim very clearly and know exactly what you want from the person you are about to meet. The 2-Word Phrase That Conquers Adversity and Breaks Through Obstacles "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. . Sharpen Your Saw by Continuously Learning What does a sharp saw have to do with lifelong learning? For all you Covey fans, you know Dr. Steven Covey coined the phrase "sharpen the saw" in his highly acclaimed book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The Curse of Success Geniuses Don't talk to me about how to succeed! I've read success advice and books and articles. They're all?""What Do You Think I am Going to Say?""They're all good? They're too good!Why, when I've read just what to do to succeed, I am ready to tell the President to get out, so that I may show the world what real success is. Marketing In The Moment (Consciously) It's really all we have.. Paying Attention Being a spiritual teacher has continually frightened me. Not because I don't want to do it but that I don't feel adequate for the job. Success: 11 Universal Laws to Get You There The Law of Experience"Success comes from good judgement; good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgement." The more at bats you get, the more experience you get, the more successful you can be. Staying Cool When the Job Heats Up Jobs are heating up. We're all feeling the pinch of hiring freezes and information overload. How to Network Your Way to Success Successful people do not achieve success on their own, they surround themselves with a well-developed, sophisticated support network. In a world that grows more complex and more competitive each day, networking is necessary not only for survival but for high achievement"?excerpt from the best-selling book "Masters of Networking". The Courage To Act The world is full of people with great intentions. They dream about all the wonderful things they would like to have and do in their lives, as soon as they get around to it. Signs Along the Road to Achievement One of the first things most of us remember hearing when learning to drive an automobile was "Keep your hands on the wheel." Then there were other precautions like, "Keep your eyes on the road, drive defensively, buckle up for safety, and watch the road signs!"These basic precautions would keep us moving along safely and help us arrive at our intended destinations on time. The DNA of Top Achievers Of course by now we are all becoming aware of DNA. It is the source code that determines who we are. Changing Your Mind Can Be a Wrestling Match If you've been walking this earth for any length of time, it must be pretty clear by now that if you want to make changes in your life, the first thing that needs to change is YOUR MIND! But here there's a problem - maybe a lot of problems - called LIMITING BELIEFS.. 7 Ways to improve Your Listening Skills Do you know how much time do you spend listening? It is estimated that half of our time is spent listening. Good listening is an essential part of active communication and makes us better managers, customers, coworkers, supervisors, parents and mates. Wait, Thats Not on the Map Back from my amazing summer excursion, a month long drive through Spain! Well, I mean, I didn't do any of the driving, my partner did. See, I only know how to drive an automatic and since we have a stick here in Belgium, my partner kindly agreed to do all the driving. Success Analysis - The Concept of Critical Mass How many times have you thought about being successful, famous, having lots of money? Many times, I'll bet. Then you start to think about the cost of all that and you go to have a little lie down until the feeling passes. Discover Your Path to Success - Part 1 Success can easily be compared to the "genie trapped in a bottle." For many of us, it is a matter of finding a way to open the bottle, and then, follow a specific path. Masterminding Your Way To Greater Success Napoleon Hill coined the concept of the mastermind alliance in his classic book Think and Grow Rich. He believed that a group of like-minded, achievement-oriented individuals could dramatically leverage each other's success. The Major Key to Your Better Future is You Of all the things that can have an effect on your future, I believe personal growth is the greatest. We can talk about sales growth, profit growth, asset growth, but all of this probably will not happen without personal growth.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
