Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Dreams Do Come True!

Dear Friends,

Most news are not worth reading, and I don't usually read the newspapers except for business news. However, I do read news of people who do amazing and inspiring things.

There is a video clip on Youtube of the hottest sensation that has rocked the world in the last two days.

Susan Boyle is 47 years old, unemployed, never been kissed, lives with a cat, and every one was very cynical about her ambition to be like her idol, Elaine Page, just looking at her.

Judge for yourself. "Dreams do Come True", and it is moments like this that makes life exciting and enjoyable. Click on the name of Susan Boyle, and make one of the best 7 minutes time investment of your life. Almost 1.5 million people have watched Susan in the last two days on Youtube. You should too.

Susan Boyle is Unemployed, but definitely not down and out.

Some people may think that "Yeah, right. That's one in a million success story. You just picked the rare exceptional achievement. It doesn't depict the real world out there."

Well, here's another one. His name is Paul Potts. He was a sensation one year ago, and as at today, 47 million people have invested 5 mins of their time to watch him. Click on the name Paul Potts and enjoy the success of one of the first ordinary person to become Extraordinary because he was given ONE Chance.

You would be right in saying that these people are rare and exceptional. They WERE Ordinary People, who decided to become Extraordinary. Of course, they had hidden talent, which they had been working on for years, but they never had the chance to show their talent, and possibly, they never had the courage to do it in the past. Then, they took the ONE CHANCE that was given to them, and they made their Dreams Come True.

These people had Talent. But Talent was not enough. I'm sure that they worked hard on developing their Talent for years before they could become successful with just one chance. I don't think Susan or Paul worked on their Talent because they knew that some day they would make their Talent work for them. They worked on improving their Talent because they had a passion for Singing. Chase your Passion! Work on your Talent.

So, we've got Talent, Hard Work, and Passion. Two more ingredients are required to make Dreams come True. There is a need for an Opportunity to arise. Susan and Paul's Talents were ready a long time ago, but the Opportunity did not arise, and that's why they remained in obscurity.

This is the one Element that we cannot control. There is still an element of Good Luck involved. But without the other three Key Factors of Success, i.e. Talent, Hard Work and Passion, these people would still not have been able to convert Opportunity (Good Luck) into Success.

In my opinion, many people have the Talent and Passion, and are willing to work hard, and do have Opportunities (more than once), and yet they remain in obscurity. This is because they lack the Ultimate Key Factor of Success, the one that determines the Doers from the Talkers, i.e. Courage.

"Courage is the Ability to Act despite the Presence of Fear." Susan and Paul were nervous. Susan even left the stage immediately after she finished singing, without waiting for the judges' comments, and had to be called back. BUT, she did it. And aren't we proud of her?

In conclusion, it doesn't matter if you are ordinary today. If you want to be Extraordinary, you must "Chase Your Passion" and Work Hard to develop your Talent. Then, when you are ready, you must go out and search for Opportunities. Ultimately, you must "Seize the Day", the chance that is being given to you, and make that ONE CHANCE in a Lifetime happen for you.

If you are ready, Opportunities will come. But, you must be ready, and you have to be able to see Opportunities when they arise. You must have the Courage to Act, at the Opportune moment, or it will pass you by.

With this, I wish every one of us "Ordinary" People, an Extraordinary Life, be it known to the public, or only to you. What is most important is not to live the Extraordinary Life only in your mind, but to live it with your heart and soul.

"Dreams Do Come True" ........... at least to some of those who dare to dream, and willing to work towards their dream.

Best wishes,

Ooi

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