Appearances can be deceiving.
A great many people I’ve known through the years prided themselves on their ability to “size up” or to “get a read on” a stranger in the first moments of an encounter. While this is perhaps a useful capability, I have always taken great caution when exercising it myself, leaving ample room for the adjustment of my initial perception.
Never underestimate your fellows.
The more I get to know my friends and close associates, the more I am impressed by their incredible array of hidden talents, capabilities and passions. I learned early on to always leave room to be surprised by the breadth of capacities some people are capable of revealing or similarly the depth of capability others have in specialized areas. Life is wonderful that way, always offering gifts to be admired and appreciated.
You may have heard of Paul Potts, a British cellular telephone salesman lacking in self-confidence who tried out in front of Simon Cowell and a full audience for the show, Britain’s Got Talent. When asked what he was going to perform, he said he planned to sing opera. The judges gave one another looks that appeared to say “get the gong ready.”
The music started and here’s what happened…
Did that give you goose bumps as it did me? Whenever and whenever genius finds expression, it’s worth taking note. As Simon Cowell noted, it is a “breath of fresh air.” Potts went on to win the competition and is now performing internationally. In a later interview Potts noted that he was often bullied as a child and he had always felt that the one thing he had that could give him comfort was his voice. How wonderful that he was finally given proper stage for the expression of his unique creative genius!
Rarely can you read a book by its cover and correctly guess its contents. Be willing to be surprised and delighted by your world and you will find a whole new world unfold from the familiar and perhaps stale one you’ve grown accustomed to over the years.
I’d love to hear your stories of people who have surprised and impressed you and as always, I am looking forward to your comments.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Gregory Hake 
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I bet it was a huge surprise Paul Pott’s coworkers and old school mates to see his hidden talent revealed!
I think it incredibly important for our young people to be exposed to a story like Paul Pott’s and others’ who you’ve shared on your blog. It enlarges their future.
You may be aware of a recent branch of TED called TEDx. Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” TEDx is designed to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. A great platform for communities, organizations and individuals to showcase what really matters to them.
A trend coming out of TEDx is being adopted by some school programs where the students are getting the opportunity to research, analyze and share the ideas being presented through TED. One project I’ve been following the past few weeks is the TEDxClassroomProject spearheaded by teacher Christian Long. This is a 7 week program currently in process through May, where 80+ 10th grade English students are collectively analyzing 640 of the currently published TED talks. Each student gets to work in depth with at least 8 talks, and has been submitting their summary as a weekly blog entry on the TEDxClassroomProject website. Students are also responsible for presenting in front of their class 2 talks they highly recommend and 1 talk that is not something they enjoyed or agreed with at first pass. The final piece of our TEDxProject experience involves every student giving their own “5-min” TED-like talk about a topic of his/her choice. They will use “What Matters (to You)?” as their ‘essential question’ to explore for their own TEDxProject Talk.
I thought this was worth noting because it illustrates the tools at hand for us to find inspiration and learn about other people in the world at large, and hopefully it is not missed that the same skills can be applied at the micro level when we are with those in our immediate worlds. What great training and exposure at the high school level!
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The TEDx program sounds fascinating. I look forward to reading what Christian Long’s students have to say about the remarkable collection of talks given freely to the world via TED.
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That man had a wonderful voice. This is a great reminder to take stock of the assumptions I have made about people that I’ve known for a long time, and also to remember not to think that I know everything about someone from their initial appearance.
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Little embarrassed to admit it but some of my in-laws were a total surprise to me. Basing your view on someone’s reputation is usually a big mistake. Remember the kid’s game “telephone”, after the story had been repeated just a few times it was seldom, if ever, what had been said in the beginning. I’ve learned to take what is reported in the news, on line, from others and my first impression with a grain of salt. Familiarity, jealousy, smallness etc. will distort perceptions or become blinders. Bring the surprises on!
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My husband and I read and watched this together over breakfast this morning. He actually had never seen Susan Boyle’s premier on a different season of the same show, so we watched that on youtube as well. One of the judges after Susan’s performance honestly noted that everyone was cynical in their first impression of her and were against her, but that every single one of them had been proven wrong. Why is that a default tendency in people’s hearts? Bless you for leaving the door open for something more to be seen where it otherwise might be overlooked or even cruelly squelched.
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How wonderful that Paul Potts was able to find an anchor in the creative expression through his voice at a young age. The capacity for creative expression is a fundamental aspect of mental health. I am a huge supporter of expressive arts programs (art, music, writing, movement, drama) for young people so that they have the means to tap into their unique genius at an early age and have this very personal sense of purpose to carry them through the awkward and often cruel phases of growing up.
One resource I peruse for inspiring people is a series of ongoing interviews by Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli, M.A. whose website features “My Creative Life” – a five question, biweekly interview with folks who are living authentically, creatively, and making a living out of their passions. The focus is on those working more in the creative arts, but the principles of their living could be applied to any vocation and passion. (http://theexpressiveartscoach.blogspot.com/ for her older posts, and http://www.theexpressiveartscoach.com/ for her current website)
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It is humbling to realize how often I might assume an impression of someone as just a lump of coal and miss the diamond that is inside. Thanks for uncovering the layers for us to find inspiration from, and wonder and appreciation for the talents and different perspectives in the world around us. Remarkable week of new thought you’ve opened up for me!
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Elizabeth Gilbert who you actually introduced to me via your blog was a major surprise to me. After reading some reviews on her book Eat, Pray, Love I was not at all interested in reading it but after hearing her presentation on TED I felt like she had such a valuable view to consider.
Taking the time to get to know someone is crucial. I can think of two particular instances in my life that I would have missed people who contributed so much to my life if I had held my first impression of them and humbly I recognize there have been many I missed completely.
I too have learned to give people the space to be themselves and when I haven’t I realize I have cut opportunities for them and most assuredly for myself.
Another thought is when I have impeded someone else it was rarely ever because of them, it was because I was completely preoccupied with myself, what I was thinking or how I felt, what was happening to me or worse, things in the past, etc. That I say so we can be careful we don’t let our gifts be stilted because someone didn’t receive them. Don’t automatically jump to the conclusion it is personal.
Beautiful music this morning, thanks and thanks for the reminder that there are more pleasant surprises if we reserve snap judgment and leave the space for them to happen; not just with people but experiences too.
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