There are many who think she was hiding her talent, confused by why she didn’t take that talent and storm the world with it. Others of us are talking about how she wowed the judges, the audience and became an overnight sensation with more than 35 million views of just one of the hundreds of videos of her, now on YouTube.

I say, here’s a lady who knew what she wanted, who has also been sharing her talent with the world since she was 12. I would imagine she’s the most regular choir member at Lady of Lourdes because she enjoys singing. She has won the annual singing contest, sponsored by the local lawn bowling club in her small community of Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, because she loves singing and is an extremely talented singer.

She doesn’t fit ANY stereotype.

She shares her talent with the audience she’s with, always has. She sang right where she was in her town. Spent her own money to record a demo tape. And just to be clear, she stated in the pre-interview before she hit the stage,

“I’ve always wanted to perform in front of a large audience. I’m going to make that audience rock.”

She had to deal with other issues in her life, possibly with her confidence, but not with her singing. Her singing is love, mixed with talent.

One thing she has never done is hide her talent. How could she, she’s been singing since she was 12. She has a demo recorded of two songs, Cry Me a River and Killing Me Softly With His Song. The former song even made it onto a charity compilation CD for Whitmore Academy.

Here’s why I like Susan Boyle. She knows what she wants. She spotted an opportunity and went for it. She was herself the whole time, even being a little bit cheeky on stage. Plus and this just cracks me up, she’s enjoying her sandwich, while others waiting to audition/perform sit around looking just a bit nervous.

The backstory of Susan Boyle’s life will continue to be uncovered. She’s only just beginning this part of her journey.

She hasn’t been hiding her talent from the world. I believe the world hasn’t been ready to accept Susan Boyle for being exactly who she is, how she is or accept her for with what she has to offer. Until now anyway.

She’s always been and I hope will always be exactly who she’s meant to be, Susan Boyle.

Now can we say the same thing?

If you believe nothing is ever your fault or you were wronged (I did).

If you say things like, if only they would do x then I could, would, have or be… (check).

If it appears that everyone else is always better off than you are (checkmate),

I might wonder, who’s got the power? And wonder I did because I certainly didn’t have any power. First I thought it was my parents fault. Then it was the schools and teachers fault. Next I blamed racism, sexism, religion, society, politicians, leaders, corporations, governments anyone at all, except me.

So I started reading and thinking and writing and thinking some more. I started watching people I thought had the sort of power I wanted and watched what they did, how they thought, how they responded. The catalyst in this watching process became an email from Tom Justin. I have been on Toms email list for 367 days as of today. I received his first email on July 4, 2007.

I found myself angry after reading the first few of his emails to me. He kept talking about the power of NO. He started telling me I am powerful. I am influential.

He made me angry by suggesting that I use this power and put myself out there, become open to people and open to people telling me NO. That NO was and is a good thing. He even offered to share with me some ways on, “How to Use the Power of NO.¹” How dare he? Who did he think he was?

Who was he, to tell me I have power when everyone else, my friends, my family, my boss is telling me different? Who was he to tell me I am responsible for using my power or to even suggest what power I might have.

It’s not true. It can’t be true because if I had power, my life would be completely different. If I had power, if only I had power I could . . .

His emails made me want to argue with him, make a point of proving him wrong, proving to him I didn’t have power. Thank goodness, I failed. I’m honestly grateful because failing means I am uncovering, discovering and recovering my personal power.

So who’s got your power? Really. Because if you aren’t using it, or aren’t aware of it, your boss, your friends, your family, someone else, someone other than you, is using it.

Here on the GET CAUGHT THRiViNG! blog, I want you to succeed. I want you to aim for your dreams. I want you to soar with your power.

I want you to find out about your personal power. I want YOU to acknowledge and use your personal power. Read what Tom has to say, (just click on the colorful and underlined text above) and if what he says speaks to you in any way, take action.

It’s your power. Accept it. Own it. Use it to make your life, your world better. I am.

Want to discuss it, comments are open. Let’s grow from here.

This post inspired by Tom Justin and YOU, if..

You’ve been caught up, caught out and caught in the act, now . . . GET CAUGHT THRiViNG!

¹ Tom Justin is the author of "How to take NO for an Answer and Still
 Succeed" and offers "How to Use the Power of NO" as a free download.
 Take some action, use your power.