The hidden Gems

Last week was a tough week for me. I wasn't feeling well, I was getting behind in my work and my characters seemed to be on strike in my mind.

We all have those weeks, don't we. Those times where we question our talent and begin to wonder if there is really a future for us. For me there is never a question of what I'll do. Teaching, writing and speaking are my dreams and I'm thrilled to live them each day...but some days we need encouragement.

Many of you may have heard of Susan Boyle in the UK. She was on Britain's Got Talent or maybe it's called "The X Factor". I'm not sure. Go to youtube and check it out. She walked out on that stage knowing what was inside her. While those around her saw her as an unemployed 47 year old woman...she knew who she really was.

The judges and audience scoffed and were openly condescending [hey, it's TV, that's what they're paid to do.] From the first note...everything changed.

One thing I've heard over and over is "How was she not discovered before?" or "How was she unemployed."

She summed it up best, she hadn't yet had the opportunity to audition.

Many of you, my blog readers, are hidden Gems. You are laboring away, day after day, in complete obscurity. You may have occasional glimmers of hope-but nothing breaking out yet.

Susan stepped out on a stage in front of thousands of people in the audience and millions by television. She knew she had one shot-and she was ready. She could have let nerves defeat her. She could have allowed poor self-image to push her down. She could have looked in the mirror and said "I'm nothing more than an unemployed middle-aged woman."

But she KNEW who she was.

I think that so much of success has nothing to do with timing, it has everything to do with believing. Believing who we are on the inside, even when others don't see it. It is recognizing the opportunities when they present themselves-even when it is scary. Finally, it is preparing for our shot-because we never know when it is coming.

This woman was literally catapulted in a moment from obscurity to international stardom.

When she woke up that morning-did she realize how famous she'd be when she went to bed that night?

She is no longer a hidden Gem...many of you still are.

Are you ready for your moment?

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Learn more about Tiffany's Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany's award winning manuscript "A Face in the Shadow" on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer's Rest.