On American Idol this week was a stunning performance by a singer named Abi Carter. She entered the audition room humbly and told about being the second eldest in a family of seven children. Then she sat down at the piano to play and sing. She chose the Billie Eilish Song, What Was I Made For? This song was featured in the famous Barbie movie.
It was stunning. She was stunning.
Once it was over and the judges had rendered their opinions, resulting in her receiving a platinum ticket to Hollywood (a huge honour on this show), and once they had predicted she might win the entire competition, I turned to Jim and said, ‘She’s an example of someone who, when her chance came, was ready, and made the absolute most of it.’
Earlier that week, before the show ever aired, and before I was thinking about American Idol, I heard the comment, ‘If you’re always ready, you never have to get ready.’ It was a reference to running and being in shape for races. On first blush, it sounded about right. After watching and listening to Abi Carter, I definitely agreed with it. Clearly, she had been ready. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought this was an unrealistic pressure to put on ourselves. We cannot possibly always be ready. Not for everything. We cannot always be in top physical condition, ready to run a marathon or bike a Fondo at the mere mention of one. We cannot always have enough money in our savings so that when we hear about a great trip, we just can throw a few things in a bag, ready to take off. We cannot always be ready to apply for the next promotion, or to leave our current job for a completely different one. And at home we cannot always be ready for illness, for accidents, for hardships, for unexpected news, or sometimes even for the little glitches life sends our way.
However, Abi Carter, taking the stage on American Idol was ready. The words to What Was I Made For have been playing in my mind since hearing her. What is it I am made for, I’ve been wondering.
I don’t think I was made simply to be ready. I don’t think the purpose of my life is to be so organized, so perfect, so on top of every single thing that I, at the drop of a hat, or at the suggestion of someone, can simply pop into the spotlight, ready. I don’t think any of us were made for this. I have, at times in my life, very fleetingly wondered when my chance would come. When would I be invited to step into the spotlight, finally getting a chance to showcase myself? And then I used to wonder, what exactly would it be that I’d showcase? I didn’t have a clue. Not that it mattered, my experience tells me life doesn’t quite work like that.
For most of us mere mortals, there is no stage awaiting us, at least not in the way we envision stages to be. There is no big announcement telling of our arrival. There is no perfect lighting, no prepared video of our backstory highlighting the hurdles we have overcome, or the successes we have had. There are no famous judges waiting to launch us into some yet unknown life.
And yet, we can still be ready for whatever it is we are made for.
My friend Betty sent us a little belated Christmas letter telling us of her new address. She hasn’t moved, but the county where she lives has changed addresses to match those of the 911 system. In her letter she said, ‘I plan to stay here on our acreage for a few more years, but I’ll wait to see what life gives me.’
This is Betty.
She’s not spending her time fussing about being ready for her big moment. One of Betty’s many gifts is that she is never looking for a grand stage, but she is always ready to recognize the stage placed before her. Betty is always ready to put her best self forward. She does not save her ‘best Betty’ for only certain bold occasions. She recognizes that when a friend calls and invites her to go for coffee, she’s being invited onto the stage. When she has a meeting on her calendar, she’s being invited on stage. Same with when her family comes to visit, or she to visit them. Or friends. Same with when she has a medical appointment. Betty never disappoints. When she is invited, she brings her best self. Once Betty gets on stage, in other words once she is in the moment, she gives her absolute best performance. No whining, no wishing it was different, just noticing the moment and making the most of it. Betty treats moments of playing with children with no less enthusiasm and complete attention than she does to a trip to Europe. As her letter indicated, she hopes her stage will be her acreage for the next years, but if a different stage appears, I have no doubt Betty will make her climb onto it look effortless.
Perhaps Betty has unlocked the answer to What Was I Made For? What a life well-lived it is when we choose to be in the present moment and make the most of it. What a well-lived life when we stop searching for the huge stage with the bright lights, and instead recognize all the smaller, meaningful stages we cross every single day.
At this point in my life, I’m not looking for a huge, bright stage. I try to recognize all those little moments, those smaller stages, that invite me to bring my best self forward. I’ve figured out who I want to have on my stage with me, who I would love to have in my audience, and exactly what role I now play. I know my director only wants the best for me, and the others with me are not called supporting actors by accident. The friends with whom I surround myself play the role of support brilliantly. I only hope I do the same for them.
Tuesday night, two nights after Ali Carter’s performance on American Idol, I was on the Stampede Grounds waiting to perform in the Opening Ceremonies for the Special Olympics. This was completely unexpected. A small group from our large CC Dance group had created a fun little dance to perform at our Christmas party in November as part of the entertainment. We did it just for fun and only for our group of dancers. Our song was the Barbie Song (Come on Barbie, Let’s Go Party). We had no idea that performance wasn’t the end of it.
Through an invitation from the Special Olympics organizing committee, we were invited to perform it on Tuesday night. This time it WAS a huge stage. There WERE bright lights. There WERE famous people in the audience. There WAS cheering and dancing. It was by far, the largest audience I’ve ever stood in front of. But I wasn’t there in any role I could ever have imagined. I wasn’t giving a speech on leadership. I wasn’t guiding an organization on Strategic Planning. I wasn’t speaking about education in Kenya. I was Construction Barbie. Dancing to the Barbie Song.
We have no possible way to imagine the ways we’ll be invited on stages in our lives. We don’t know what we were made for. We can try to be ready for what we think might come our way, but I can assure you, never in a million years would I have thought I should prepare to be Construction Barbie dancing on stage. What I am so grateful for is that I have people in my life like Betty who have taught me that when the stage appears, get on it, get present, and enjoy every minute of it.
My inquiry for you this week is, ‘What stage is awaiting me right now?’
Elizabeth is a certified professional Leadership Coach, and the owner of Critchley Coaching. She is the founder and president of the Canadian charity, RDL Building Hope Society. She works with corporations, non-profits and the public sector, providing leadership coaching. She creates and facilitates custom workshops for all sizes of groups and has expertise in facilitating Strategic Plans for organizations. Contact Elizabeth to learn how to take the stage.
It was stunning. She was stunning.
Once it was over and the judges had rendered their opinions, resulting in her receiving a platinum ticket to Hollywood (a huge honour on this show), and once they had predicted she might win the entire competition, I turned to Jim and said, ‘She’s an example of someone who, when her chance came, was ready, and made the absolute most of it.’
Earlier that week, before the show ever aired, and before I was thinking about American Idol, I heard the comment, ‘If you’re always ready, you never have to get ready.’ It was a reference to running and being in shape for races. On first blush, it sounded about right. After watching and listening to Abi Carter, I definitely agreed with it. Clearly, she had been ready. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought this was an unrealistic pressure to put on ourselves. We cannot possibly always be ready. Not for everything. We cannot always be in top physical condition, ready to run a marathon or bike a Fondo at the mere mention of one. We cannot always have enough money in our savings so that when we hear about a great trip, we just can throw a few things in a bag, ready to take off. We cannot always be ready to apply for the next promotion, or to leave our current job for a completely different one. And at home we cannot always be ready for illness, for accidents, for hardships, for unexpected news, or sometimes even for the little glitches life sends our way.
However, Abi Carter, taking the stage on American Idol was ready. The words to What Was I Made For have been playing in my mind since hearing her. What is it I am made for, I’ve been wondering.
I don’t think I was made simply to be ready. I don’t think the purpose of my life is to be so organized, so perfect, so on top of every single thing that I, at the drop of a hat, or at the suggestion of someone, can simply pop into the spotlight, ready. I don’t think any of us were made for this. I have, at times in my life, very fleetingly wondered when my chance would come. When would I be invited to step into the spotlight, finally getting a chance to showcase myself? And then I used to wonder, what exactly would it be that I’d showcase? I didn’t have a clue. Not that it mattered, my experience tells me life doesn’t quite work like that.
For most of us mere mortals, there is no stage awaiting us, at least not in the way we envision stages to be. There is no big announcement telling of our arrival. There is no perfect lighting, no prepared video of our backstory highlighting the hurdles we have overcome, or the successes we have had. There are no famous judges waiting to launch us into some yet unknown life.
And yet, we can still be ready for whatever it is we are made for.
My friend Betty sent us a little belated Christmas letter telling us of her new address. She hasn’t moved, but the county where she lives has changed addresses to match those of the 911 system. In her letter she said, ‘I plan to stay here on our acreage for a few more years, but I’ll wait to see what life gives me.’
This is Betty.
She’s not spending her time fussing about being ready for her big moment. One of Betty’s many gifts is that she is never looking for a grand stage, but she is always ready to recognize the stage placed before her. Betty is always ready to put her best self forward. She does not save her ‘best Betty’ for only certain bold occasions. She recognizes that when a friend calls and invites her to go for coffee, she’s being invited onto the stage. When she has a meeting on her calendar, she’s being invited on stage. Same with when her family comes to visit, or she to visit them. Or friends. Same with when she has a medical appointment. Betty never disappoints. When she is invited, she brings her best self. Once Betty gets on stage, in other words once she is in the moment, she gives her absolute best performance. No whining, no wishing it was different, just noticing the moment and making the most of it. Betty treats moments of playing with children with no less enthusiasm and complete attention than she does to a trip to Europe. As her letter indicated, she hopes her stage will be her acreage for the next years, but if a different stage appears, I have no doubt Betty will make her climb onto it look effortless.
Perhaps Betty has unlocked the answer to What Was I Made For? What a life well-lived it is when we choose to be in the present moment and make the most of it. What a well-lived life when we stop searching for the huge stage with the bright lights, and instead recognize all the smaller, meaningful stages we cross every single day.
At this point in my life, I’m not looking for a huge, bright stage. I try to recognize all those little moments, those smaller stages, that invite me to bring my best self forward. I’ve figured out who I want to have on my stage with me, who I would love to have in my audience, and exactly what role I now play. I know my director only wants the best for me, and the others with me are not called supporting actors by accident. The friends with whom I surround myself play the role of support brilliantly. I only hope I do the same for them.
Tuesday night, two nights after Ali Carter’s performance on American Idol, I was on the Stampede Grounds waiting to perform in the Opening Ceremonies for the Special Olympics. This was completely unexpected. A small group from our large CC Dance group had created a fun little dance to perform at our Christmas party in November as part of the entertainment. We did it just for fun and only for our group of dancers. Our song was the Barbie Song (Come on Barbie, Let’s Go Party). We had no idea that performance wasn’t the end of it.
Through an invitation from the Special Olympics organizing committee, we were invited to perform it on Tuesday night. This time it WAS a huge stage. There WERE bright lights. There WERE famous people in the audience. There WAS cheering and dancing. It was by far, the largest audience I’ve ever stood in front of. But I wasn’t there in any role I could ever have imagined. I wasn’t giving a speech on leadership. I wasn’t guiding an organization on Strategic Planning. I wasn’t speaking about education in Kenya. I was Construction Barbie. Dancing to the Barbie Song.
We have no possible way to imagine the ways we’ll be invited on stages in our lives. We don’t know what we were made for. We can try to be ready for what we think might come our way, but I can assure you, never in a million years would I have thought I should prepare to be Construction Barbie dancing on stage. What I am so grateful for is that I have people in my life like Betty who have taught me that when the stage appears, get on it, get present, and enjoy every minute of it.
My inquiry for you this week is, ‘What stage is awaiting me right now?’
Elizabeth is a certified professional Leadership Coach, and the owner of Critchley Coaching. She is the founder and president of the Canadian charity, RDL Building Hope Society. She works with corporations, non-profits and the public sector, providing leadership coaching. She creates and facilitates custom workshops for all sizes of groups and has expertise in facilitating Strategic Plans for organizations. Contact Elizabeth to learn how to take the stage.
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