My books, Be True, Be Happy and The Steps of Essence, are all about being yourself; and at times that can be one of the hardest things you will ever do. To help and inspire you, I want to share with you this fantastic story and video. I was in Europe in the summer of 2008, and this particular TV spot was all the talk in Germany: What you see is a man, somewhat plain if not pudgy, with a bit of crooked teeth, shyly walking onto the stage of some kind of talent show, along the lines of "American Idol." You even see Simon Cowell from American idol, being a judge on the panel. The man then declares he wants to be an opera star. Now, I can already hear what you are thinking, because it was written as well on the faces of the judges and the people in the audience: "Opera? Good lord! That guy--yeah right, no way!" So in typical Cowell-fashion he invites the man to sing: "Off you go!"
And sing he did.
To say, he blew us all away is an understatement. Please watch this amazing performance for yourself:
(If the embedded video does not show up, click here ).
The video shows the reactions to it, from the judges, the TV viewers, and the audience who gives him a standing ovation, being moved to tears. And I think, you will be as well.
Initially I thought this was some kind of staged TV commercial. But it turns out it, it is a true story, using footage from the real life British TV show "Britain, you've got talent," where Simon Cowell is one of the judges.
The singer's name is "Paul Potts," who was a cell phone sales man at the time. He went on to win the whole competition, and then produced an amazing Opera CD, which introduced Opera to a whole new generation of fans.
Today, he is a beloved singer, and years later, a TV docu-movie was made about him.
If you search online, you can probably find the the actual audition as it really happened. Prepare to be blown away.
Mr. Potts grips us all because he is being true to who he truly is. Apparently, he always had the desire and talent to sing Opera, but he was made fun of as a small boy due to his appearance. Yet, all the while, he knew he could do it, believed in himself, and then did it. And he moved us all to tears! What comes across here is a person who is shining forth his talent in the most authentic way. As I say in the Steps of Essence: "You can't always define authenticity, but you always know it when you see it." So it is here, and Oh, how it moves us!
This is the same spirit I am talking about in the Steps of Essence, and I hope you will let this video serve as an inspiration to your own journey of self-realization.
Namaste — I and the Divine in me bow to You and the Divine in You.
~Hanns
Copyright © Hanns-Oskar Porr