Strength.

This contribution is dedicated to all those - not seldom myself - who loose faith in their strength, their talent and their ability to affect. Look at this girl. She may not have the look, or even the "appropriate appearance" expected for an artist of caliber. She's turning fifty, and no one has ever heard of her in media before. Now, listen carefully to the tone in the judgers voice, and take a close look at their faces - as well as the faces of some girls in the audience. No one, absolutely no one, believes that she would perform anything of interest. They all seem to think "who are you to think that you can do this?"

Can she? (Press this link)

Well, yes, obviously she could...

She would't let those judging voices bring her down. She knew what she could do, and she did it. I'm sure the journey behind that day on the stage hasn't been easy. I'm sure she's struggled with hard training, most certainly for years. Perhaps she haven't always had support either. Perhaps she faced people who shaked their heads or laughed at her hard work. But that didn't matter. She saw her goal, she knew what she would become. A fantastic singer.

To know what you want is one important step on the path to your goal. To realize that it will most certainly mean hard work and that no one will do it for you, that's another. These two steps sometimes get very overwhelming and stops people from carrying on with their task - and it gets still more difficult. Other people will tell you that this is too much hard work, that you don't have what it takes, that there's only a few people in the world that actually succeeds and that you're not going to be one of them... That you should "come back to reality"... Among other arguments against your work.

The support of other people is worth gold. Just as the resistance from others can make you fail. But! There's one thing that carries you through every challenge, no matter how insurmountable it might seem. That is your faith. BELIEVE that you can do this. You can never know what awaits on the way or what comes in the end. But you can believe. In your ability to continue, and go all through.

Strength doesn't come from the words and looks of others. It comes from within.