Susan Boyle - I Am, Who I Am!

I am, who I am! These are powerful words!

Thanks to Susan Boyle, more of us are inclined to stand up, echo her comments, follow in her footsteps and proudly say, "I am, who I am." Seeing Susan on TV and on YouTube segments, one can clearly see a woman who has weathered many storms and at the same time, one can see a woman who is standing clearly in her power and purpose.

She has embraced her power, acknowledged her voice and is sharing her gift and her passion. She is having the time of her life and we are all benefiting.

Her actions encourage us to let go of our excuses, to embrace our own gifts, our own talents and to share them with others.

On stage, Susan is comfortable with herself and audiences around the world are taking notice. Her performance makes us all cheer. We stand up and applaud her authenticity. As we applaud her, we are given a message.... Appearances do not tell the whole story. What makes Susan so endearing? She is open, frumpy and immensely talented. She does not make excuses for her appearance or life. She shows up and dazzles us with her powerful voice.

Susan grew up struggling with learning disabilities; her classmates jeered and bullied her, and as an adult, her employment options were limited. Nonetheless, she persevered and kept on singing. She appeared at local karaoke events and participated in church choirs. At 47 years old, her mother's death inspired her to enter "Britain's Got Talent" a show patterned after American Idol . In her own words, she said, "I wanted to show her I could do something with my life."

Following her inspiration and her desire to prove her worth, Susan Boyle has emerged and is serving as powerful role model. She is who she is. She made another television appearance yesterday and she shared her magical voice and appeared as she is, in all her glory.

In her first performance last month, the judges were skeptical and asked patronizing questions as she greeted them with a dowdy image. Eyebrows raised, the judges were quickly won over by her bold voice and surprisingly confident performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables."

Despite the fame and a huge audience she has gained in the interim, she refuses to take on a new look. She is holding onto who she is; saying in another words, I am what I am, frumpy as you like, I am an Internet sensation!

The singer, who lives with her cat Pebbles said that she wouldn't change her appearance. "I just want people to see me for who I am, and do my best at singing the song, that's what I am focusing on," she said. Flashing a broad smile, Boyle danced in delight as she heard the results of her most recent performance.

In her most recent performance, Susan sang the song "Memory" from the musical "Cats." As she belted out the song, her image was projected and her message rang clear. She wore a plum colored beaded dress, had a bit more make up on and her unruly shock of hair was clearly in view. As she sang, many of us heard her unspoken song.

Did you hear between the lines? Did you listen to Susan's message and unspoken song? Did you hear her calling you to take action? If we follow in Susan's footsteps, we realize that there are no excuses.

You and I are called to step up, step out and to give voice to our dreams. It is time to claim our gifts, our talents and our self-worth!