American Idol. What's in it for You?

I have an addiction. A public addiction.
I watch American Idol – despite being a few years (er.. decades) beyond the target audience.

This may be justification, but the main reaso
I enjoy it so much is seeing the personal transformation each individual goes through (Internally and exte
ally)
The seemingly ‘lost’ auditionee is seldom the same when he/she leaves the show once voted off.
The winners and finalists have usually developed into ‘fuller’, more resilient people in awe of their life (and of themselves).

This transformation is a result of risks being taken; opportunities grabbed and the willingness and openness to change and undertake personal growth.
It’s a demonstration that a desire can take you through self-discovery to self manifestation and ultimately to dream creation.

I’m of the opinion that 5 phases happen in the lives of the contestants during this competition that make this possible.

The same can apply to your life and your dream creation.

1. DESIRE

Desire (the feeling of ‘I want’) becomes evident in the application and the pre-audition phase as well as each subsequent audition in the competition.
Contestants dress up for the occasion (sometimes over the top!); they arrive with hordes of adoring family and friends and are even willing to share past tragedies with the entire nation.
Their desires may be different – some merely want to be seen; or to be on TV; or to make a statement; or to “see what happens”; or to respond to a dare; or merely to meet the judges;
But most often they desire to change their life somehow and - yes – be the next American Idol!

Whatever it may be, it is desire that takes them there in the first place and keeps them there for the required period.

2. BELIEF

It’s always amazing to watch the surprise on some of the young hopeful faces when they get through to the Hollywood round.
“Really?” (with tears) is often the instinctive disbelieving response.

It’s only when they receive their Golden Ticket that they, for some reason, suddenly believe they’re deserving of something better.
Even more so - it’s when they get Simon Cowell’s approval that they feel OK.
This is when their self-belief changes to “I can sing” or “I can do this!”

This year we have Lee (currently in the Top 10) whose words to the nation were “If anything’s holding me back, it’s me”. He’s already recognised that as long as he’s holding onto his limiting beliefs he can’t move forward.
Fortunately, he’s managed to shift through self-doubt into self-belief and gave the best performance of the evening last week!

3. PERSEVERANCE

Hollywood week is all glitz and glamour. Some of the contestants who get this far have never been on an aeroplane before!
So just being there is life-changing for them. Perhaps this is all that was needed to rock their worlds a little bit and open their eyes to new possibilities?

This particular week of auditioning is fraught with unrelenting pressure; continual performances; severe competition; facing the unknown & the unfamiliar (environment and people) as well as constant fatigue.
Many contestants crash out of the competition in this week – some give up trying as it’s too much before they even start!

But for those that persevere – they find a way around (and over) the obstacles and challenges. They’re then forwarded into the next round.

In this newest season (2010) one of the guys had a baby (well his wife did in his absence) – but he managed to balance all the pressures of being a present father (albeit telephonically) as well as create a position for himself in the Top 12!
His desire to become a recording artist would help him look after his family better. (His values are therefore aligned)
He believed he could manage it all and therefore did the necessary to make it happen.
He remained amazingly focussed and present within both these large events in his life.

4. ACCEPTANCE

One of the worst days (for both participants & viewers alike) is the lengthy process of the individual announcements into the Top 24.
This involves each aspirant being called in separately before the judges to hear their verdict.

This exhausting day involves endless waiting, mental rehashing of the previous week, internal debating, revisiting bitter sweet memories and of course – self flagellation.
The day wears on and on – and even as an observer I start to share the pain and anxiety as the limited 24 slots are slowly allocated.

What this day does bring however is a sense of acceptance – self acceptance as well as acceptance of the situation regardless of the result.
The contestants just want to know the result, either way – they want the agony to be over.

Many leave the competition at this stage with comments like:
“The journey so far has been more tha
I’ve done in my entire life”
“I know my folks would still be proud”
“I’ll be back next year!”
“This is not the end for me – I’ll just get better”

Many do try out again and again – and some get further in the competition each time they return.

A huge disappointment the departing aspirants have to accept is that their journey is over for this year. The maturer ones are able to take on board what needs to be done to move ahead; they understand that this is a step in the alignment of desire & belief.

And if they make it into the 12, they accept that their life is about to change magnificently. The slow realisation starts to seep in that the hard work & sacrifice only really starts now.
Although they’ve already taken the first step of courage, the opportunities have now multiplied - and many express deep gratitude and surrender to whatever happens to them further.

5. SUCCESS

The exciting part for us viewers starts with the weekly Top 12 countdown to the number 1 winner.
Although it may sound cliché the reality is that all contestants are indeed already winners – they’ve done what many don’t dare to do.
They’ve all won the opportunity to learn, rehearse, perform on stage, partake in various forms of coaching, to learn dancing and choreography, have a glimpse of the professional music profession. There is no doubting that this is already a HUGE prize.
At every point along the way, as contestants drop out - they take something away from their “experience of a lifetime”.

The irony is that some Idol contestants go through the whole process merely to discover that it’s not what they actually wanted as success after all.

Successful Dream creation is therefore partly a matter of connecting what they believe they CAN do with what they WANT to do – i.e. they always have a choice to challenge their self-limiting beliefs.
These five steps are often intertwined and they continually vacillate between them. But each time they do, it merely means that self-awareness is increasing and they’re able to make more conscious decisions from it.

The evening of the Grand Final is always a superb and impressive event. It ends in spectacular fashion with the winner already having recorded his/her first single.
Emotions run high and the air is electric.
Amidst drumrolls, squeals and thunderous applause the winner is announced.

Yes – the new American Idol is successful and has achieved exactly what was wanted from the beginning.

But to me, the unspoken words hang in the air that for him/her this is merely, in fact… only the beginning.
Of yet another journey.