A Diva Digs Deep

La Diva, with trepidation and hesitation, placed in the finals of The Arnold's Talent Quest. The gran finale was held in early March to a packed house, and with The Governator hisself in attendance, handing out awards.

The Kid's stunningly talented older sister copped the First Runner-Up trophy, and was both humbled and elated. Much discussion about winning and losing, who deserved what, and who wuz robbed ensued.

La Diva and I huddled to talk about really important stuff. My take was approximately this. Winning and losing in such a competition are not relevant. Winning, of course, is good, and losing is a learning experience. But, if one "loses" to a baton twirler, or beats out a ventriloquist, those are without meaning in evaluating where a performer is on a journey toward exceptionalism.

What might have been more important, no matter the award placement, was that La Diva was selected over ALL the singers, dancers, actors, and musicians in the finals. The keys to reaching personal bests are these.

You own the stage; use all of it to perform in. You own your song; sing it in your own voice, with your own frame of reference, and act it as you sing it. You own your instrument, your voice; use it all and use it consistent with the song's meaning and intent.

Doing your best with the three things you own will take care of winning, losing, and getting closer to ultimate goals. These lessons apply in our working careers, as well.

You own your space. It may be small; it may not be what you want - or need. But, it's what you have; make the most of it and use it all to display what you can do. You own your song. You've been assigned a role; improve on it; go beyond it; make it your own. Learn more about it, and how it can be better - and where it is going in the future. You own your voice. Put your own spin, your own understanding, your sense of context, your research, your experience into how you sing your song and how you use your stage.

Do your best with all of these, and the wins and losses will take care of themselves, as will your rewards.