Sheepishly looking away from the suddenly shocked overcrowded L.A. theater, his glossy tearful expression seemed distant in the way of not wanting to believe in the presentation of his newest role. Hair jelled but not combed back, eyes bathed in the essence of Dave Matthews discovering his first song…only to hear a calming authoritative British tone, “You no longer have to be humble.”
Kris Allen, a seemingly squeaky clean, softly spoken musical politician from Middle America two steps short from port.
Rather than stand on a tree stump and preach his greatness, Mr. Allen has chosen to sit with his followers and through being humble he’s become accepted. Although there’s tremendous competition waiting for his next decision, American Idol will not serve as his chosen place of war.
From where we sit, Kris doesn’t appear to have the eye of the tiger capable of slaying the two giants Goliath…instead, he holds what many spend their lives searching for, a single opportunity of knowing the way to daily separate a gift from talent.
Kris Allen sits in the top three because America needs a hero.
Banking giants once hailed as the greatest slice of bread since fried bologna are caressed minute by minute by slumping numbers forcing them to beef up by begging for more government steroids. When David Stern said the NBA would never be the same after Michael Jordon, who knew we’d look at the new teams and scream, “Who’s that?” There’s no loyalty in the NFL, NHL and the hometown Monday night bowling league and forget about gaining access to job security.
In an age where being humble would put the right people in place…Mr. Cowell shot the world back to Ronald Reagan’s “Me” generation. Oh he’s not alone, the poke player Annie Duke on Celebrity Apprentice can’t stop saying, “I, I, I, me and me!” Does that automatically make the constantly grooming Joan Rivers the automatic winner on this Sunday’s finale? Who’s to say Annie wasn’t inspired by Joan’s adaptability to an ever changing society? Joan has always been crass; she’s made millions banking on a talent to suck the laughter right out of our guilt trip.
Alan Greenspan once held the Olympic financial torch. Was it a God given gift to push those digits into place or a self created talent? With talent comes ego…a long term drive to live up to your shadows expectations. It’s like religion versus spirituality…religion is for those that don’t want to go to hell and spirituality is for those who’ve been there and don’t want to go back.
My biggest pet peeve is when someone says, “Wow you’ve got talent!”
No, we live in an age where people don’t try hard enough. Those who lay their claim on being talented can lose it forever by reasons of not taking care of it. Steph Curry from the Davidson Wildcats is a brilliant example of a star in the making; his immediate goals are to seize control of his present: The art of living in the now. Next year at this time, his gift could be as silent as Bret Farmburger from the 80’s group Willie Wonka and the Boogie Factory. You remember Bret right? He constantly bragged about being the next Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp rolled up into one. Every talk show, every morning show appearance, all he talked about was his “Wow!” After all these years, do you think Wal-mart will take back the cassettes I no longer listen to?
Like Kris Allen, Steph Curry is humble. I call it the Loretta Lynn, coalminer’s daughter approach to success…any shape of presentation is nothing more than a gift handed to you at that moment. How you treat your tools and toys best describes the longevity of your path. If you’re constantly pulling off the 90’s delegation plan with no hand in the final product, your talent is being abused…by you.
Let’s be truthful, the only thing we can truly teach in a single lifetime is to order a rock to sit still…so what does it do? It allows the wind and rain to take it to the places it could’ve reached centuries before it time.
The next generation of well exposed leaders has to figure out a way to bridge the gap between standing on the mountain while sitting with the people.
People aren’t drawn to Simon Cowell because of his magical British accent, he speaks the language of a people shunned by bosses and family members for having too big of an opinion or offer too much in the way of helping to save a slack off workplace that’s become so weak it doesn’t deserve a mention in the history books. As evil as Cowell comes across, he always makes rooms for the other three judges to speak. He may argue with Paula but in the end, all were heard. His grip on his gift is perfect by making sure he doesn’t allow it become a talent. Interviews on late shows and Ellen bring out the other side of the opinionated monster, the side that says, “I’m just acting…and you are reacting.”
Our nation was built from the ground up and those before us grew strong not because of talent but an hourly requirement to accept whatever gifts were handed to them at birth. “You will be a potato farmer!” Nice…let’s invent something called Mama’s potato salad? “You will be a drycleaner owner.” Sweet! Do I get to keep everything that falls out of the pocket? “You will sit, wonder and worry about everything your entire life then mysteriously turn it into gold for other people who’ll forget about you.” Yes! I can finally become a high school teacher!
Mindful thinking is learning how to listen the one thing that keeps you alive…breathing. Once you recognize your natural pattern, every sunrise will become a gift and everything you accomplish within its light has the power to enhance other people’s gifts. Talent is a time bomb waiting to perform its next expectation. If talent is so grand why do so many sports figures retire in their mid 30’s? Tools and toys. What will you be replacing this Christmas?
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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