07/29/2024
I was blown away this past weekend by the performance of Celine Dion at the Paris Olympic Opening Ceremonies. While I don't speak french, I was deeply moved by her exhilarating performance. I googled the song she was singing: “Hymne à l'amour” (A Hymn to Love) by the French singer Édith Piaf. The words were nice, but not as moving emotionally as I'm sure a lot is lost in translation. What really moved me, however, is how emotionally charged Celine’s performance was. Heck, even the accompanist couldn't hold back and began mouthing the words to the song.
The commentators then mentioned the health challenges Celine has faced the past several years and that this was her first performance in 4 years! Wow! What a comeback! I wonder what role her health challenges played in her performance Friday night. Perhaps, for her, it gave her more meaning to the words of the song or perhaps made the moment of being able to perform after 4 long years so emotionally impactful that she couldn’t help but let those emotions shine through in her performance. For me, I saw a wonderful artist who was demonstrating excellence through adversity – a performance that was superb, not in spite of, but because of facing adversity head on.
Thank you, Celine for an awesome performance and showing us all how you have excelled through the adversity and challenges you have faced!
As I reflect on my own adversity and challenges I am amazed at how the most grueling and difficult ones have truly shaped who I am and how I relate to others. For example, facing my own health challenges has made me more understanding of those I have managed who were also dealing with health challenges. This has also taught me skills to more effectively customize my coaching and training efforts to sincerely meet the specific needs of a client, not in spite of, but because of the adversity I also have faced head on.
What do you think? How have your challenges shaped who you are today? Have you found that the challenges have been the impetus in driving excellence in your professional or personal life?
