26th May 2012, and the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan was won by Loreen Talhaoui, singing for Sweden. The show is an extravaganza of sequins, but also for goal achievement stories…
Regular readers will know that I often like to go behind the scenes, to focus on the stories of people who aren’t in the limelight. In this case, that might mean backing singers, or dancers. What are their stories?
How about the make up people, or other people in the various national support teams? Because Eurovision is such a big event, taking part in it, whatever the field, is a big deal. For many of these people it could be the biggest thing they’ve done.
In this article I’m not going behind the scenes though, I’m choosing to stay slap bang out front, and I wanted to look at the winner’s story. How did Loreen get to be on the stage on Saturday, what’s her goal achievement story?
Well, in a nutshell, it’s full of what you might expect from goal achievement lessons – taking action, close misses, trying again, stepping back, changing tack, trying again.
Familiar themes, so let’s look a bit closer…
She first came to prominence in the 2004 series of Sweden’s Pop Idol show, finishing 4th overall. Finishing 4th can be the end of the road for some people, while some people choose to use it as a spur to press on, others stay as a ‘nearly was’.
Loreen released a single the following year, and became a TV presenter. Then in 2005 she moved away from the spotlight – not away from the industry though, and this is a classic example of someone changing tack. Not giving up, but trying new ways to get further ahead to a place she wanted to be.
She spent the next few years being a producer and director on TV, but the performance arena was obviously where she wanted to be, and she decided to give it another crack by entering the Melodifestivalen, which is the Swedish selection process for their Eurovision entry.
Eurovision is genuinely massive in Sweden, they take it very seriously, and this show is a huge event in its’ own right.
Loreen didn’t win, she didn’t even get to the final, but she still pressed on, and the song became a big hit anyway. That set her up to try again in 2012, and she came through the early rounds, and won the final, securing her spot at Eurovision.
For the big song contest itself, the Swedish broadcasting company did something that the UK used to do – promote, promote, promote. By the time of the show, Loreen had been number 1 in European countries.
When you combine that with a familiarity of her as a performer, and a beat heavy techno song, it was no surprise to see her as one of the favourites. In the end it was a huge win, not even close, and Loreen’s album is set for success later in the year.
Great goal achievement lessons there, wouldn’t you agree? No overnight success here, I’ve just covered an 8 year story, and your goal may not be to win Eurovision or anything like it. Using Loreen as an example though, think what *could* you achieve with determination, persistence and hard work!
Let me know what you think!
‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. You can read more goal achievement stories, and how I used them in my own life, in my book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’
