A respectable Idol …

Chill out, I’m not talking about the man-made idols we worship. The respectable Idol I’m referring to is Savion Wright (pictured above) who got his few minutes of fame on the season premiere of “American Idol” last night.

I haven’t seen the show in a long time, but was curious about the new mix of judges, so I tuned in to check out the launch of the new season.

As usual, there was no shortage of people who showed up with an overdose of confidence, vowing to be the “next American Idol.” Of course, all of them but one will fail!

Wright, though, caught my attention, as well as that of the judges. He is in his early 20’s, and did a great job singing and playing guitar. He did so well, he earned his “golden ticket” to Hollywood.

It wasn’t the performance of this young man that captured my attention, it was what he said about himself prior to his performance. The judges would later remark how his comments had impressed them as well.

So what did this performer say that was so noteworthy? Wright said he had wanted to try out for the show for the last eight years; when one of the judges asked him why he hadn’t tried out earlier, he said he didn’t think he was creative enough eight years ago. Wright said he had realized he needed to improve, and had spent the last eight years working hard to hone his talent.

I found his comments wildly respectable.

Do you realize what kind of character it takes to reign in pride or arrogance and, instead of being like all the others who think they can wow America, to step back and say, “I’m not good enough yet, I need work, I need to improve”?

Even more impressive, once he assessed himself in this way, he actually spent the past eight years building on his God-given talent and improving his skills. And — get this — he exercised this kind of self-discipline while struggling with ADHD!

Wright is one respectable “Idol”!

His behavior demonstrates a mix of a little wisdom with humility and self-discipline. The result is the opportunity of a lifetime for a performer. Even if Wright doesn’t go on to ultimately win the “American Idol” competition, he has earned his place on one of the biggest stages any hopeful singer could ever dream to find themselves on.

The difference between Wright and many of the other 75,000 people who tried out for the show is that unique willingness to examine himself honestly and humbly, and then take action regarding the assessment.

When was the last time you had the wisdom to sit down and, with honesty and humility, take a good look at yourself, and then do something about what you saw? When was the last time you exercised enough self-discipline to spend years (if necessary) focused on building on the talents God has given you and sharpening your skills to improve yourself? Or do you think you’ve already arrived and don’t have anything to work on?

Scotty