Islands of Competence

It just so happens that there's a clip of Dr. Brooks talking about this, tho' not in much detail, just an anecdote.
http://www.ldonline.org/

I was thinking of it already 'cause yesterday my biker buddies (as in Schwinn and Dahon and Trek and the like) posted the virally spreading youtube of the lady in England who, at 47 and fundamentally homely, set herself up for total humiliation... except that she actually *does* know how to sing, thank you very much, and the audience did the group energy thing in her favor and those silly judges just had to go with it. I theorized that, somehow, this lady had grown up with her self-esteem intact or something and that she just didn't feel like she *had* to look like a star.
THen today I was shown a news piece about her background and no, it's more like the ugly duckling story. Yea, she was made fun of at school for her fuzzy hair and learning difficulties. No, she's never had a boyfriend. But yes, she has been singing since she was five.
She developed her island of competence, and it's paid off.
I most fervently hope that she has a support system... 'cause there are an awful lot of parasites and predators out there...