Things are starting to wind down around the studio. Lots of prospects and clients are already gone for the Holiday. And for all practical purposes, this year is largely in the books.

I’ll be taking the next 10 days mostly off (no post next week) to spend time with my family, eat too much, laugh a lot, and remember how fortunate I am to love those people and lead this (at one time inconceivable) life doing what I love.

Part of that time will be spent planning the new year. For me, that’s about identifying the things I want to accomplish, then breaking that down into the behaviors that will bring those accomplishments into being.

Entrepreneurship and freelancing have stretched me and forced me to grow in ways I never imagined and often scared the hell out of me, both for which I am eternally grateful. I’ve learned so much about myself that in the almost 50 years before becoming a full-time voice actor I never knew.

As we turn to the new year, I have some things I wish for you. Where appropriate, I’ve listed a book that helped teach me that lesson. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I wish that this is the year you’ll stop putting off that thing you love because you’re not ready. If you’re really going to do something worthwhile and significant, trust me, you’re never gonna be ready. Do it anyway.

I wish for you a death to perfectionism. Do the thing. Put it out there. It doesn’t have to be perfect and guess what? It won’t be. Perfectionism is just lipstick on procrastination. We hide behind “perfectionism” as if we’re the sole authority on how it should be and we just “can’t stand” to do anything “less than perfect,” when in reality, we’re just afraid to put it out there. It’s an easy way to avoid rejection. Perfectionism is anathema to mental health. We’re not meant to be perfect. We’re meant to be human.

The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brené Brown

I wish for you to understand the true power of consistency and compounding. Great things aren’t done with profound actions. They’re done with tiny actions every day. I discovered that it’s much easier and more effective to go to the gym 6 days a week than it is to go 3 days a week. It’s much easier and more effective to prospect every day than it is to do it twice a week.

Atomic Habits, by James Clear

I wish for you courage and grit. I’ve been through things in my business that freaked me out to my core. I’ve lost huge clients. I’ve made big mistakes. I’ve had bad months and I’ve had months that made those bad months look good. But I stayed with it. This year, I made more than I ever made in any job. That only happens when you stay in the game.

Rising Strong, by Brené Brown

I wish you a growth mindset. I wish you would stop saying to yourself, “I’m not this, or I’m too that,” for example, “I’m not a techie,” or “I’m too old,” or “I’m not a business person.” Say to yourself instead, “I can learn this (whatever it is) and grow and improve over time with deliberate practice and persistence.” I wish you to stop limiting yourself. I wish you to stop believing you’re undeserving. I wish you to welcome good things because you deserve them and respect bad things because they’ll test and stretch and grow you.

Mindset, by Carol Dweck

And lastly, I wish for you love, acceptance, tolerance, kindness, and peace. May you get more than you give because in my experience that’s how it really works. There are lots of books about that… the Quran, the Bible, the Tao of Pooh, but you don’t need a book to love people.

From my son, Robbie and our family, we wish for you all these things, as well as a warm and wonderful Holiday and a wildly successful and safe new year.