The ONE Thing that Changes EVERYTHING in VO and LIFE

There's one hack, one great secret. One thing you can do for your growing your voiceover business. And it's so powerful that it works for not just growing your video business, but for improving your physical fitness, your mental fitness, and your emotional intelligence. It works for improving your relationships.

It's the difference between setting goals and achieving them. Between a dream and reality.

And it's so simple to understand that even a sixth grader can get it. And when I say what it is, you will kick yourself because you already know it to be true.

So what is this cheat code to all good things in your life?

Two words: radical consistency.

The ability to do the things that impact your business the most, your fitness the most, your relationships, the most with radical consistency is the secret to success.

Obvious? Yeah. Simple? Absolutely. Easy? Not so much.

So, what is radical consistency and why is it so hard?

Radical consistency is the act of committing yourself fully and consistently to the habits and actions that align with your goals. It means showing up for yourself day after day, rain or shine and sticking to the plan you set for yourself. It's like being your own crazy cheerleader, always there to support yourself and push yourself forward.

Okay. What does that look like?

I'll give you an example. I asked my friend Paul Walsh, who I've known for many, many years. We go back to college together and Paul has run every day for the last over 11 years.

And when I say every day, I'm not kidding. He hasn't missed a day. Not one, single, stinking day.

He has run in the rain,

the snow,

the sleet,

the slop,

the wet,

the cold,

the heat.

He's run with a severely sprained ankle.

on holidays,

when traveling,

when sick,

after bad falls.

He's literally run in any and every circumstance for well over 11 years.

Every. Damn. Day.

So I asked him, “What do you see is the key to radical consistency”? And here's what he said.

Just passed 11 and three quarters years.

20% wanting to be healthy,

10% curiosity about finding my limit,

5% fear of not starting back up

65% stubbornness.

Do you remember Matt Damon's character in Good Will Hunting, explaining to Robin Williams why he picked a wrench to be beaten with? His answer was, “because fuck him.” I've taken this approach to my working out over the years. No one tells me when I'm done or when to stop. No one pushes me harder than me.

Now, I love Paul like a brother, literally. But this is what I would call maniacal consistency. In other words, I wouldn't recommend running on a severely sprained ankle. But Paul's example and there are thousands of others show us what's possible when we commit to ourselves.

But why? Why would people commit to such radical consistency? In other words, if I'm going to make this commitment to myself, what am I going to get back? Fair question.

The first answer is Big Mo. Radical consistency breeds momentum.

When you consistently show up for yourself and your goals. Even on the days where it's hard to get out of bed or you want to procrastinate, you start to build a powerful force that propels you forward. It's called momentum.

Every small step you take adds up. And before you know it, you've made significant progress, if you've been consistent.

It's like rolling a snowball downhill. The more you roll it, the bigger gets.

Maybe you've heard of the concept of getting 1% better every day. Let's say that you're in the gym and yesterday you could bench 100 pounds, bench press, and today you bench press 101. You have just made an insane amount of improvement.

Why? Because if you keep getting 1% better every single day, at the end of the year, you're going to be 37 times better. Not 37%, 37 times better.

It’s called…

The aggregation of marginal gains

Mathematically, it looks like this:

Now, this doesn't mean that you'll bench press 3,700 pounds a year later. The human body has limitations. But it does show the power of radical consistency.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, sent a tweet in 2019 that changed the entire way. I look at consistency:

My friend Paul Walsh also says. “I'm a big believer in momentum being key to positive change. Atomic habits only work when stacked. It's easier to be consistent than to ask yourself whether you feel like doing X and possibly getting a ‘no.’”

Secondly, taking action every single day is way more important than being perfect. Consistency and perfection are not the same.

Ten imperfect attempts are way more effective than attempting to do something once perfectly.

You have to get in your reps every single day and you have to accept if you're going to do that, that not every day is going to be perfect.

There will be days when your best is maybe 43%. Do it anyway. There will be days when your effort is dog shit. Do it anyway.

There will be auditions where you're just struggling and not connected to the character and the backstory. Do them anyway.

By practicing radical consistency, you flex that muscle every single day, training yourself to stay focused, to eliminate distractions, or at least minimize them and stay committed to your goals. Even on days where the best you got might be 28%.

And the great thing is, over time, this discipline spills into other areas of your life and you start to improve in all areas.

And again, it's not about perfection. You're going to miss a day. I'm going to miss day. Even Paul Walsh will miss a day. Maybe what happens when that happens?

There's a great quote from the author, Eckhart Tolle. He says, “Die to the past. You don't need it.” In other words, you miss a day, die to the past. Forget about it. Move on. Pick up the next day like nothing ever happened. Pick up when the injury heals. Start again with the next run, the next marketing email, the next audition, whatever it may be. Just start again.

It's not about perfection. It never was about perfection.

Don't miss two in a row.

The problem, and I was guilty of this for years, is that when people start to groove on consistency, we start to get this sort of all-or-nothing thinking.

“Oh, my God, I missed a day. This streak is over. I ruined it. I'm not perfect. And this is never going to work.”

Settle down. Life doesn't need you to be perfect. Consistency is the key. Progress, not perfection.

This right here is how we build grit and resilience. By recognizing and accepting and embracing our imperfection. By honoring and reaffirming our commitment to ourselves. By shaking off a miss and starting a new streak immediately.

And here's a bonus benefit for you: Radical consistency breeds self-confidence.

When you consistently show up for yourself and for your goals with your actions, you affirm your commitment to yourself and to others, and you strengthen your belief in your own abilities and potential.

And what you develop is a deep self-trust that you will do what you say you will do, and you can rely on yourself to follow through with your commitments.

And this self-confidence begins to build, and it begins to empower you to take on even bigger challenges and even bigger commitments.

In other words, your identity begins to shift. And by identity, I mean who you believe yourself to be. You now see yourself as radically consistent as someone who shows up every day for yourself and others. As someone who's delightfully imperfect and resilient and gritty.

For more information on the VO Freedom Master Plan, click the link here and to get my Move Touch Inspire Newsletter for Voice Actors every Thursday, click that link too.

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Thanks, as always, so much for being part of the conversation, both here in our voiceover community and the freelance community at large.

And we will see you back here next week. Thanks again.