Too many times, we start to dream a dream, and we tell ourselves, “That’s impossible.” And too many times, we let ourselves believe that bullshit.
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We do the work. We build the habits required. We put in the time, training, sweat, failure, education, and long hours. We do the hard shit. We do what it takes.
And when we do that consistently and long enough, eventually, we see improvement. Progress. Successes. We start to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. We have those days you just can’t beat when we get those gigs that just make your whole day, or week, or month.
And a funny thing happens along the way…
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I know things are dark for you right now. I get it. I’ve been through it. There was a time I literally did not know where the rent was gonna come from. I’ve had those sleepless nights. And there are many that have had it way tougher than I and made it through.
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We all do it. Voice actors included. Newbs and veterans alike.
We look to the left, and to the right, and we see our colleagues doing well. We see their wins. Their successes. Their triumphs.
And then that little green goblin of envy and jealously starts to rear its warped and ugly head.
We get insecure. We feel less than.
We start to believe that because we don’t have their successes and wins and triumphs that somehow that makes us less successful.
We compare ourselves to others. And it’s killing us.
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As you can imagine, I talk to a lot of voice actors and follow several hundred on social media. As a result, I see a lot of messaging from voice-over talent.
One trend I see across social media is the strong tendency to wave a paper sword in their messaging.
Huh?
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Can Google be a good source of leads? Sure. It’s by far the world’s largest and best search engine. Stands to reason that if you’re searching for something on the Internet, Google is usually a good place to start.
Except it’s not. Because the thinking is backward.
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My original hypothesis that people are getting stuck and quitting is very real. There is commonality around the frustrations and sticking points. The problem is definable.
Which means the solution is definable.
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One of the most common concerns for new voice actors as they begin their voice-over journeys is, “I don’t have any (or very few) credits to my name. I haven’t worked with anyone (or very many) clients yet. How do I still market myself and what do I do?”
It’s the classic college grad’s dilemma, right? “How will anyone hire me with no experience and if no one hires me how will I get any experience?”
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We’re highly adept at blaming external circumstances and other people, and not so good at looking inward, analyzing our beliefs about ourselves and the world, and adopting… choosing… beliefs that free us and allow us to realize our potential.
True for humans. True for voice actors and freelancers.
But how do limiting beliefs show up in our psyches and businesses as voice actors? Here are some examples…
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“I’m having trouble consistently training 3 times a week, and once or twice makes no sense, and surely going more will be even more challenging, right?”
Wrong.
Enter, The 100% Rule.
The 100% Rule is a paradox. It says that 100% commitment is in reality easier than 98% commitment.
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Motivation is the emotion, the feeling, that drives your actions.
The problem with emotions is, as powerful as they can be, they’re fleeting. Temporary. Some than longer than others. They wax and wane. They’re inconsistent. And when what drives your actions is inconsistent, your actions themselves can’t help but be inconsistent.
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As I’ve written, I spent just about all last Fall talking to as many voice actors as I possibly could.
One of the things I was most curious about was what are the biggest frustrations voice actors face in today’s world. This was my way of trying to find out what’s holding people back, what do they find vexing, and what do they need help with.
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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.
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Businesses, especially businesses who sell to other businesses (B2Bs) set their own rates as the seller at whatever they deem necessary, within what the market will tolerate. They don’t go groveling to their customers every year and beg.
Many voice actors and freelancers, the overwhelming majority of whom have likely been employees at some point, carry this submissive seller mindset into setting and maintaining professional rates.
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Setting goals is nice. The problem is, that’s where most people stop. Goal setting is merely a starting point.
Goals are nothing but directional headers. Every team, even the worst team in the league, wants to win the Championship. It’s not the goal that separates the winners from the losers. This notion that better goals produce better outcomes is hogwash.
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A couple of weeks ago, I detailed why I set out to chat with 60 voice actors in 60 days. I'm at about 80% of my goal so far.
I haven’t analyzed, or even really peeked at the data, yet, so what I’m about to tell you is subjective and anecdotal based solely on my impressions.
So far, here’s some of what I’m learning…
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I’ve had the sense for the last two to three years, well before the pandemic, that there are a lot of folks struggling in this business. I feel like we do a really good job as an industry of getting people trained up on acting, technique, and performance, and we get them enough training to be able to competently record, edit, and deliver a quality audio voice track in a room that’s treated and sounds professional.
And then we send these freshly trained voice actors out into the world and wish them luck.
And they go, “Uh… ok…. What do I do now?”
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Not all the work you do will be in the sweet spot if you expect to have a successful business. But that’s not the point. Often the work you do will be outside your niche, especially as you expand your competency in more genres.
The point is knowing what work satisfies all three criteria for you in order to determine the work that you’ll spend most of your time, effort, and resources pursuing.
The work offered to you will somewhat differ from the work you pursue.
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