My Most HONEST, BLUNT ADVICE for Voice Actors (& Grown Ups)

We need to talk. Whenever a conversation starts with that sentence, you know it’s going to be uncomfortable. But you need to hear this and I need to say it. I say it with love and kindness, but it’s going to be real, honest, and direct. Blunt, even.

Voice actors, I talk to dozens of you every week. I ask you straight up what’s holding you back in your voice over career.

Here are the Top 5 most common answers I get: Procrastination. Time management. Shiny object syndrome. Perfectionism. Distraction.

Sense a theme? 

Takeaways:
Procrastination, time management, shiny object syndrome, perfectionism, and distraction are common challenges faced by voice actors.

Effective time and attention management are crucial for success in the voice acting industry.

Voice actors need to take control of their lives, make disciplined choices, and eliminate excuses.

Prioritizing and focusing on the most important tasks and goals is essential.

Participating in the voice acting community and supporting each other can lead to a stronger industry.

Chapters:
00:00 Identifying the Challenges
02:26 Taking Control of Your Life and Business
03:55 Embracing the Hard Work
06:51 Effective Time and Attention Management
08:14 Building a Strong Voice Acting Community

_____________________________

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We need to talk.
Now, whenever a conversation starts withthat sentence, you know it's going to be
uncomfortable, but you need to hear thisand I need to say it.
Now, I say it with love and with kindness,but it's going to be real, honest, and
direct.
Blunt even.
Voice actors, I talk to dozens of youevery week and I ask you straight up,

(00:24):
what's holding you back in your career?
And here are the top five answers I get.
procrastination, time management, shinyobject syndrome, perfectionism, and
distraction.
Sense of theme?
I do.
They're all just different ways to say thesame thing.
I can't or don't manage my time andattention properly.

(00:45):
Well, are you a grown -up?
Because that's what grown -ups do.
They manage their time and attention.
I told you this was going to beuncomfortable.
First, let me just say I get it.
Life is full, right?
No kidding.
Work, kids, chores, errands, community,faith, obligations, you name it, you've

(01:09):
got it.
All the grown -up stuff we have to dealwith, right?
Plus, more entertainment and escapeoptions than any other generation has ever
had, and it's not even close.
We carry around objects in our pockets,devices that are literally designed...
to redirect our attention.
And when this one doesn't work, well,there's one on our desk or there's one on

(01:33):
our wall.
You are a voice actor and your two mostvaluable assets are your time and
attention.
How you spend your time, in other words,what you prioritize and what and to whom
you choose to give your attention are thetwo biggest factors in the quality of your
life and the success of your business.

(01:54):
How you spend your time and attention make
all the difference.
Then why do I constantly hearprocrastination, time management, shiny
object syndrome, perfectionism, anddistraction?
You need to wake the fuck up.
This is not a drill.
This is not a dress rehearsal.
This is your life.
This is your business.

(02:14):
This is your family and your quality oflife we're talking about here.
Yeah, we live in a world that is designedto reward you for instant gratification.
Press the bar, get a cookie.
Press the bar again, get another cookie.
And before you know it, your long -termdreams have been replaced by short -term
dopamine spikes, constant lethargy, andtemporary relief of slight discomfort.

(02:39):
We treat our lives and our careers andsometimes our relationships like they're
runaway trains over which we haveabsolutely no control and we're sitting
around waiting for the conductor to showup and come save us.
Guess what?
You...
or the conductor, get back in the enginecar and take control.
No one's coming to save you.
No one's coming through that door tomanage your priorities.

(03:02):
No one's coming to hand you your schedule.
No one's coming for you to turn offBridgerton or put down Resident Evil 4 and
go do your marketing work.
No one's going to be there to get you upat 5 a so that you can take care of your
body so that you can be healthier for yourfamily, better at your job, and more
confident for yourself.
No one is going to stop you from scrollingand scrolling.

(03:25):
and scrolling and scrolling.
No one's going to put in the time to buildrelationships for you.
No one's going to discover you and noagent is going to make you their personal
mission.
There are no big breaks.
There are only small breaks that youcreate for yourself.
Yes, with help from others.
When you put in the work consistently overtime.

(03:48):
This is coach Nick Saban, one of thegreatest coaches of any sport all time.
You know, these guys,
sort of don't they all think they havethis illusion of choice like i can do
whatever i want to do and we kind of haveyounger generation now that doesn't always

(04:09):
get told no they don't always get toldthis is exactly how you need to do it so
they have this illusion that they have allthese choices but the fact of the matter
is is if you want to be good you reallydon't have a lot of choices
Because it takes what it takes.
You have to do what you have to do to besuccessful.
So you have to make the choices anddecisions to have the discipline and the

(04:34):
focus to the process of what you need todo to accomplish your goals.
And all these guys that think they have alot of choices are really, you know, sort
of sadly mistaken.
Yeah, it takes what it takes.
If you want to be good, very good, greator elite, you have to do what it takes to
be.
Successful, but it's hard.

(04:55):
Yeah, it is and that's a great thingaccept it embrace it be grateful for it
because it's the hard that's gonna weedout 80 % of your competition honestly, we
live in a world where if you have just alittle discipline if you have just if
you're just a little bit of a beast aboutyour time and attention You'll leapfrog 90

(05:16):
% of the people out there.
Stop making excuses Stop wasting your timeon shit.
That doesn't matter.
Stop putting money on
in the pockets of corporations that suckyour time and attention away and leave you
fat, sedated, poor, and sick.
Make the most out of your time, attention,career, relationships, and maybe most
importantly, your health.

(05:37):
Stop sleepwalking and saying, I will,tomorrow.
Tomorrow never comes.
Yesterday doesn't fucking matter.
Today is all you've got.
Be a grownup.
Write your beliefs and your prioritieslarge.
Plan your week.
Plan your day.
Stick to the plan.
And when you fall down, not if, get thefuck back up.

(05:58):
Denzel Washington famously said, fall downseven times, get up eight.
You have an absolute beast inside of you.
Why do you not let it out?
You have no idea what you're capable ofbecause you've never bothered to find out.
Make mortal enemies of procrastination,distraction, shiny object syndrome,
perfectionism, and lack of timemanagement.

(06:20):
People say all the time, you know, I woulddo...
anything for my family and they honestlybelieve it.
But would you?
Would you get up two hours earlier everyday?
Would you give up beer league softball towork on your business?
Would you stop scrolling TikTok and bepresent with your family?
Would you turn off Game of Thrones andreach out to a hundred prospects?

(06:41):
Well, I don't have time to market mybusiness.
Well, you got time for word old Wheel ofFortune and Instagram.
You're ODing on mine candy.
Give up the sugar.
and eat your vegetables.
I'm so tired at the end of the day from myday job.
Yeah, I get it.
I was there.
Get up two hours early and get done whatyou need to get done for your business
before you go to your day job and givesomebody else your time and attention.

(07:04):
Spend your best energy on the quality ofyour life and then get to bed on time and
get your proper rest.
Jimmy Fallon won't notice, I promise.
I'm not suggesting that you quit alldistraction and entertainment.
You need to...
recharge, refuel, and recover regularly.
But if you're complaining about timemanagement, you're not managing your time.

(07:26):
You're just floating along with nointention about your attention.
When you get intentional about and manageyour time and attention in line with your
beliefs, in line with your values and yourpriorities, then you're so much more able
to enjoy time relaxing, spending time withthe people that you love.

(07:47):
with family and friends and having funbecause you know you've handled your
business for the day or for the week orfor the weekend or whatever it might be.
You know you've put your time andattention where it needed to be, when it
needed to be there, so now you can fullyrelax.
But you're sitting there physically withthe people you love, but mentally you're

(08:07):
lost in all the shit that you need to getdone because you didn't get it done when
you had the chance.
You've only got one life.
Get your shit together.
Make the choice to see through theillusion of choice.
Go to voPro .pro to get my Move, Touch,Inspire newsletter that comes out for
voice actors every single Thursday.
For more information on the VO FreedomMaster Plan where we teach you how to

(08:30):
market to prospects and more informationon the VO Pro Community.
If you got value out of this video, if youthink it will help move, touch, and
inspire other voice actors, then pleaseshare it with them, whether it's through
social media, through texts, or...
email, however you prefer to do it.
More importantly, I invite you toparticipate in the conversation, whether
it's leaving a comment on YouTube,commenting on the blog at voPro .pro or

(08:54):
with other voice actors in the VOcommunity at large.
The more we talk with each other, the morewe exchange information, the more we
respectfully disagree or agree, thebetter, stronger industry we're going to
have for everybody.
Thanks so much for your support and we'llsee you back here again next week.