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CAREER Where Is The Love? Give Yourself A Hug - You'll Need It In Voice Over February 25, 2014  By Deb MunroVoice Talent & Coach Valentine's Day - Love Day ... already a distant memory? Hold on. Here's a loving thought you need to grasp and carry with you all year. It's about YOU. I know, you've heard it before - that you have to love yourself. But listen, if you want to be in an industry where people test you constantly ... where you never know your income from one month to the next ... where you pretend to mean things you don't even understand ... and to stand out in a very competitive market, well, you DARN WELL BETTER LOVE YOU! GREAT THINGS WILL HAPPEN I am tested every day. Don't get me wrong, I have way more good days than challenging ones, but as a coach and a talent I have a ton of situations that happen and I have to just power through them. Of course, it helps to have a good family support system. But the bottom line - and what truly gets me through all of my challenges - is that I have to believe and love myself and think that I'm worth all the efforts, struggles and successes I experience. It's easy to dismiss the theory of loving yourself, but when you truly experience it, great things happen ...
When I was in elementary (in Canada, grade 3 till just after high school) I worked hard at getting people to like me. I just wanted to be helpful and well liked. That was always the most important thing to me. Unfortunately, I was so desperate to have this that the exact opposite resulted. People started not liking me, and because people seem to never tell you why they don't like you, I have to assume in my adult head, that they really found that I was too desperate. I was trying too hard. It wasn't until at age 17, when my daughter was born, that I truly found a reason to love myself. I stopped trying so hard (it took time, but I did). NOT GOOD ENOUGH? In my earlier years as a casting director, I observed this lack of confidence in others. You could see people trying too hard, desperate to win a role. We tend to think that we're not "good enough." And in the voice over career you will certainly encounter directors and decision-makers who don't like the reads or personalities you're giving them. You will have agents love you and others who think nothing of you. Some clients will love your work and your demo and others won't like anything about it. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF You can't please everyone! So instead of blaming yourself, you've got to believe in yourself. Negativity breeds negativity. And if you don't know if you are worth it, how on earth can you compete? You have to trust and know that you are worth this investment. Valentine's Day has passed, but it's not too late to start loving yourself. Give yourself a big hug, settle in with drink of your choice and toast to yourself and all your efforts and your grand future to come. You deserve it! -------------------- ABOUT DEB Deb Munro is a leading voice talent and coach, currently enroute to her new home and studio in Toronto. She offers private voice over coaching by phone and Skype, and workshops on voice acting, business and demo prep in many Canadian cities. Email: deb@debsvoice.com Web: www.debsvoice.com |
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Your advice here is so important for everyone, in any field... But especially in the entertainment industry, where rejection is part of daily life. If you don't learn to love yourself, believe in your ability, and shrug off the disappointment at jobs not won, you will never rise to the top. Thanks for the reminder!
Debbie Grattan
www.debbiegrattan.com
Best of luck to all who are giving their all.
Happy belated Valentines Day!