Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you
Where are you going to?
Do you know…?

Do you get
What you’re hoping for
When you look behind you
There’s no open doors
What are you hoping for?
Do you know…?

— Diana Ross when singing the theme from “Mahogany”

Those song lyrics have been floating in my mind after reading another voice-over blog in which the author wrote, “I have no idea where this is going.”  While I have taken the writer’s words out of context, the face-value of that thought inspires today’s post.

Do you know where you’re going to in your voice-over career? When planning either a trip or a career in voice-over, it’s important to know your desired destination. You don’t need to know HOW or WHEN you will get there, but you do have to decide where you want to go. When you make that decision, you might as well decide to have the very best outcome you can possibly imagine.

True, even deciding on the destination can be very difficult. You have to take some time to analyze what’s important to you and find a destination that fills those characteristics. If I were planning a trip, I might say it’s important to me to go to a romantic place that is full of art, music and interesting architecture. When I decide that Paris fits my description, I now have a destination — a place that I can point to on a map.

Any number of ways exist for me to get there. It’s not up to me to decide every aspect of the trip. Life has a way of presenting delicious synchronicities that enable us to get further along our path. In fact, I previously wrote an entry about trusting your gut instinct. You may think your heart leads you to do things that are fun but unimportant in the long run. To quote myself: Your intuition will guide you to make choices and take action toward building your career that you may not totally understand at the time but will make brilliant sense in retrospect.

My voice-over career is just like a trip to Paris; I have a map and can point to my pinnacle of success. It’s important to me to voice projects that utilize my creativity, mean something to people, and are of lasting value. Audiobooks meet all of those criteria. I know where I’m going even though I have no idea when I will arrive.

You may be surprised to know that I am a Grammy award-winning voice talent for an audiobook in the Best Spoken Word category. You look perplexed and scratch your head as you think over this bold statement. “But Karen,” you finally say with great hesitation, “how is that possible when I haven’t seen your name on the Grammy awards list?”

Just because something hasn’t shown up in your reality doesn’t mean it isn’t real.<

When you use one of your 5 senses, you gain information about something in your world. No man-made thing that is in the world just magically appeared. It was first a thought in someone’s mind. They had to visualize its existence and know it was achievable before it ever became part of reality.

Athletes and entertainers often have related stories of visualizing their success for years before it was known to others. I love a quote from Barry Manilow in the 70s after he hit it big. Someone asked him what it was like to be successful, and he replied, “I’ve always been successful, but now I’m famous.”

Once you have a destination, you can create a map for getting from point A to point B. With your voice-over career or anything else, work backward from point B until you reach your place at point A. At each step, ask yourself, “in order for this to happen, what has to happen before it?”

I followed that process to create my map for achieving that Grammy award. I know certain things have to happen for my quest to be successful, and they inspire me to take action, whether marketing to a particular audiobook publisher, creating new demos, talking to others about audiobooks, etc. Sometimes the journey may seem stalled or going in a different or unexpected direction. Even in those times, I always have the inner knowing that I will arrive at my destination one day. It’s just a matter of time and consistent effort on my part in order to make this dream a reality. In the meantime, I know that the success I envision is on its way.

One of my friends described this kind of thinking as “a bunch of woo-woo”. In case this blog post sounds like woo-woo to you, you might be more likely to consider this advice from celebrated voice talent Nancy Cartwright. In an article for Animation World Magazine, Cartwright writes:

At any rate, if you are planning on being successful at what you do, no matter what it is you decide to do, you should be sure to envision having the greatest success in your chosen field. Don’t just decide to get a job, decide to win an Emmy. I did. Don’t just decide to be a background voice, decide to be on the #1 animated show on television. I did. Don’t just decide to make enough money to pay your bills or quit your day job, decide to make an abundance of money so your attention can move on to greater and more important areas. I did.

It is not about just dreaming. It is truly about making the decision, and thinking big!!!! Only you can decide what is best for you, so sit down right now, and make some decisions, who knows? It might change your life forever!

So, about my Grammy award — just remember you read it here first!

I just wrote the subject line on Twitter in response to voice talent Alison Pittman’s tweet:

A negative mindset can be picked up so easily,even over the internet airwaves.
seeps through yr fingers into the keys of yr keyboard&beyond

A negative mindset will prevent you from achieving the success in voice-over that you desire. I previously have written about the power of words and the reason you shouldn’t compare yourself to other people. However, I admit I’m not always good at implementing these points for myself.

What exactly is a negative mindset? According to Esther and Jerry Hicks, authors of numerous books on the Law of Attraction, you will have a negative mindset any time that you feel a negative emotion. They say that a negative emotion indicates you are feeling a lack of harmony with what you really WANT.

For instance, you may complain that a voice-over client is slow to pay you for a recording. What you really WANT is something along these lines:

• appreciation for your work
• respect for your talent and time
• immediate payment for the job

Complaining not only makes you feel worse in the moment, but it actually perpetuates the problem!

I’m currently reading the Hicks book Money and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health and Happiness. On pages 186-7, the authors assert:

It may sound strange, but the fastest way to an improved work environment is to look for things in your current environment that make you feel good. Most people do exactly the opposite by pointing out the flaws in where they stand in an effort to justify an improved environment. But since the Law of Attraction always gives you more of whatever you are giving your attention to, if you your attention is on unwanted things, then more unwanted things are on the way as well….No matter how justified you are in your negative emotion, you are still messing up your future.

Steve Pavlina wrote on his positive and thought-provoking blog the best explanation I have seen for assuming responsibility for the outcome of your thoughts:

What if I deny responsibility for what I experience? What if I say, “Something out there is causing these problems, and I’m only noticing what is happening”? Then I’m powerless to change my reality. If I focus my thoughts on what I’m already getting, I’ll unknowingly activate the Law of Attraction to continue bringing me more of the same. My situation will never fundamentally change. And how can it change? If I’m thinking about what I’m already getting, then I’m manifesting a loop. It’s stable. If my life is filled with the manifestation of my desires, I’m in heaven. If my life is filled with what I don’t want, I’m in hell.

No matter what your circumstances, you can find something more positive to think/say/write/do about it. If a client is slow to pay you, you can think about the pleasure you had in doing the job. You can think how nice it is that you aren’t depending on that payment for your next meal. Once you begin to appreciate all of the good things in your life, you’ll find more to appreciate.

To reinforce my changes of thought, I will write down lists of things I want to bring to life. Instead of complaining about someone who is slow to pay me for a voice-over job, I will speak and write down words like these:

• I have clients who love and respect me.
• I have clients who want to work with me.
• My clients bring me interesting and well-written scripts that are a pleasure to perform.
• I love when people tell me they recognize my voice after hearing me on an audiobook or national TV commercial; it makes me know I am doing work that means something to people.
• My clients value my time and pay me promptly. In fact, they usually pay me before I can send an invoice.

Over time, I have noticed dramatic shifts in my reality as a result of these kinds of thoughts.

You can’t just change a single thought and expect your world to change. It’s the persistence of positive thought that will bring about the changes you seek. Thought alone does not bring about change, but any change you want to make starts with a change in thought.

Next time you’re feeling negative, try thinking instead of what you WANT. What you put out into world comes back to you, usually in ways you didn’t expect. By projecting a positive attitude, you can expect positive results!
 

Buddhist teachings refer to karma, which is the universal law of cause and effect when related to a person’s actions. Kara Edwards recently wrote about karma in her voice-over career, which is a perfect lead-in to my story today.

From childhood, I’ve always heard that it’s better to give than receive. I didn’t understand until the last few years that you actually receive by giving. Whenever I have unselfishly given my time, money and/or energy to another person or charity, I have been rewarded in surprising and unexpected ways. Kara’s story wonderfully illustrates this principle.

About the same time that Kara wrote her entry, I was contacted by a newcomer seeking advice about the voice-over industry. Each week brings similar inquiries, and I admit that I have become somewhat jaded by them. I am perpetually asked what I can do to help the person who called or wrote to me for advice. People seem to want the shortcuts to voice-over success and glory.

This time was different.

This time, the newcomer asked me what she could do to help me.

By asking that one question, she totally changed the direction of the call. That one question made me WANT to help her. My energy in talking to her changed, and my outlook toward helping newcomers was revitalized.

She also sent me a gracious thank-you note in e-mail following our conversation. With her permission, I am quoting her message and my response.

Dear Karen Commins:

Thank you for taking time this morning to answer questions about the voice over industry. I appreciate the advice you have given me and the great ideas you’ve shared.

Once again, please feel free (for free) to take advantage of the extra time I have available right now to be of benefit to you and your business. I have a BA degree in professional sales and marketing and over twenty years of successful sales experience. In addition, I am extremely familiar with following scripts through acting and telemarketing as well as proper diction through extensive vocal performance training in college. I would be willing to give you eight to sixteen hours per week of my time.

Rest assured, I am an honest, trustworthy individual whose only guilty pleasure would be a soap opera or two.

I believe one has to give in order to receive; it is the universal law of sowing and reaping. So, please consider this offer as a way in which I can plant seeds into your business in order that I may reap a harvest sometime later in my career.

All the best,

–Racquel Green, ASR

I responded as follows, with emphasis added in blue to underscore the point of this blog entry:

Racquel, you are a true delight, and you have made my day! Thank YOU for your many kind words and amazing offer of assistance. If you keep offering, somebody will take you up on it! Just don’t let anyone take advantage of you or your time; you need to get something from any business relationship.

I also believe in the universal law of sowing and reaping and can readily see that you will go far. I receive sooo many calls and e-mails from people wanting to get started in voice-over, but they haven’t learned what you already know: You have to give to get. Whatever a person feels is lacking in their world is the very thing they need to give away. You also expressed gratitude, which, again, most people fail to do.

You already have a terrific positive mindset and tremendous marketing expertise. With some training in voice-over techniques, I have every confidence that you will sow a beautiful garden of success!

In giving my permission to quote her, Racquel added:

I understand you are respectfully declining my offer, however, please know it still stands. Also, if you know of any other respected voice over talent in the area who would like to consider my offer would you please let me know?<

If any of you Atlanta voice talent can mentor a bright, upcoming talent as an unpaid intern in your studio, contact me for Racquel’s phone number! Like I said, her genuine and unique approach based on the law of giving and receiving makes me want to help her.

One last word on giving and receiving — You can’t give with the expectation of receiving. Kara and Racquel show us that the karma allows us to receive only when the purest motivations are involved.

When is the last time that you cleaned out your filing cabinet? Until recently, Drew and I might have answered “about 20 years ago.” If I had realized the negative effect that the overstuffed file drawers were having on my voice-over career, I would have done something about it long before now! Perhaps my story will inspire you to sort through your own files.

We decided to redecorate my office with new furniture, which meant pulling all of the files out of the drawers before the furniture could be moved. We made numerous trips to gather armfuls of hanging file folders that we stacked on the floor in the upstairs hall. Although the clutter in the hall was overwhelming, we agreed on the arduous task of examining every piece of paper and file so that we would only keep those things we needed.

Throughout this project, we have shredded at least 6 bags of paper and thrown away countless sheets. In addition to finding a multitude of outdated records about our health, finances and possessions, I was incredulous to see just how much paper I had accumulated in my work as a voice talent.

When I do an audition, I save the script so that I will have it available when I am booked for the job. I had folders overflowing with scripts from agents and on-line casting services. I also maintain folders for clients and their jobs.

My system works well — EXCEPT that I never got rid of anything! In making decisions about voice-over paperwork to toss, I combined principles discussed in 2 books on seemingly disparate subjects: Michael Port’s bestseller Book Yourself Solid : The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling and Catherine Ponder’s classic work The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity.

The first chapter in Port’s book is titled The Red Velvet Rope Policy. He makes the analogy of going to an invitation-only event where someone checks your credentials before allowing you to pass beyond the red velvet rope. He asks: Do you have your own red velvet rope policy that allows in only the most ideal clients, the ones who energize and inspire you? The first exercise in Port’s interactive and thought-provoking book is to dump the duds.

I include price-buyers in my category of duds; I wrote about this type of client in a previous entry. I immediately tossed folders of price-buying clients. More projects made their way to the circular file if I only worked for the client once and have no interest in voicing projects for them again. Perhaps I didn’t enjoy the type of work, or the project didn’t fit with my target and niche markets. Several folders belonged to clients who were notoriously slow to pay me, which actually is a form of price-buying.

I kept folders for the clients and projects that were a pleasure in every sense. In addition to conforming to the red velvet rope policy, I reminded Drew about Catherine Ponder’s words about the vacuum law of prosperity:

Nature abhors a vacuum. It is particularly true in the realm of prosperity.Basically, the vacuum law of prosperity is this:if you want greater good, greater prosperity in your life,start forming a vacuum to receive it!In other words, get rid of what you don’t want to make room for what you do want.

If there are clothes in the closet or furniture in your home or office that no longer seem right for you;if there are people among your acquaintances and friends that are no longer congenial —begin moving the tangibles and intangibles out of your life, in the faith thatyou can have what you really want and desire.Often it is difficult to know what you do wantuntil you get rid of what you don’t want.

Here’s where this monumental project to organize and declutter my filing cabinets had a direct impact on my voice-over career. Within days of tossing the bulk of my old voice-over auditions and projects, a new prospect from overseas contacted me about a video narration. The query was all the more interesting since I had never even heard of the company.

I quoted my price and was pleased when they immediately committed to the project and paid my customary charge of 50% up front. Two days later, I received, recorded and transmitted the script. The client provided almost instantaneous positive feedback and requested no changes. They paid the balance of the fee within one week of my invoice. The client also suggested that future voice work would be forthcoming.

This new client definitely fits my red velvet rope criteria! I truly had no room in my old file drawers to add a new client folder, but now, I have plenty of space — a vacuum, in fact — ready to hold this one and those to follow.

In cleaning out the files, I also found a couple of pieces of paper that have their own stories. Check back on the blog for a related entry about them in the near future. In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. Have you experienced the vacuum law of prosperity in your voice-over work or other aspects of your life?