Karen@KarenCommins.com

Karen Commins

Award Winning

Atlanta Audiobook Share-ratorâ„¢

Narrators

4 Ways to Find Happiness When You Hate Your Job

Does this paragraph sound like you:

I’ve had tremendous anxiety and stress on my job for over a year. Actually, I’ve been stressed out for much longer. Lately, I feel like I’m “on the edge”; I’m about to go crazy.

Or what about these comments:

  • I worked 13 hours today….
  • I have been exhausted all day and found it very difficult to concentrate at work….
  • I felt frustrated, overwhelmed, and burned out a good bit of today….
  • Just thinking about work makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I know what it’s like to feel all of those things because I lifted these sentences from my first serious journal, which I kept between March 1993 and December 1994. (I say it’s a serious journal only to distinguish it from diaries with the little lock that I wrote in as a child. I wish I’d kept those and written journals throughout my life, but that’s another story.)

I started the journal after a meeting with a counselor from the Employee Assistance Program at my job with the IRS. I wrote:

I want to think about things that make me happy rather than dwell on those things that make me feel anxious, worried, depressed, etc. 

I told the counselor, “I think this job is killing me.”

The counselor replied, “If you think that, it probably really is.”

The counselor said my relationship with my job/employer is unhealthy and destructive since I have been suffering from headaches, digestive problems, and an inability to get to sleep at night.

The counselor’s immediate answer to my problem is to find another job. I think I’ll try harder to do that very thing.

If you see yourself in my mirror, there’s hope!

This way to happiness!

I think many people want to leave their current jobs and pursue a voice-over career because they perceive voice-over to be a fast and easy way to make money. I’ve already covered the fallacy in this thinking in many other articles.

However, I found 4 quick lessons in my 1993 journal that may help you find happiness when you hate your job:

4/21/93 — [A fellow computer network administrator] and I had a discussion while in Nashville that we have lost professionalism in the eyes of others. The proliferation of PCs has caused other people to think that our profession doesn’t require special skills. [My boss’s] refusal to fund my classes only emphasizes that point to me. 

LESSON 1: Most people immediately think they would be happy if they could change jobs or possibly even start a new career. Before you make an irrevocable and life-changing decision, read the article Every passion does not lead to a career choice. You need to figure out what is missing on your job and in your life, as well as ways to get it in your life.

If you do decide that a career change is necessary, accept that becoming a professional in ANY category requires time and money to gain the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for that line of work. Malcolm Gladwell asserts in his book OUTLIERS that 10,000 hours – or approximately 5 years of 40-hour weeks – of dedicated practice is needed for anyone to reach the elite level of his or her field.

Of course, you can become an expert in your field with less than 10,000 hours of practice. I can’t say precisely how long it would take. I do know that success requires more effort than a weekend workshop.

Based on my experience in switching careers, I advise people to start their new career slowly and in a part-time capacity while still employed in the first career. It takes the pressure off you as you gain the skills to be successful in the new career. You can funnel money made in the first career into classes needed for the second. Through it all, you will feel happier knowing that you are taking active steps to live the life you envision.

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7/12/93 – I did my first training session as a reader for the GA Radio Reading Service. I auditioned several weeks ago. On 6/30, the Director of Volunteers told me I had passed the audition. She said only about 35% of the people pass the audition. Since it consisted of 100 difficult vocabulary words, 2 newspaper articles, and a dramatic piece, I can believe the majority of people wouldn’t pass. 

LESSON 2: Even voiceover — a career based on something as seemingly simple as talking — is not as easy as it looks! One way to gain valuable knowledge and experience is to volunteer for an organization.

My husband Drew is not the first person to parlay his volunteer gig into a paid position. You can read his inspiring story in the article 10 Law of Attraction principles in creating a job shift.

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7/30/93 – The best thing that happened all week was seeing Barry Manilow in concert tonight! He was on his “Greatest Hits…and More” tour. I had never seen him in concert…I was so excited at my first glimpse of Barry….The more Manilow I hear, the more Manilow I want to hear! 

LESSON 3: Your career is only one aspect of your life. Find a new hobby that brings you joy. That joy will overflow into every other aspect of your life, including the job. If it’s an expensive hobby (like traveling to see 51 Barry Manilow concerts in 20 cities!), you’ll feel greater appreciation and gratitude for the job that funds the hobby.

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8/11/93 – I went to the [literacy] tutor workshop last night. They are matching students and tutors starting today. I’m anxious to get started with it. 

LESSON 4: This lesson may seem like the same thing as #2, but it’s not. Item #2 was to volunteer for organization to gain experience you need. Item #4 is to take the focus off yourself and your problems, and instead, help someone else solve their problem.

I’ve read that one way to achieve your dreams is to help someone else achieve their dream. You can help someone by volunteering for an organization or just in a one-on-one capacity where you see a need. Helping someone else helps make the world a better place for all of us.

Your career is a series of decisions and an evolutionary process. Your job may add to your happiness, but it’s isn’t the source of your happiness. You can CHOOSE to be happy every day, even at a job that doesn’t fulfill you.

In an upcoming article, I’ll share some lessons I’ve learned about dealing with criticism. In the meantime, do you have tips about staying happy? I’d love to get your comments on the blog!

Going Public for Audiobook Month and Some Pronunciation Info

June is Audiobook Month, and this is Audiobook Week!

To celebrate, a number of audiobook narrators are posting short recordings today in the Going Public project.

This audio project is the brainchild of narrator Xe Sands. Each Friday, new audio is offered  for free download. Xe describes the project as pieces

recorded purely for the joy of reading something that truly resonates with the narrator and then sharing that joy with others. Pieces are offered gratis on a weekly basis, without compensation of any sort either to the narrator or author.

The project is also a brilliant way to further perfect and market our voices and our talents as audiobook narrators!

Today, I’m presenting the short story “Black Thursday”. Author Melissa F. Miller graciously gave me permission to record her award-winning short story, which is the prequel to the suspense/thriller audiobook IRREPARABLE HARM.

In this story, first-year legal associate Sasha McCandless learns that her blessings come at a cost.

When performing audiobooks, one large part of the narrator’s job is the preliminary preparation. You need to pre-read a fiction book to know how the story flows and find clues about each character that will help you make good choices about their voice.

You also need to look up pronunciations of words. Since this short story dealt with a law firm, I needed to find out how to pronounce some legal terms.

I usually start by Googling “word pronunciation”, for example, “qui tam pronunciation”. Usually, dictionaries pop up first in the results, and I may quickly find what I need.

In this example, I found an interesting document from the American Bar Association which explains that lawyers differ on the pronunciation of qui tam. This material was an exciting find since it allowed me to further develop the character in my mind and decide which way he would say the phrase based on the back story I imagined for him.

Narrators Judith West and Heather Henderson collected and created an exceptional resource of pronunciation dictionaries and research techniques that is a treasure trove for any audiobook narrator: AudioEloquence.com

If you have some free time, take a listen to the contributions in Going Public. Like researching pronunciations for your book, you’ll never know what you’ll find!

Photo:  iStockPhoto/ContentWorks
 

Power of “I AM” in Maintaining a Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is one thing that people always advise you to have when starting or pursuing a voice-over career. You probably even think you have one. I thought I did….until I realized just how pervasive our negative thoughts and words really are.

For instance, in one of the on-line voice-over forums, we were discussing an audio recording technique. Someone made a comment like “I could kick myself that I wasn’t smart enough to figure it out for myself.”

We think and say things like that all of the time without ever realizing the negative energy lurking in our words.

That particular example is a double negation of self. First, the “kick myself” part could cause you to feel actual pain in your body. Your ears are listening to every word that comes out of your mouth. Your brain is processing those words and may interpret them as commands.

Some very common phrases that people use without thinking can cause mental or physical pain, especially when repeated and said with emotion:

  • Someone is a pain in the neck or butt.
  • I’d give my right arm for that.
  • That thing is to die for.
  • I am blown away by that.
  • That person is driving me crazy.
  • That situation is on my last nerve.
  • I love that person to death.

The “I wasn’t smart enough” part of the forum comment is the part I really want to discuss today. Saying “I wasn’t smart enough” re-inforces a negative belief system. If the person thinks they weren’t smart enough for one thing, maybe they start thinking they aren’t smart enough for other things as well.

When I’m around people who put forth such comments, I offer them a different perspective. I urge them to think and speak kindly of themselves. Rather than saying “I wasn’t not smart enough”, the person in the example could instead think something like “I had a good workflow but am happy to learn an easier way to do it.”

Vigilance is necessary when monitoring your thoughts. We can’t help that first, unbidden, unwelcome thought. Two steps are necessary to maintain a positive attitude after having it:
  1. Don’t say it! Saying the thought gives it a life out in the Universe. What you put out in the world comes back to you, probably in ways you didn’t expect.
  2. Think a different, BETTER-feeling thought as your next thought. This is your life, and your thoughts and words are your script. As Joel Osteen advises, don’t use your words to describe the situation. Use your words to change the situation.

Lately, I started to question whether I have lost my ambition or motivation. This negative thought only came to me when I looked at this blog and realized that I have not written a post of substance in 3 months.

It was bad enough to think it, let alone say it. Saying it gives it creative power!

When I heard myself say these things about myself, I felt bad. I felt discouraged. That’s what these insidious negative thoughts do — they make us feel bad and may paralyze us from reaching our destiny!

The bad thoughts and feelings multiplied even though all other evidence about my ambition and motivation told me both were in overflowing abundance:

If I had repeatedly said “I am not motivated” or “I lack ambition”, those statements — like all words we speak — would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy!

I’ve been writing this blog for 6 years and previously had missed only 2 months (August 2009 and November 2011) when I didn’t have at least one new post. Those missed months followed major life changes for me. When I really thought about my motivation and ambition, I realized I have not lost either. Instead, I’ve gained new freedoms I previously had only imagined.

I’m still adjusting to being a full-time voice actor and audiobook narrator. My new role means that I can go to breakfast, shopping, or to a movie with Drew any day of the week. I can take a nap any time I want. With another big change in my life, it’s natural that other changes would occur, like writing less frequently on this blog.

This picture recently was shared on Facebook and nicely sums up this post:


The key is to keep reminding yourself of all the positive things you are. I have been writing a growing list of “I AM” statements, like I am talented, I am creative, and I am blessed. I pull out the list when I feel negativity creeping into my thoughts.

As you might have guessed, the last 2 statements that I added to my list are:

I am ambitious.

I am motivated.

If you’ll start keeping a list of “I AM” statements and repeating them to yourself, you’ll find that you’ll have more than a positive attitude. You’ll have a positive MINDSET!

 

Where does the time go?

As the excellent voice-over talent says in this Staples commercial, “in a small business, it’s all you.”

I laugh each time I see this ad because I relate a lot to Dave these days!

The past 2 months have been wonderfully busy. I’ve done full production on 3 audiobooks; the finished time of each ranged from 9.5 hours to almost 13 hours. I also worked with my web designer in creating a new audiobooks site to showcase my work in this area.

With all of these big projects, I haven’t had much time to write articles here on the blog.

I am developing several ideas and expect to post a new article in the next week or so.

Thanks for your patience during my absence. I’d love to hear from you about your projects, so please leave a comment on the blog!
 

Recent audiobooks

The new year has started off with a burst of audiobook work! I’m excited to report that 2 books I narrated are now available for digital download on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.

It’s Never Too Late To Be What You Might Have Been

It's Never Too Late.jpg

This audiobook is actually the perfect title for this exciting, new phase in my life. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN by the wonderful storyteller B.J. Gallagher is full of inspiring interviews with people aged 40 and higher who have made dramatic changes in their lives in order to make their dreams come true.

Not only are the stories interesting and inspirational, but each chapter ends with some specific tips for making similar changes in your own life.

Recording this particular book was a gift to me because I benefitted from reading the chapters on wealth and fitness. Chellie Campbell was profiled in the chapter on attaining wealth. Thanks to her list of 50 abundance affirmations, my new mantra is “People just love to give me money!” Since I’ve started saying it, it seems to be coming true! 🙂

It’s never too late to have the dream career, attain wealth, fall in love, be healthy, and more! This audiobook may be just the right thing to help you start living the life you were meant to lead!

Dixie Divas

Dixie Divas.jpgWhat could be more fun and intriguing than a murder mystery that starts with a pot of chicken and dumplings?

Award-winning and prolific novelist Virginia Brown has cooked up a delicious tale about a close-knit group of Southern women who call themselves the Dixie Divas. The Divas gather for chocolate, conversation, and carrying a dead body around town. If you want to know what else happens at a Divas meeting, you’ll just have to hear the book!

I loved the characters and vivid descriptions of their charming Mississippi town. My director and I had to stop recording several times because we cracked up over the dialogue! This audiobook is the perfect companion for your spring break or summer trips when you want to entertained while relaxing by the pool or ocean. At almost 13 hours, it’s a terrific audiobook to enjoy on long car trips or while doing housework or walking the dog.

After only 2 weeks for sale, this audiobook is currently the #1 bestseller on Audible in the Chick Lit category! I’m also thrilled and honored that the publisher has asked me to narrate the 2nd and 3rd books in the series. Those titles should be available in early summer.

Speaking of which, it’s time to head back into the studio — the Divas await!

What’s holding you back?

This post will be short, but it contains one of the powerful lessons I’ve learned. It has taken me a long time to realize that my 2 biggest obstacles were mental and of my own doing:

  1. frustration about what I thought I hadn’t achieved and my perceived lack of time to achieve it
  2. comparisons to others and jealousy about their success (frustration’s wicked twin sibling).

The day job wasn’t the obstacle

For years, I blamed my day job for holding me back from achieving the success I wanted in voice-over. Sure, it was difficult to work 2 jobs for 12 years:

  • It was physically demanding to work a full day and then come home and do marketing, recording, and editing on evenings and weekends to further my voiceover career.
  • The job itself was mentally draining because I worked for 25 years as an IT specialist who was responsible for the end user hardware and software, computer networks, and email systems. I had a problem-solving job that required constant communication with the customers. This job also occasionally caused me to work late or on weekends, disrupting any other plan.
  • I wrote on my blog about my feelings of being a secret agent in both the day job and voiceover camps. Note my comment on that post about:

A) how to manage voiceover clients while working full-time, and
B) not letting fear and a scarcity mentality cause you to make bad decisions.

You may be amused at a journal entry about frustration that I included in this blog post. What I didn’t say in that post was that I was frustrated because I had the full-time job and felt the time spent there could be better and more enjoyably spent on voiceover marketing and gigs.

Be aware of the Law of Paradoxical Intent

The frustration and comparisons/jealousy are self-defeating attitudes that cause you to feel desperate and set up the Law of Paradoxical Intent in your life. If you only read one of the links I’m providing here, make it this one. It explains how the more desperate you become about achieving your goal, the more you push it away.

I’ve written several times about the negative effects of comparing yourself to others and ways to stop the insanity:

 

It’s all too easy to make comparisons to other people and then measure your success only on the income you generated in voiceover or the biggest name client that you have. The comparisons only keep you focused on a perceived lack. As Eckhart Tolle beautifully explains in the passage I excerpted in this post, since what you think about expands, focusing on what you think you lack will only ensure that MORE lack will come into your life!

Someone recently left a comment on my blog about their own frustration. My comment back to them is sort of the blueprint I’ve learned and followed to overcome the frustration and accept my life.

ACCEPTANCE is the key

Acceptance of your life is the key to being in the flow and receiving the good that is yours!

It was only after I accepted my life as it was — complete with the day job — in the last several years that things really started to move quickly for me. Part of that acceptance meant that I made conscious and continuous effort to be grateful for all of the many blessings that I received as a result of my day job.

I got a clear sign from the Universe about making the leap to full-time voiceover. I didn’t have to force anything to happen. I’ve found that if I’m forcing the solution, the outcome is not the best that I could have. You have to know that the Universe is always orchestrating the right action in your life.

I can’t say that I’m always perfect in maintaining the right attitude. However, my lapses to the dark side are more infrequent and last a much shorter amount of time when they do occur.

What’s holding you back? I’d love to get your comments about these thoughts!