The dictionary is the only place where Success comes before Work.

A couple of recent situations made me think of this phrase. I believe that you can achieve any goal you set for yourself ASSUMING that you are willing to do the work necessary to achieve it. I also know that no one can do your work for you, and no shortcuts exist on your journey.

I have previously commented and voice-over coach and actor Peter Rofe noted in an article this week:

There are a lot of people who want to get into voice-over work

because they have the misconception

that it's a get-rich-quick scheme, that they can stay at home,

record their voice in their pajamas, unshaven in a T-shirt ...

and make lots and lots of money.

Now in some cases, that's true, but usually for well-established voice artists.

I frequently receive calls and e-mails from people who want to get started in voice-over, study with me, request demo critiques, ask my opinion on teachers and classes, etc. A few weeks ago, I saw a message on a forum where I'm a regular contributor. Like so many other people who contact me personally, this person wanted to get into voice-overs because she has always been told that she had a nice voice. A forum member directed her to search for my posts, read what I had written and perhaps send a private message to me if she still had questions.

At 12:24pm, she responded that she would take those actions.

At 12.30pm, I received a private message from this same person. She wrote that she posted the question in the forum, and someone suggested that she contact me.

Al Gore typifies my motto of "things happen for a reason."

I like Al Gore, and I voted for him in the hotly-contested 2000 Presidential election. While millions of Americans were immensely disappointed and even angered that he didn't win the election, we can see that it was better for him personally that he didn't become the 43rd President of the United States.

If Gore had become President, he would not have had the time or energy to lead the crusade for the environment. In 2007, Gore has achieved rock star status. First, he won an Academy Award for his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and now, Gore is the co-recipient of the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. You don't have to agree with his assessments about the environment or his politics to be impressed by his monumental achievements.

So what do Al Gore and his push to save the environment have to do with you as a voice-over talent?

After another summer of sweltering heat and daily smog alerts, I especially enjoyed the weather today here in Atlanta. It's one of those glorious pre-fall days with postcard-blue skies. I say "pre-fall" because the temperatures are still in the 80s, but the late date on the calendar gives me hope that the crisp air of fall is soon on the way.

I was in the car earlier this afternoon when I heard a radio spot that sounded very familiar. I admit that I always feel a flush of pleasure when I unexpectedly hear my voice on the airwaves. Today, though, it was someone else's voice presenting copy that I also had prepared in a recent audition. Since I obviously was not selected for that job, I listened closely to discern what the producer might have been thinking during the casting process.

A voice-over actor will audition far more than she will be hired. I don't think about auditions unless I am selected for the job or have one of those lucky times like today when I hear the voice talent in the produced spot. In those cases, I like to analyze the coloration and stress on words and compare the broadcast spot with the audition that I submitted. One time, I heard a man's voice on TV reading copy the same copy I had used. It's easy to understand the differences between my read and a man's version! It's not so easy to distinguish between my performance and that of another female.

Today, I thought the reads between my audition and the produced spot were very similar. We were closely matched with our phrasing. She stressed one word that I didn't stress in my audition. Maybe that stress was her idea, or maybe she did it due to direction. The last line was changed, so I don't know whether the writer modified it or the talent perhaps ad-libbed it in her audition. In either case, I did think it was a better ending line.

The biggest difference I noticed was one I heard with her very first word -- the difference of tonal quality. Her voice was a higher pitch than mine. C'est la vie. Another talent being chosen for that job or any job doesn't take anything away from me or cause me any negative feelings.

Henry Aaron is a class act.

I don't make that comment because he is one of the most beloved sports figures of all time or because he is a fellow Atlantan. I just saw the news replay of his speech last night as he congratulated Barry Bonds for surpassing him as the all-time baseball homerun champion. I'm reprinting it below in case you haven't seen or heard it.

You might think that Barry Bonds's tremendous accomplishment or Hank Aaron's scoreboard address would have nothing to do with voice-over. However, I see a parallel between these sports heroes and my voice-over career.