I have been reading the Monday Morning Memo by Roy H. Williams since 1997. If you don’t get it in your inbox every Monday, I encourage you to sign up. The insights are well worth the few minutes of your week, and then some.
Today’s memo is about the value of failure. As I read it, I started thinking about my long journey from worker bee to full time voice talent in a new way. Yes, it took me 26 years to finally make that transition in 2009. Yes, I had lots of opportunities along the way to make that transition at an earlier point in my life, and each of those times I failed to pull the trigger and ride the bullet.
But, now I realize that each of those failures helped me better prepare for when I made the transition. Everyone, no matter at what level they operate has bumps and bruises along the way. Don’t imagine that your journey is going to smooth out one you hit your stride and start doing voiceover full time.
And of course, in the world of voiceover, there are loads of auditions we don’t book. Plenty of connections and contacts that don’t lead to anywhere. So, are you going to take each of these “failures” in stride and keep moving? Or are they going to derail you?
Thank you for the moment of contemplation…
Thankfully, I don’t think of any of those leads and auditions not coming to fruition as failures. Gosh, I wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning if I did. Rather, they are seeds. And, as a novice gardener, I have experienced that so many seeds do not develop despite our best efforts to care for them exactingly. But then we can be pleasantly surprised by what does come from all our effort and intentions…
May your day be fruitful!
All the best,
Natasha Marchewka
NatashaMarchewka.com
YourWorkIsAllITalkAbout.com
Natasha,
Excellent thoughts. Thank you. Yes, I’m a big believer in the metaphor of gardening or (from own background) farming as it applies to the world of voiceover.
Be well,
Bob