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VOICE OVER CAREER
Don't Worry About Those Dreaded "How's" ...
Focus On Success - Where You Want To Be

October 13, 2015

Note: The author presents the 2015 Voice Over Mastery Summit, in Fort Myers, FL, November 20-22, and offers a FREE WEBINAR TONIGHT (October 13) taking you inside the plans for this second annual event featuring training from top industry professionals and networking opportunities. Click here to attend tonight's free webinar.

By Randy Thomas
Voice Actor, Coach and Author

When pursuing your voice acting dreams, be sure to focus on where you want to be - not where you are right now.

If you don’t have a picture in your head of what your success will look like, you may never get there.

Most of us worry too much about the dreaded hows of life:
  • How can I make money in voice over if there is so much competition?
  • How can I be a top talent if I don’t have an agent?
  • How will I make the money back if I spend it on studying my craft instead of a microphone?  
If you have seen the social media ads inviting you to take an acting Master Class with Dustin Hoffman (which sounds like an amazing experience, by the way), the first thing the two-time Academy Award winner makes very clear is that you have to study the craft.

"What I say to actors when they say, should I study. I say, yes. What else are you going to do?” Hoffman says.

That is it. Studying is the most important thing you can do. So don’t worry about that microphone just yet. Go and study with the people you admire.

Study and apply what you learn, and continue to pursue your VO dreams every day.

PAINT IN THE DETAILS

When your dreams come into focus, paint in some details in your mind's eye and make it all yours.

You need to see yourself already there, doing what you love and always having more than enough. For instance:
  • Who is your dream coach?
  • What kind of work will you be doing when studying with your dream coach?
  • What will your booth look like?
  • What time will you wake up every day?
  • When would you exercise?
  • What will you do when you get your first contract client, knowing you will have a check arriving in the mail every month?  
These are the details that should permeate your thoughts. The senses must be stimulated. You have to experience the feeling of knowing that you are working at what you love, and see yourself living the perfect day, month or year.

WHAT'S YOUR DREAM?

Maybe for you, that dream is waking the kids in the morning ... feeding them breakfast and taking them to school ... then a workout ... come home, shower and get ready for a day of interpreting copy for all of the clients that you will have - knocking out five auditions a day for your agent and another 10 a day from your other job sources.

These feelings of living your dream before it happens will propel you into the life you want.

Dream it, see it, and work every day toward that dream - and don’t worry about the hows! That’s when the Universe will show up with the magic and miracles that shift everything into place.

So live your dream and use your voice! Break a lip! I mean it.  
------------------------
ABOUT RANDY
Randy Thomas made history as the first woman to announce The Academy Awards, The Emmy Awards, The SAG Awards, and The AFI Awards, to name a few. As the seven-time announcer of The Oscars, and 17-time Tony announcer, Thomas has been winning accolades and opening doors for female voice artists for over 20 years. For the past nine years she’s been heard daily by millions of people as the iconic voice of CBS Television Distribution’s Entertainment Tonight, one of the most watched entertainment programs in the world. With more than 20 years of experience as a radio personality in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Miami, Thomas has gone on to achieve her dreams as one of the most recognizable voice over artists in the world, as well as co-author of VOICE FOR HIRE: Launch and Maintain a Lucrative Career in Voice-Overs (Watson-Guptill Publications, a division of Random House Inc.). She is also producer of the annual Voice Over Mastery Summit in Fort Myers, FL (this year, held November 20-22).


Email: randy@randythomasvo.com
Web: www.randythomasvo.com
VO Mastery Summit: www.vomastery.com


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Comments (8)
Debbie Irwin
10/17/2015 at 5:42 PM
Right you are! We gotta learn to earn!

Years ago I also created a vision board-- a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of your dreams, goals, and things that make you happy.

Here's an interesting article in the Huffington Post on why they work:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-rider/the-scientific-reason-why_b_6392274.html

Thanks for continuing to inspire, Randy!
Debbie
rachel
10/15/2015 at 5:19 PM
This is great Randy; I wholeheartedly agree!
Nyoka Brooks
10/13/2015 at 11:09 PM
Really enjoyed this article! Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom. Now....dream bigger!!
Amy Weis
10/13/2015 at 7:41 PM
Great article, Randy! Absolutely true...bit by bit...the dream that is envisioned does materialize. Thank you for the encouragement to all of us excited about the prospect of living the dream. By the way...I think I want to be you 'when I grow up' :-)
Best-
Amy Weis
Rider
10/13/2015 at 7:37 PM
The dream you describe is the one I'm living now, and I would like to underscore and highlight that it started as a daily prayer. Thoughts become reality.
Laurel Thomas
10/13/2015 at 7:37 PM
Wow, those detail questions really hit home -- I had answers to the business-y questions but not the rest of the everyday life ones. Great inspiration. As always, Randy, you are so gracious with your time and expertise. Thanks for sharing and encouraging.
steve latham
10/13/2015 at 11:31 AM
Thank you for this article - I needed this today!
Steve Latham
Dave Airozo
10/13/2015 at 9:13 AM
I am grateful for all I learn every day from amazing people who take the time and effort to put this information out there for all of us to use. Thank you, thank you , thank you.
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