Failure. It is talked about a lot, and in its own covert way, failure can be a beautiful thing; but, its beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder.
I’ll start with one of my favorite quotes on failure, by Winston Churchill, ”Success is going from failure to failure…with no loss of enthusiasm.” Now, you’re probably thinking, “Ok Robin, and how am I supposed to be enthusiastic about that?”
I’m going to be honest – failure is what takes most people down in the voice-over business. But the real culprit is not failure itself, but how we perceive it, and what we chose to do about it.
Failure in the voice-over world feels more personal than most. In the artistic world, criticism of our performances, our voices, our choices – all of these things – can feel like failures of not just our work, but of ourselves, because our voice and our choices are very personal things. We literally embody our work. The more personally we take our failures to heart, the deeper the cut, and the harder we fall.
Over time, this can really chip away at our spirit and our desire to put ourselves out there. Many give up when they still have so much possibility for success around the corner. They give up with the thought that they can’t do this.
When we take risks, we risk criticism, and we risk failure. That can be a very scary place to be.
My friends refer to me as a cliff jumper,and I can truly say that I have had some very painful falls and bounces down the side of many a cliff. But, there have been extraordinary successes,and looking back, I wouldn’t trade anything – not even the falls.
In his book Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey said, ”If you’re not failing…you’re not seeking enough resistance.” He goes on, “If you don’t go for it…you’ll never know. If you go for it…and you fail…you’ll know. If you go for it…and you succeed…IT’S AMAZING.”
We know that most entrepreneurs who achieve great success take big risks – they put themselves out there. The ability to get back up after falling down, is a key trait in those who are very successful, no matter what industry they’re in.
Did you know that Walt Disney was turned down by 302 banks before he was funded for Disney?
His first studio, back in 1923, was called Laugh-O-Gram. It went bankrupt.
Then he created this very successful cartoon called Oswald the Rabbit. And one day he found out that he didn’t actually own the rights to Oswald – the distributor did. When the distributor said, “Hey Walt, we’re going to reduce your fee and if you don’t accept it, we’re going to take your character, Oswald the Rabbit, and we’re also going to take everything that goes with that.”
Walt Disney turned them down. He lost everything, and had to start all over again.
Guess who his next character was? Yep. Mickey Mouse.
So, whenever you go off course, no matter what happens during that time, here is something very important to help you through. How you respond to what has happened is what determines your success.
I once heard Tony Robbins say, “Life doesn’t happen to you…it happens for you.” Think of how that can change your perception: if you feel you’ve failed or had a let-down, and you can perceive it this way: it will make all the difference in how you are able to move forward.
Dealing with failure is all about perception. If failure means failure to you, you may feel worthless – but if failure can mean growth for you…you’ll feel empowered.
If you look at failure as a temporary set-back, it’s so much easier to get back up. If you can develop this mindset, then everything – even the stumbles and the falls – will be working towards the betterment of you.
It may not be easy to shift gears at first, but it’s such a positive and empowering place to be, and can help you to be the successful voice-over talent you were born to be!
Robin Brooke is a voice-over actor, theater producer, and inspirational coach based in Virginia. Connect via Instagram @babblingbrookevo
