Welcome to sparkly new 2024! If you’re reading this, you’re either well into your journey as a voice-over artist, or are considering making that leap. Either way, I wanted to start us off this year with a few nuggets to make this year as delicious as possible.
The title of this blog is very intentional. The first part, Dream Big Into Action, is worth unwrapping.
Often we think about taking action in order to get to our goals: actions to get the voice-over gig, or the agent, or the new demo, or the networking connections – we can all make a list of things we’d love to happen this year (and I recommend it; more on that in a sec). That said, I’d like to suggest that there’s an alternative belief available here, and I’m definitely not the first human to say so.
Use a map to get where you’re going.
The alternative is this: before you make any action list, any to-do list, or any task list, spend some time dreaming big.
What does that mean? Here’s a starting place: if you could wave a magic wand that grants you a one-year, six-figure contract in the voice-over world, who would you be working with? What area of voice-over? What specific product or service or personality or company? Are you working remotely, or are they flying you out (Once a week? Once a month?) to where they are, in order to record live?
This can be a tough scenario to wrap your brain around, but try it. We are going for the most ginormous, fantastical voice-over dream you can imagine.
Dreaming Big is like a workout: it stretches and expands what our minds think of as possible. I’m going to suggest writing down that Big Dream somewhere and glancing at it from time to time; it’s like a text-only equivalent of a vision board, a tool that many of you are familiar with.
For those who are not, a vision board is a collection of images and colors and words placed on a single surface (poster board, cork board, journal, dedicated space on a wall, etc.) that represents what you would like to have/do/be in the future. I’ve used them with unnerving success, as have many of my clients and friends. I’ve lost track of how often someone has said to me some version of, “Oh my gosh, I found my old vision board this week – and the thing I put on there?! I actually have it in my world right now!”
After you have spent even a little time Dreaming Big for your voice-over career, then it’s time to dream closer to the present moment: your dreaming muscles have gotten a workout, and are stronger as a result!
What would you love to happen for yourself in voice-over in 2024? Choose three things: again, I am thinking here of those of us (raising my hand!) who adore lists, and can get wildly carried away, and make a list of dozens of things, get overwhelmed, and then want to do nothing but lay on the carpet near a kitty. If you want to dive deeper into list-making tips, check out this post on our blog.
Make sure you actually write or type or paint or list them somewhere; if you have also done the Dream Big version, put them near each other.
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying this, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” Dreaming Big is very much in line with what Lincoln expressed – it’s far more powerful than we may realize to take a generous dollop of time for preparation: dreaming and thinking and getting clear, BEFORE we take action.
Broken out into percentages, that’s 66.6% preparation, and THEN 33.3% action. This process – 60-75% preparation and 25-30% action – is also called “Aligned Action”. It is acknowledging that we have put more effort into lining up which direction we would like to go with our values, wishes, intentions, and dreams before we dive into activity.
Road Maps are also crucial: they are the boots-on-the-ground of our voice-over dreams. So, once you’ve Dreamed Big it’s time to gently have a go at creating your actual to-do list, your Road Map.
These will all be actionable items: voice-overs to record, new areas to practice in, things to edit, read, hear or learn; people to email, text, call or meet; classes to take, or events to attend. (And to be sure, you can use the Dream Big, Dream 2024 and Road Map trio in any area of your world!)
Some humans like to do what they call a “Brain Dump” to start off: taking a blank pad of paper or document and writing down EVERYTHING your brain can think of to do in ANY area of your world. Afterward, the people who love this process tell me they feel huge relief after getting all of those action items out of their heads and onto paper, where they can then be chunked down or categorized.
Choosing to spend even a little time dreaming, pondering, and asking what you wish is a huge gift to give yourself and your voice-over career. However you choose to Dream Big and create your Road Map, I know you’ve got this!
I wish you a gorgeous 2024 filled with much voice-over success, creativity, fun and abundance.
Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!
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