Hello and Happy Bring Your Teddy Bear To Work & School Day! I never had a teddy bear but I had a tiger that I cleverly named Tony.
Ain’t he cute? The tiger, that is.
NEWS AND NOTES!
A big thanks to Cliff Zellman and the Dallas Voice Acting Meetup Group for letting me speak before them last week. They are a fantastic group of aspiring & veteran voice talent who made me feel truly welcome. Let’s do it again soon!
One of the most fulfilling parts of attending FaffCon 7 was the Peer-To-Peer coaching sessions. I always try to give back and it was a great way to get my karmic fix, so to speak. It was equally fulfilling to share my experiences with Cliff’s Dallas Voice Acting Meetup Group last week as well. I’ve also had some one-on-one chats with fellow voice talents lately and I’ve detected a pattern. Most of the time when any voice talent is having problems with their business, they tend to say the same thing:
“I’m lost”
“I never know what to do next”
“I need focus”
I’ve also noticed there is often a direct correlation between their personal issues and their professional struggles. So how do we stay on track, know what to do next, and stay focused?
TIP OF THE WEEK: It’s hard but it can be done!
1. Think Like a Business: It’s all about Systems of Thought! Develop the ability to make the right moment-to-moment decisions throughout your working day. How? Impulse control! Resist the urges to engage in fun, lazy, distracting activities. Like Facebook? Install one of those apps that blocks it during the day. Watch too much TV? Unplug it! Do everything you can to set yourself up for success.
2. Have a Plan: All successful businesses have a mission. Some even have a Mission Statement (which I strongly recommend). Write a Mission Statement, create Annual Goals, Actionable Items, and an Action Plan. Doing that makes Tip #1 much easier. Remember; artists dream, businesses envision!
3. Write it Down: It’s easier to stick to a plan when you write it down. It feels like more of a commitment when you do that, you know? My Action Plan is always sitting somewhere on my desk and any time I feel lost or unfocused, I just look at it and pick the next thing to do. It is the cornerstone of my business and makes me exponentially more productive.
If you need a swift kick in the arse to get any of this stuff going, get in touch with me and let’s make it happen!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
You only have to work for a jerk once. Bob Souer
STUFF!: I finally saw Midnight in Paris last week. It was lovely! I haven’t enjoyed a new Woody Allen film this much since Bullets Over Broadway.
From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere: GKN News…