This is a story all about how training and Links matter! I don’t know if this seems cliché to you, but everything is connected. Whether you believe it's by divine design or chaos, all things that we know or are aware of are intimately connected. Interestingly, this thought can be observed in our daily lives. As one develops and becomes an expert in his/her craft, that expertise only gets you so far. Objectively speaking, someone somewhere must see your good work, so to speak, and give you the platform to display it. That cycle continues indefinitely, reaping meaningful results for those that are committed and consistent. However, these optimal conditions can only be met in a perfect world. For me, Zero Training and Zero Links make my journey to voiceover all the more arduous.

Whenever you’re on the receiving end of rejection, the world seems to stop, your chest feels restricted, your emotions are running amuck and usually, you have no clue where to go next. Rejection hurts. Whether you’re rejected by a fortune 500 company or your secondary school sweetheart it still hurts. Rejection in its pure form is the dismissal or refusal of an idea or proposal or person. Rejection is not concerned about your feelings or your perceived talent, in fact, it may let you know, that there are many others far better than you. I believe in this industry rejection will come to me many a time, thankfully, I survived the ones that hit me. 

Truth be told, I’ve been guarded with my talents because rejection hurts.

To be frank, if it had been left in my hands, I would not have started. I must be honest in my presentation of the facts. I will not leave any integral part out of this journey to voiceover. I assure you I would have waited for better equipment, better circumstances, better platforms, and better content. I would have waited and waited until I gave up on the idea. Trust me, I would have turned my back on the idea. It seemed too big to handle, too much for one person to conquer. One day, like any other day, my dad said to me, you should record some things and post them. 

The rest is history; my dad told me to start.

To maintain your sanity, take a break from social media. Weekly, if you can. I mean it. Constant interaction with social media tends to dim our view of the beauty in our own lives. Social media is a brief glimpse of life; filtered to perfection and buttered with flowery captions. Even though influencers of today attempt to present reality; it’s still only a small part of real life. As we dive into the depths of social media, it becomes increasingly difficult to appreciate all that you possess. There is always more that you can attain, more places to visit, more things to experience, always more. More is not necessarily bad, personally, I want to see more of the world, but it's how we consume the more and more so, how we obtain the more that can be detrimental.

Social Media and Sanity!

It has come to my attention that talent is subjective and similar to beauty, can only be seen through the eyes of the beholder. Talent like everything else is burdened by the reality of options, variety, taste even monetary value. It can be noted, that together, generally human beings have a knack for realizing talent. In most cases, we can objectively state whether something is good or not. 

So much so, we actively engage in talent quests, Got Talent shows, and other such avenues to display talent. I figure that our need to be involved in things that are creative and talent-oriented is deeply embedded within our DNA. At this point, we can decide whether someone's offering is good or bad. It begs the question of where do we get our sense of good or bad but that’s a topic for another podcast. 

I posed this question for myself and you are free to weigh in on the discussion. Do I have talent or just a nice voice?

My Adventure in Norfolk (A.J. Alan)

I don’t know how it is with you, but during February my wife generally says to me: ‘Have you thought at all about what we are going to do for August?’ And, of course, I say, ‘No,’ and then she begins looking through the advertisements of bungalows to let. Well, this happened last year, as usual, and she eventually produced one that looked possible. It said: ‘Norfolk – Hickling Broad – Furnished Bungalow – Garden – Garage, Boathouse,’ and all the rest of it – Oh – and plate and linen. It also mentioned an exorbitant rent. I pointed out the bit about the rent, but my wife said: ‘Yes, you’ll have to go down and see the landlord, and get him to come down. They always do.’ As a matter of fact, they always don’t, but that’s a detail.

Anyway, I wrote off to the landlord and asked if he could arrange for me to stay the night in the place to see what it was really like. He wrote back and said: ‘Certainly,’ and that he was engaging Mrs. So-and-So to come in and ‘oblige me,’ and make up the beds and so forth. I tell you, we do things thoroughly – in our family – I have to sleep in all the beds, and when I come home my wife counts the bruises and decides whether they will do or not. At any rate, I arrived, in a blinding snowstorm, at about the most desolate spot on God’s earth. I’d come to Potter Heigham by train and been driven on (it was a good five miles from the station).

I’m already at the bottom, the only way I can go is up! Time and again, I read closing remarks such as ‘onward’, ‘forward ever’, and ‘upward mobility', that encourages the reader to steadily progress to better decisions, outcomes, and desires. In my journey to voiceover, I’m currently at the bottom. I have no formal training and definitely do not have any connections. In fact, I believe in my sweet T&T,  opportunities in this regard may be few and far between. Regardless, I recognize my position and I know that I can’t stay here. At the bottom, your view of the possibilities may be limited. Perhaps you can only dream of what could be. I think more than ever, that’s a good place to start. Oliver Wendell offered his  thoughts by saying, ‘A man’s mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its  former dimensions.’ In other words, dream and dream big; your dreams will propel you forward!

Purpose can be defined as the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. All human beings have a purpose. The question remains, do you know yours and what are you going to do about it?