The VOHeroes Podcast

Hey there, hero! Most of the decisions that are made in the professional world revolve around money, and they are never on schedule. (Thanks to EM Forster for this episode's thought starter.) Much of what happens is random, unpredictable and not based in the arts, but rather in the commerce. And you need to be OK with that. I hope that money isn't looked at as a bad thing, either from the funding of projects so you can get work, or from you getting paid to do those things. Are you OK wi...

02-18

05:32

Hey there, hero! This episode revolves around that Deadline article, tough love, math, logic and being careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. And you also might get some unexpected consequences you might be facing. And we need to understand that potential work is at the pleasure of the partners we seek: the people with whom we want to work. And their math is what needs to be understood. They have a task that's very different from yours: they are looking for the right pe...

02-11

11:48

Hey there, hero! It's a lovely day when you're recognized as a professional at what you do. You likely get paid. You get respect from your peers. You feel accomplished. But moving from amateur to pro can feel like you're leaving something behind. It just might be...love. I think I can help you bridge the gap between what you gain and what you lose when you make the leap to pro. If you've already "gone pro," what do you miss? If you are still an amateur, what do you value about the journ...

02-04

04:10

Hey there, hero! Ever since we've been humans, from the very beginning of time, we've tried to make sense of the world around us. And among the hardest things to make sense of is the creative arts...and the choice to become a creative artist. The randomness alone is mind-boggling. If you try to make sense of it, you'll fail. Especially if you try logic. That works for other lines of work, but not ours. And I'd like to remind you, in this episode, that you need to give yourself grace. A n...

01-28

03:49

Hey there, hero! A bit of a rant this episode...about the choices we make in life, and then being upset about those choices. And creative types have enough harsh judgement being leveled at them by critics without adding to what some perceive to be a sense of entitlement. We are privileged to work in this business. No doubt. We're not privileged to yell about how hard this business is. We knew that going in. We signed up for a future that required we be adaptive to the things that might h...

01-21

08:34

Hey there, hero! AI in general, and synthetic voice and image generators in particular have led to a lot of FUD in our industry. FUD? It's an acronym that means Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. We fear being replaced by AI-generated models that would lead not just to the loss of jobs, but the possible deletion of the human contribution to creative work. And yes, that's a possibility. So when you grabbed ChatGPT and had it re-write your bio for you, or you had Perplexity answer a question you...

01-14

04:45

Hey there, hero! Is it possible that in addition to all of the other things you're concerned with when it comes to your performance career, that actually having a bit of success might be more daunting? More daunting than the possibility of...failure? Because then, the rules have to change. You have to start living by the rules of success, not failure. And you have new responsibilities. How can this possibly make sense? Do you ever take a moment to consider if you're fearful of actually s...

01-07

03:29

Hey there, hero! Putting your creations out there for the world to see can feel like an act of bravery, and some people get ready for a bit of criticism. And they might be looking for a way to deal with that criticism. I say, be like Joe. Joseph Brodsky the writer/poet, that is. After a recent video I released was posted about creating my Narrate Your Own Book course, I got an odd response from a listener about how everything I teach...can be found, for free, on YouTube. How I reacted (...

12-31

06:41

Hey there, hero! Far more often than not, the projects I create and undertake tend to "stick." Rarely do I shut something down before it has run its course. And most go on for a long, long time. In this episode, I take a look at the decision making and the grief (yep!) around the choice to end a project I love (which I recently did). Part of that includes how to do things gracefully and generously, both to myself and to anyone involved that might be affected by the de-commissioning. And ...

12-24

05:26

Hey there, hero! Listen or watch this episode for an actual ONE step plan to avoid oversimplifying the clickbait options you find online on your way to success: Don't be sucked into the apparent secret sauce of a overly simple plan to ultimate success. I try not to make the "overpromise/underdeliver" mistake when I share things with you, but I can't control what you see in your social feeds. It's rarely as simple as the ads make it sound...whatever it is you're trying to do. What are you...

12-17

03:28

Hey there, hero! We're all on a pursuit. A pursuit of the performance arts career we want: acting, VO, writing and more. And we often look to those who have "made it" for guidance. How did they get success? Great question. But I think a better question would be about how they handled rejection. That skill can be really useful, as rejection is inevitable and is far more common than success. So let's give a listen to how Stephen King, Maya Angelou, Jack Canfield, Harper Lee and a few other...

12-10

08:14

Hey there, hero! As we look at things we need to get done, we get an idea WHEN we need to get those things done, what we need to prepare... ...and when we aren't ready yet to do anything just yet. And a simple shift in your activity timeline can be really effective. Your assumption as to when to do something might be just perfect. And it also might be an assumption that holds you back from getting things done, just because you've arranged things in an order that initially makes sense to ...

12-03

03:41

Hey there, hero! Sometimes, words come together to describe things that you don't expect. In a recent session with a coaching peer, she declared: "Every thing is everything." I tried to process that, and she gave me some assistance. What she meant was that as creatives, every thing we learn as performers in ANY category of work helps to build everything we do as actors and voice talent in ALL categories. In other words, if you get better at something in one area, it's going to help you ...

11-26

03:33

Hey there, hero! Do you get the number of auditions you want? On-camera, VO, whatever. You good? Or do you constantly pursue more? Is growing your audition stream an endless pursuit? The highest priority? I think everyone is different. And there's a trend in business that informs this. It's variously called "10X-ing," "adding zeroes," and "blowing things up." Whatevs. I don't personally want more auditions than I am getting now - I'm good with my current level. But some people would que...

11-19

06:01

Hey there, hero! We work really hard to create stuff. Really great stuff. And after a while, we tend to forget just how valuable that stuff is. And...in addition...how valuable our superpower, creating great stuff, actually is. This episode is dedicated to reminding you that your output is your product. Your books, your TV shows, your podcast episodes, your films, your audiobook titles...they are all worth remembering in your plans for both holiday promotion and promotion at other times d...