The VOHeroes Podcast

Hey there, hero! As we approach a task, a project, executing a process…we often worry that we somehow won’t do our best. I’m here to tell you that you never have to worry about this again. It’s a bit of a different way of looking at things, but it just might take your confidence to a new level, and offer a bit of relief from doubt. In this episode, I’m going to share a way to look at your level of effort in a different light: assume that you are going to do your very best, automatically, at t...

Hey there, hero! So there’s some new idea or class or skill you’re facing. You’re juuuuust at the precipice of getting underway. How valuable is the simple act of starting that, and not putting it off until later (or not following through at all)? As the Roman poet Horace said in Epistles, "Initium est dimidium facti", he’s reminding us of what James Clear calls “the timeless importance of simply beginning the task at hand.” What’s the translation? "Once you've started, you're halfway there."...

Hey there, hero! I talk about bias for action all the time, and it's not always about being ultimately efficient, it's often about building in slack in case disaster strikes. I recently read an article on Big Think by Eric Markowitz on this idea, and he said something that just spoke to me: "We worship efficiency. We optimize. We squeeze. But when the storm hits — and it always does — what keeps you afloat isn’t optimization. It’s excess capacity. Wiggle room. Optionality. Margin for er...

Hey there, hero! One of the concepts I learned when I trained in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) has stuck with me like paint, and has really helped me be at peace with my level of accomplishment. And maybe it will help you. It’s a bit of a chain reaction, but it can ease the anxiety of feeling like you’re not good enough, or you don’t always rise to the occasion, or you need to do better. Our personal menu, and the automatic choice we all make to select the number one item on that persona...

Hey there, hero! One of the most frequently asked questions about the physical nature of voice and on-camera performance is what to do about mouth noises. And when people offer potential solutions, I will reply “Fantastic! So glad that’s working for you.” With a biiiiiiiggggg caveat… …what works for someone else may or may not work for you. Why? Because everyone has a slightly different biology when it comes to saliva production (and reduction). For example, green apples don’t work for me (th...