Why are you so optimistic about the new year?

Have you seen the New Years meme with the cute little bunnies?
(Or beavers or whatever they are.)

Here's how it goes:
Thing one: "Why are you so optimistic about the New Year?"
Thing two (planting flowers): "I think it will bring flowers!"
Thing one: "Yeah? How come?"
Thing two: "Because I'm planting flowers."

With so many things up in the air these days it's tempting to throw caution to the wind and just see what happens. I mean, why plan (or try)… at all… for anything?

But these days I think it's even more important to align your actions with your desired outcomes. There's possibly less margin for error so let's focus more.

I heard someone just the other day say that eventually the only thing you'll have to live off is the fruits of today's labor.

What do you need and want in your future? Start planting those seeds today. What you plant today is most likely what you’ll have in the future.

So many things in our world today seem uncontrollable. Or ARE uncontrollable rather. There will be a time and a place to deal with or just flat out accept the uncontrollable aspects of life.

But there will always be things that are within our control and that's what this message is focused on.

It might be helpful to think about what you can and can’t control as a starting point.

Things you CAN'T control:
The economy, politics, other people's opinions and beliefs, if you booked that audition or not, the past, cats, other people's burdens that they try to make you carry, people’s expectations of you.

If you can't control it, do your best to bring it into your world (or kick it out!) the best you know how and move forward. And this isn’t to say we should turn our heads from and be unconcerned or uncaring about the things we can’t control. Quite the opposite. We can control how we respond to unfortunate things that happen in the world. But at a certain point you’ve got to separate them out and respond appropriately.

Things you CAN control:
Your thoughts, ideas, actions, reactions, efforts, beliefs, how many auditions you submit, how much water you drink, a well trained dog, what you put in your mind and body, how you treat yourself and other people.

All this can be simplified by saying you can control you and you can't control anything else.
I know this can be tough and a little scary even, but with the right light it can be a beautiful, freeing truth!

At the beginning (and still today) of my voice over career I planted an enormous amount of seeds. I read and listened to every book, blog, article, Youtube video and podcast on voiceover as I could. I got coaching. I practiced a ton. I submitted as many auditions as I could. I did everything I could think of to give myself the best possible chances of succeeding in my voice over career.

Another Year Wiser

The gift a new year gives to everyone is that you are:

A year older
A year wiser
You've got another year of experience to build on.
Another year knowing what you want and what you don't want for your life.
You are a year further down the road.

With anything you pursue, voice over related or not, what you plant is what you are most likely to get. This goes for most and perhaps all areas of your life. Not just voice over. (Take a moment to think of another area of life you’d like to plant some seeds in.)

Even if the world is heading off some giant cliff (which I don't believe is happening) you'll be better off with a positive mindset, well hydrated, and surrounded by flowers. (And with a pipeline full of great, high paying, repeat voice over clients!)

Don't let the uncontrollables get all the attention and energy.

It's more important now than it ever has been to laser focus on planting the seeds we want for ourselves, our loved ones, our family and our future.

If your goals include growing an established voice over business this year, join us in the Voice Over Success Intensive Membership.

Each month members of the Voice Over Success Intensive are invited to an exclusive live Q & A with myself where I answer any questions you have about voice over. I share my story and priovide all the tips, tricks, knowledge, resources I have. The next monthly live Q&A is Thursday, January 20th, from 3 - 6 Central time. (Members will get an email monthly with the time and date for that month's live Q&A. All Q&A's are recorded and uploaded to the membership site.)

In addition to these monthly live Q&A’s your membership comes with:

6 modules, made up of 20+ video lessons
13+ bonus videos and resources
Membership to the private, members-only Facebook group
One-on-one sessions with an Intensive student-mentor
Live, monthly Study Groups with an Intensive student-mentor
Exclusive resources, including my EXACT templates I use for auditions and networking
New updates and bonuses as they are created/added