Learning How To Be Yourself

Well here’s the task for all mankind let alone a voiceover artist. Whether in a person’s business life or personal life we spend a lifetime asking our selves who we are. Learning how to be your self requires that we know who that person is, to some degree at least. The advice I give people all the time is to simply say:

“Your best chance of getting work is to be your self.” It doesn’t matter whether it’s a voiceover job you’re trying to get, or going to the next job interview, be yourself”

 

It’s a useful “bumper sticker” slogan, but I’d like to talk a bit about the process of the discovery and how to relax into that, and how to trust it. …and what it means and what it doesn’t mean. 

 

When we get to a place in our heads where we can “be our selves” the advantages are huge. Life isn’t nearly as stressful. We stop being angry. We stop taking things personally and start viewing things as feedback that allows us to make corrections and move on. When we learn how to be our selves and accept our selves, we stop criticizing everyone else. The stress of NOT being our selves or knowing our selves is exhausting and frustrating. It can create a lot of stress and we can find our selves acting out on people because of it. So in learning to be our selves we are UN cluttering our minds and freeing the hard drive space between our ears to engage in the process of success.

 

When we are comfortable in our own skins people will enjoy being around us. And of course that is very helpful in getting jobs, voiceover jobs, or any job. In these times that is becoming more and more important. This is important to remember. It is not merely about being the most talented voiceover artist, plumber, teacher, sales person, lawyer or dentist. 

A lot of people could do the actual work, but people hire people that they like the best. The best plan in the world is to like your self and be your self.

Here's My New Book on Voiceover Success

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TCS29CB/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_lWpeDb3FQ93AP …

The Voiceover Multiverse

The voiceover world is diverse. It is made up of many different and talented people and a lot of them disagree on how things should be done and how voiceover artists should present themselves. This is normal in any mix of creatives whether it's the entertainment business of business in general.

I have viewed this as a multiverse that is horizontal in nature. One universe is not better than another but different in it's views on whats most important. Because of this structure it's important to decide what is best for yourself. There will always be people who will tell you your approach is wrong. You can spend your life changing everything all the time and never make everyone happy or get anywhere. The question is not does everyone like what you're doing, the question is do you like what you';re doing in the universe that resonates with your own taste and talent. And of course you must develop your skills to the highest level possible

An old mentor told me when I was starting out:

 "All you need to know kiddo is find someone who likes your work and stay there. Them find another person who likes your work and continue that process and don't waste any time on people who don't want you. They aren't your people ya big dope!"

Bless his soul. It was his way of saying it's just a numbers game. You have to keep moving and keep auditioning and to de personalize the process. Sales people understand this very well.

I read a meme that came in on twitter. It said,

"You cannot make everyone happy. You are NOT a Taco"

Follow your own intuition...Keep laughing and have fun out there:)

There's No Sense In Just Being Who You Always Were:)

Our entire creative lives depend on our striving to improve our skills and our talents. We must expand our abilities and take on new challenges with our voices. If we don't, we risk doing an imitation of ourselves... an imitation of what we've always done in the past. I hear some people say that what's worked in the past is good enough for the present. I just don't find any inspiration in using formula's that most likely are not as fresh as they might have been in the past.

This is not a vote to go outside the compass of your voice or your personality. It is encouragement to develop greater control and nuance by pushing the boundaries of what your voice can do.

Some people have 30 years of experience, while others have 30 years of the same experience.

Very often friends and or agents don't want us to "rock the boat". They might want us to do what we have always done. The admonition comes from fear of loosing present success, or thinking that we are trying to be something that we aren't.

It's not a vote to be something we aren't, it's a vote to not jeopardize our success by sitting on past accomplishments. That fear or laziness is the biggest threat to continued success in any career.

Dan Balestrero Voiceover Studio Profile in The Signal Magazine

The Signal Newspaper in Santa Clarita was kind enough to interview me about my Voiceover Class.

Dan Balestrero: The Voice Maestro of the SCV – Santa Clarita Valley Signal