YIN & YANG
Our last WoVO conference before COVID was at the Tropicana Resort in Las Vegas.
Today, that site is being developed as a Major League Baseball stadium.
In 2022 Most voice actors felt that their biggest challenge in running a freelance business was marketing.
Today, the Artificial Intelligence challenge is edging in as the #1 threat.
Ukraine/Russia….Israel/Hamas….China/Taiwan
We are not immune from these global developments.
…and I haven’t even mentioned that this is an election year in a country that is essentially engaged in a modern-day civil war.
ERGO:
All this to say voice actors need to remain vigilant, relevant, agile, and generally uber-AWARE of the world outside their envelope.
This is a huge admission for me, especially….a guy who is a serious introvert.
But I can read, I can review Social Media platforms, I can send/receive emails, I can make phone calls…in short, I can engage with the world/clients/relationships from the comfy confines of my own office in my home. Heck, if I prepare mentally, I can even have meetings with people…either by Zoom or in person, LOL.
SOME THOUGHT STARTERS
Here’s a brief list of thought-catalysts for moving out of your comfort zone (status-quo) and becoming more engaged:
- Can you be on Social Media to absorb, and not confront?
- How many books do you read per month?
- Do you regularly check into websites that are outside your political tribe?
- When’s the last time you asked a colleague to give an unbiased opinion on your last audition?
- Do you involve yourself in bettering the VO community-at-large?
- How many civic/county/state organizations do you belong to?
- Are you registered to vote?
- What volunteer organizations do you contribute to?
- How often do you do an act of service without expecting reward or notice?
- Do you know at least three of the neighbors on your street?
- When’s the last time you looked up ANYTHING historical?
- Are you checking out the positive possibilities of AI?
- How much time do you spend each day watching mindless TV?
- ‘Ever been to your City Council or County Commissioners meeting?
- What newsletters, blogs, websites, information sources do you subscribe to? Time to re-evaluate?
A PERSONAL NOTE
In 1973 in invested in and then bailed out of a Life Insurance Policy. I told the agent I didn’t think the world was still going to be around past 1986.
I was dead wrong, but at least I was paying attention, and took action on my convictions (the 60’s and 70’s were tumultuous for lots of reasons). I never dreamed I’d live into the 2020’s…but here I am, and there’s been a universe of change. Some things I missed…other things I was in the middle of. From 2007 to roughly 2018, I wrote 3-5 VO blog articles a week….over 3000 of them in all. It forced me to stay up with anything and everything to do with voice over. That season of relentless content creation is no longer relevant for me. What is? I never stop looking. Do you?
TLDR VERSION:
Here’s my point: YOU CAN’T LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND. You, your family, and your VO business all need for you to be cognizant, aware, and adaptable enough to go with the flow, and even thrive in that environment.
Dave Courvoisier
WoVO co-founder, past president, Executive Board member at-large
