“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decisions, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I got bitten by the acting bug when I was in the 4th grade. It was the annual Christmas pagent and I had 1 line. I still remember it. "Gee grandpa!" I was 8 or 9 years old. I've been half-heartedly pursuing the dream of becoming an actor ever since, but there was always something missing. Commitment.
In high school, I was in the choir, the band, the track team and the gymnastics team. Yep, at at 17 years of age and 250lbs, I was the fattest gymnast in the conference. In the track team, I threw shot put and I sucked at it. The only place I had any real talent was in the performing arts. In the band, I played trumpet and I was pretty darn good. In the choir I was a soloist and the music teachers pet. I had tons of potential, but I lacked one thing. Commitment.
When I was in my twenties, I tried my hand at stand-up comedy with some local "open-mic" success. I told jokes, sang songs and did impressions but I never figured out how to get paid for it. Audience members and other performers complimented me on my versatility and talent yet there was still something missing. Commitment
Now I'm 46 years old and I have been pursuing voiceover and acting for almost 3 years. It's the longest I've ever been committed to actually doing the things necessary to succeed, and I am seeing some positive results. Am I a superstar voice actor? Not by a long-shot. At least not yet, but I do have something now that I hadn't had before. Commitment.
When you think about what you are pursuing, be it voice acting or anything else, remember one thing. If you are ever going to achieve any degree of success in your chosen pursuit, there is something you'll need to make first.
A Commitment
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