There’s one thing that you’re going to need to make it in this (or any other) business.
“Talent?”
Nope. Not that.
“What then?”
A growth mindset.
Recently, I have heard a few different people spouting different versions of the belief that some people just aren’t meant for this business because of their lack of innate talent.
I CALL BULLSHIT!
I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t born knowing how to talk, write, walk, or not shit myself, and that didn’t stop me from becoming very good at all of those things.
“But Billie Jo, that’s not quite the same as having acting talent, or being able to draw or kick a field goal or do complicated mathematics”
Uh…yeah, it is.
Why doesn’t my baby understand theoretical physics? I guess he’s just not talented.
You were born not knowing any of these things. You came into this world as a pudgy little lump of flesh with ginormous eyes, and people had to help you survive. Luckily, because you had pudgy cheeks and eyes like saucers, they wiped your butt, and talked to you, and taught you not to walk off cliffs or touch hot stoves.
Sure, some people have an upbringing that gives them certain advantages.
If you grew up in a musical family, it’s not that you innately have more musical talent, but that your education around music started earlier than others, and was more immersive. Or maybe your dad was really into sports, and so you started grade school already knowing proper dribbling stance, the rules to all of the team sports, and with no fear of fast balls flying at your head. (This is NOT me)
Tommy inherited his soccer talent from his dad, who passed on the bicycle kick chromosome
People who seem to have more innate talent usually just started learning the skills that make up that talent earlier.
Me, I grew up in a family where you had to talk loudly and with force in order to be heard. I spent a lot of time alone, as an only child, reading to my stuffed animals, recording my own radio shows on cassette tapes, and reading or writing. Instead of playing sports at recess, I sang songs I had memorized, or played pretend with my friends. When my extended family got together at my grandmother’s house, I presented them with tickets to my fashion shows, news programs, plays, and magic shows in the basement. My dad’s parents always came to my school concerts, and my mom encouraged my imagination with all sorts of quirky costumes bought at the Salvation Army. Despite all of this, I still had to work really hard to get to a point where anyone considered me talented.
In fact, I would say the only innate talent I really have is persistence. Everything else is skill that I’ve gained through LOTS of hard work.
Talent doesn’t matter as much as you think.
What matters is that you believe you can improve through effort.
Psychologist Carol Dweck has studied the difference between people with a growth mindset and people with a fixed mindset.
The fixed mindset says that our inherent intelligence and abilities are set and unchangeable.
Whereas the growth mindset says that we can improve our intelligence and abilities through working toward mastery.
Which mindset do you have? Click here to take the mindset quiz on Carol Dweck’s website
The other day on some Clubhouse talk about voiceover, a moderator said something to the effect that “Not everyone is capable of doing voiceover, because not everyone has the talent.”
I highly disagree.
Unless someone is unable to speak, we all have the capability to do voiceover.
Does that mean we SHOULD? Not at all!
I have the capability to work at McDonalds, become an accountant, or even become a professional downhill skiing instructor.
But I can tell you I would hate the first two, and the second two would take more effort for me personally than I think they’d be worth.
“But there are lots of people who don’t have talent who are trying to do this. Isn’t it better to save them the struggle by getting them to give up on it before they waste their time and money?”
Do you KNOW how many people have told me that I was untalented, either overtly or through their actions?
If I had taken to heart every time I wasn’t cast in a show, accepted into an acting class, or given a positive critique, I would have just been proving those people right.
Luckily, I have some form of oppositional defiance disorder, so if someone tells me I’m not capable of something, I usually feel the need to prove them wrong.
Only you should decide if the time and energy it would take to achieve your goal is worth it to you.
I’d jump through a lot of hoops for some lobster and cheddar bay biscuits
Think of it like waiting in line at the Red Lobster in a small town on a Friday night….you were told the wait time would be a half hour. You’ve been in line for an hour already, and you’re getting impatient.
You can:
A: Continue waiting when the host tells you it’s only going to be 15 more minutes
B: Get upset and storm out, knowing that it’s going to take you 15 minutes to drive to the Applebees and park, and then start over in their equally as busy line
C: Drive the 30 minutes home, stopping at the gas station for a Totinos Party Pizza on the way because your fridge is empty, and then still have to wait 15 more minutes for your oven to heat up before you can even put the pizza in
“Wow. Um, that was an analogy and a half.”
But you get my point, right?
“Yes, I think you need to go eat lunch.”
My point is that I’m sticking with it, no matter what the setback, because I’ve already put in the time. If it means I have to roll up my sleeves and help clear a table so that we can sit down and get those damn cheddar bay biscuits, I’ll do it, because given the choice between king crab legs and a Totinos Party Pizza, there is NO CONTEST. And to have to start over to get to the goal of dinner, and wind up with a gas station pizza when I’m already hangry AF? Nope.
Okay, restaurant analogy over—back to voiceover:
Just be aware that if you don’t already have the skills that go into the job, it’s going to take longer to achieve your goal. If you really want it enough, if it’s something you’re passionate about, a little (or a lot) of hard work won’t stop you. Spending lots of money won’t stop you. Being told no won’t stop you.
If you have a background in audio engineering, acting, or radio, you’ve probably already got a solid base of skills to start from.
If you have a business background, then the self-marketing and negotiation is already in your wheelhouse!
But if you don’t have the growth mindset…
If you don’t believe that you can improve your talent…
If you get discouraged at every setback…
If you give up easily when a task is difficult…
If you can’t turn rejection into a challenge…
Then you probably won’t make it.
“Well, that still sounds pretty dire. Jeez…”
It’s totally possible!
You know what’s great about the growth mindset, though? You can learn it.
I believe in you.
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Still skeptical? Click here to watch Carol Dweck’s TED Talk about mindset.