Every job has its good points and its bad points. Even our dream jobs.
But we tend to idealize the things that we dream about doing, just as you might idealize that barista at your favorite coffee shop who’s a dead ringer for Chris Hemsworth.
After a few dates, you discover that he’s a real human being with abandonment issues, an apartment that looks like a frat house, and a propensity for subsisting on Hot Pockets and Bud Light.
All of a sudden, he doesn’t look so good anymore.
“I only floss on major national holidays”
Likewise, people think they want to be famous, not realizing the sacrifices they will have to make.
Hollywood actors pay out a HUGE percentage of their income between taxes, their agent, manager, publicist, lawyer, accountant, assistants, stylists, and probably other things I haven’t mentioned. They sacrifice sleep, time with their friends and family, and biggest of all, their freedom and privacy, to do what they do.
Somewhere out there exists a woman who would be happy to coddle that beautiful golden man-child, helping him to feel secure, keep his house clean, and learn to cook a dish with actual vegetables. (Even if I were single, it wouldn’t be me.)
And many people would still be SUPER PSYCHED to give up everything to be the lead in a Hollywood movie, just so their family can stop saying “When are you going to get a REAL job?”
Hollywood looks glamorous in pictures…but then there’s the smog, traffic, raging fires…
A fellow voice actor recently commented on my blog post that if he’d known some of what he was getting into with voiceover before he did it, he probably wouldn’t have tried.
I’m kind of the opposite. I’d rather know what to expect so I don’t waste my time on what I can’t handle.
If I want something badly enough, nothing is going to stop me from going for it, even if it takes a lifetime, and no matter how many times I have to tell my family “No, I’m not in anything you can see.”
Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Big Magic” talks about this shit sandwich idea:
"I recently read a fabulous blog by a writer named Mark Manson, who said that the secret to finding your purpose in life is to answer this question in total honesty: "What's your favorite flavor of shit sandwich?"
What Manson means is that every single pursuit - no matter how wonderful and exciting and glamorous it may initially seem - comes with its own brand of shit sandwich, its own lousy side effects. As Manson write with profound wisdom: "Everything sucks, some of the time." You just have to decide what sort of suckage you're willing to deal with. So the question is not so much "What are you passionate about?" The question is "What are you passionate enough about that you can endure the most disagreeable aspects of the work?" ...
Because if you love and want something enough - whatever it is - then you don't really mind eating the shit sandwich that comes with it."
No matter what, you’re going to eat some sort of shit sandwich, but you get to decide what variety of shit sandwich you want.
Are you immune to paperwork?
Don’t mind heavy labor?
Unfazed by a 7pm to 7am shift?
Cool with cleaning up bodily fluids?
Unperturbed by life or death situations?
Congratulations! You’d make a wonderful nurse.
Nurses get a lot of shit, it’s no wonder they don’t take any..
Personally, I’ll pass on that. Just like I’ve passed on working corporate office jobs. I can’t handle the monotony, the hours, the micromanaging, the office politics, the MEETINGS…
I choose acting and voiceover.
I choose the shit sandwich that includes:
Receiving auditions all hours of the day and night
Sending auditions into the void and only receiving responses when you actually book something
Not being able to completely relax while on vacation because you just KNOW you’re missing out on opportunities
Motivating yourself without a boss to give you assignments
Getting a few years in and feeling like you’ve improved a ton…and still not booking regularly
Inconsistent employment
Investing a lot of money in equipment
Investing a lot of money in coaching (because coaching is niche-specific, and not all coaches will make sense to you)
NOISES WHILE YOU ARE TRYING TO RECORD: Airplanes, cars, trucks, motorcycles, trash collectors, the neighbor’s Cockapoo, the neighbor’s cockatiel, the neighbor’s cockamamie inclination to work on his car all. the. time. Snow blowers, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, woodpeckers, roommates, pets, children, the radiators, AC, water heater, pipes (WHY ARE THEY CLANKING IN THE WALLS??), GAHHHHHHH!!!!
Being told to sound conversational while saying phrases you would never use in conversation
Cold Calling
Cold Emailing
Relying on your voice to make money (you can’t afford to lose it by cheering on Georgia State, talking over people at a loud bar, or getting sick)
Giving up dairy and/or caffeine if they adversely affect your vocal quality
Trying to get an agent
Learning how to work with your agent
Finding your niche
Creating your brand
Building your website
Negotiating rates with clients
Editing your own audio at a professional level
How do I know this is the right path for me?
Because to me, MOST of these things don’t register even slightly on the stink-o-meter.
In fact, I’ve embraced pretty much all of these things—except that I refuse to give up my morning coffee with half and half.
Approaching negotiation still makes me feel like I’m walking through the Bog of Eternal Stench, but I’ve overcome the rest, so I know I’ll get past it eventually.
A few years ago, about half of this list would have made me cry.
These things make up 90% of my job. If I were to choose the job, but reject these things, it would be like meeting someone on a dating app and then asking him to change almost everything about themselves.
Like, “Hey, I really love that you’re a multi-millionaire with great hair, but I hate your family. Also, I need you to get a tan, fix your nose, work out, get new friends, move to California, oh, and wear these clothes because I really don’t like the preppy vibe you’ve got going.”
You might as well try to turn a rhinoceros into a Rottweiler.
They both have four legs and are muscular!
So, if you’re attracted to the idea of voicing characters for Disney or Call of Duty, but aren’t willing to stomach all that other stuff, then maybe just enjoy those things for fun, and go DO something else.
But if you’re ready to expand your palate, and learn to enjoy or at least choke down the other stuff, then welcome.
Have a sandwich!
True love is the greatest thing, in the world-except for a nice MLT – mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe.