In the last episode, I shared the short version of how I first stumbled into the strange, intriguing, fun-filled world of voiceovers. Now, I’d like to take you down the yellow brick road with me, and share with you the strange, intriguing shift in mindset I needed to make in order to turn myself into my own boss. Grab a snack and gather ‘round!
While I was first learning that the world of voiceovers was a wonderfully viable career, I was also learning many other things along the way that weren’t entirely voiceover-related.
Yes, I was learning voiceover-y things, like how to interpret scripts, how to act, how to edit, how to treat your recording space, what gear doesn’t suck. I was also learning just how business-y and market-y it is.
But there was something else. The more I listened, the more I started picking up on particular patterns. It was a mindset every successful voice actor, every successful entrepreneur in their own field seemed to have in common. Certain words kept popping up. Words like positivity. Focus. Energy. Vibration. Alignment. Abundance.
That all seemed a little strange to me. I like to use the technical term, “woo-woo” to describe it. It was unexplored territory. But I was still looking down the rabbit hole from my limited, employee, worker-bee point of view.
I started connecting the dots, thanks to the magic of YouTube. Top 10 billionaire habits. Top 10 millionaire morning rituals. Top 10 books every successful entrepreneur says you must read now in order to win at life.
Cold showers didn’t appeal to me at all, but reading books sounded like something I could do.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill grabbed me by each hand and pulled me right down that rabbit hole. That led me to other reads, like The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. It’s a rabbit hole, after all, that’s what they do. One thing leads to another...
As they like to say these days, mind blown.
Everything I believed about money, making money, wanting more money, other people who also made money and wanted more of it…
...was. a. lie.
The things we hear repeated over and over again sink deep into our subconscious. Things like…
Money is the root of all evil. Money can’t buy happiness. Rich people are greedy. Nobody needs THAT much money. We must be greedy if we want more money, and nobody likes greedy people.
Filthy. Stinking. Rich. Not a very positive connotation, is it?
We are programmed from an early age to feel shame for wanting more of anything, especially money.
And yet, we’re also programmed from that same, impressionable, tender age, that working hard is the good and honorable thing to do. Be a good worker. Be a reliable worker. Don’t ask questions. The harder you work, the more you scrape by in life, the more miserable you are now, the richer your rewards will be in the afterlife. Or the next life.
How does that help me now, in this life? Is there nothing more? Is this all that I am?
(10 geek-points if you get the reference!)
We’re starting to see a shift happening. I started noticing this shift even before the pandemic. I think it just took the pandemic and the unprecedented shutdowns, lockdowns and quarantines, and more people being forced to work from home to speed the shift along. More and more, people are discovering something different, and we’re seeing sentiments like:
Work-life-balance is important. Spending time with family is important. We aren’t on this planet to be miserable. Abundance mindset. Emotions are our guidance system. I am worthy. I deserve to be happy. We create our reality. When you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Follow your bliss.
You might recognize some of those.
Money is not evil, nor is it good. It is a tool. It’s all in how you use your tool, baby.
And so, the mindset shift I needed wasn’t that I needed to work myself to death. I was already a hard worker, I already stayed up too late and slept too little. I already knew the value of focus and determination. I was already reliable and dependable, and I was damn good at my job.
Why would I want to be successful and grow my own wealth if I thought successful, wealthy people were greedy and selfish? It would be awfully presumptuous of me to assume I was the exception to the rule, that I could be successful and build my wealth, but I’m an honorable person.
But it doesn’t work like that. You can’t attract more of what you want if you subconsciously despise it. I had to rid myself of those blocks, and it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t quick. I remember now that I am a powerful, deliberate creator who wields energy that creates universes. I am worthy and deserving of abundance. I am magical. We all are.
If you'd like to book me for your next voiceover project, head on over to voicesbystorm.com or contact me directly at: storm@voicesbystorm.com
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