The day I conquered fear.

We've all been there, right?

As a kid, I absolutely remember the penetrating fear standing at the top of my first waterslide.

A hot summer day, every step up on the ladder made my knees weak and my hands tremble. My friends ahead of me racing to the top like they were professional athletes competing.
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Finally reaching the top, the lifeguard standing next to me with their emergency-red colored vest and whistle telling me to wait before I go. I want to back out now but that means I must climb down the ladder which almost sounds worse, and then being ridiculed for "chickening out" would ruin me.

​The lifeguard peers down waiting for the last kid to shoot out into the pool. It's time. He counts to three for me. One...two...three, I wiggle my way through the opening and the water carries me, picking up speed along the way. My fear is confused, I'm starting to enjoy the ride. Faster and faster I travel through the chute sliding from side to side, the water rushing all around me. I can see the opening and I shoot out into the pool like a bullet. Disoriented and doggy paddling to the surface I'm hooked.

I thought I’d see my friends cheering for me, but they are already back up the ladder. I frantically swim to the edge of the pool and lift myself out and race to the ladder. I start climbing the ladder and before I can even remind myself that I’m climbing the ladder I’m already at the top again. The lifeguard saying “Whoa” and putting their hand up to signal to me it’s not time to go yet. I get the green light and launch myself through the chute and down the slide. Enjoying every jostle and chlorinated water spray up my nose. 

​That afternoon I conquered fear. I didn’t run, I didn’t “chicken out” and I actually enjoyed what I had feared. How could that be?

​You don’t know how it feels till you’ve gone through it. As with my waterslide story, the same is true in our professional lives. Yes, I’ve feared sending an email. I’ve feared sharing my work. I’ve feared that I’m not worthy of success. It all sounds ridiculous on paper but at the time, in my mind, it makes perfect sense on why I should fear such things. I can also tell you that once I climbed the ladder and pushed myself through the chute and down the slide I wanted more because each time the fear was less and less till it just became part of a routine. 

​However, anytime I let up on any of it, whether it be emailing, sharing my work, reaching out for help, or doing anything where fear might stop to chat it becomes harder to get going again. 

​One trick I’ve learned over the years that I have a hard time remembering is this. Let’s say you're daunted with a task and you have an overwhelming feeling of dread, pain, irritation, or any form of discomfort, just remind yourself…this too shall pass. What that means is, if “said task” will only take 5 minutes, 5 hours, or 5 days, tell yourself, “in 10 minutes I won’t feel like that anymore, in 10 hours I won’t feel like that, in 10 days I won’t feel like that”. It’s true, once you start something and go through and finish you’re outlook, feelings, and perspective change. I’ve tested it multiple times on many different aspects of my life. For example, I had a job once that I hated but knew I needed it for a year to accomplish another goal. I told myself, “in 1 year I won’t feel like this, in 6 month’s I won’t feel like this, in 3 months I won’t feel like this.” And you know what? It worked. I achieved my goal and then some. It took shifting my perspective and a reassurance that I’m on the right path, just hold out for X number of seconds, minutes, days, or years working toward that goal.

​Another, more relatable example, mowing the lawn, I hate it. But I know in an hour I’ll be done and feel differently afterward. What’s an hour? Sometimes we just need to push through the discomfort to achieve success no matter what that success looks like, large or small.

Normally an article would have a “Wrap-up” or “Conclusion” section but I think what should be said, should instead be asked of you. Ask yourself, right now. What are you dreading that you know you need to do to get to where you want to be? How long will it take to do? Put a number on it. Now say to yourself “In X number of minutes, days, or years I won’t feel like this, and I will have achieved my goal” The feeling of discomfort is a sign of change, use it to your advantage.

I hope being able to view tasks and goals in a different way helps in achieving your goals or at the very least maybe you can’t wait to go down a waterslide again.

My name is Brandon Miller and I’m a professional voice over artist based out of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I work with video production companies to tell their clients stories through explainer videos, brand anthems, documentaries, and commercials. If you’re looking for a voice to tell your waterslide story email me at [email protected] or check out my work at www.brandonmillervoiceover.com/portfolio

​My hope in writing this article is to get you thinking about digital connections and how to form them appropriately in this online world.

When meeting someone for the first time what is it that we notice first?

​Attitude is a feeling or opinion about something or someone or a way of behaving. In the digital world, the first things we see are posts from this person which gives us a sense of who they are which is generally their attitude online. The way they behave and interact with others is there for all to see. It’s our first impression.

​Personality is the type of person you are, shown by the way you behave, feel, and think. This is linked to a person’s attitude. Our attitude stems from our personality. So, for example, if you are seeing posts from them that have to do with leadership, then they might be someone who has a positive, forward-thinking personality. Someone who thinks outside the box and who wants to create change. 

​Character is the combination of qualities in a person or place that makes them different from others. Or more appropriately, moral character, which is someone’s “stable” moral qualities such as virtues of empathy, courage, honesty, loyalty, and overall good behaviors. We tend to gravitate towards people that share similar qualities, just look at our social groups when we attend conferences or trade shows. Who are we hanging out with? The same is true in a digital social media world. Whom we invite into our circle, in some way has to do with some aspect of each other’s character. Which we discover as we follow, learn, and interact with these people online.

As I mentioned, there is still one thing that can help in forging relationships online and that is and always will be, just be you. It's important to be human, not robotic, and spammy when reaching out.

Personalize everything.

Here is what I received recently from someone or from the sounds of it, something.

“Hello, I am social media advisor, Are you interested to boost your social media presence ? Like Instagram, YouTube, Twitter , Facebook etc .”

Wow! 

There is nothing human about that. There is no attitude, personality, or character here. Only the foul stench of desperation.

​Don’t sound like a bot!

My name is Brandon Miller and I'm a professional voice over artist based out of the great state of Oregon. I work with clients all over the world giving their message a voice. I love what I do because I get to work with some of the best clients as a collaborator, and help make their videos stand out.
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Ask me a question or let's make a connection, [email protected]

A quality message deserves a quality sound. You're an industry-trusted professional so hire an industry-trusted professional. Do you cut corners with your video production? Of course not, so why cut corners with the audio? Here are some tips that will aid in finding the right voice for your project and investing in the long term.

As you know, voice over is used in many types of media such as explainer videos, radio and TV commercials, video games, eLearning modules, documentaries, on-hold messaging, audiobooks, and the list goes on. With so many voice over needs out there, it means there is even more voice over artists which creates a lot of noise when trying to choose the right talent for your project. It can take time, money and create stress when all you want is someone professional, that has the “right” sound and is easy to work with. 

This article published on publicwords.com, discusses the importance of vocal communication over visuals, and that someone is more likely to remember what was being said over what was displayed. It’s because there is so much wrapped up in a voice like emotion, pitch, inflection, and humanity. Even the best text-to-speech AI can’t replicate it. So, making sure the quality of your voice over is top-notch is imperative in your messaging.

Let’s dive into the 3 tips for hiring a professional voice over artist.

1)     What is the Voice Over For and What Should it Sound Like?

Consider what you need the voice over for. Is it for a video game, explainer video, product promo, eLearning module, documentary, podcast intro, etc.? A voice over can sound very different between an eLearning module and a product promo so it’s important to decide ahead of time what your goal is and to define your customer persona.
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This can be accomplished by understanding your audience. If you are looking for a voice for your eLearning module, you start with what it should sound like to your audience. Is my audience a group of 8-year old’s or a group of 30-50-year old’s. Now break it down further, are my 8-year old’s learning history or math, or are my 30-50-year old’s learning about a new sexual harassment policy or how to use a forklift? Now you’re getting closer. So now it’s time for the voice that fits. Would you want a deep commanding male voice to narrate the history of Napoleon Bonaparte to a group of 8-year old’s or something more soothing yet authoritative and friendly sounding? Sketching out verbs will help in finding the right talent for your project. 
Once you have down who your audience is and the sound you're looking for the next step is finding that voice.

2)     Finding the Right Voice

There are so many outlets for finding a voice. Try typing it into Google and you’ll see for yourself. Casting websites can be overwhelming and time-consuming listening to 100’s of auditions, most of which are bad audio quality, untrained performances, and people that clearly didn’t read your specs inadvertently wasting your time. Not only that but save your money for the talent, most of these sites charge extra fees to the talent and to the buyer. If you haven’t already developed your own company roster of talent now is the time. The world is cluttered with voice over noise that is unreliable, untrained, and unprofessional. Build a trusted network that you can go to time and time again. 

Certainly, typing into Google is still a good resource, just make sure you are doing your homework which means don’t stop at the first search results page. Most of what you are seeing are the casting sites and tons of “How To’s” for voice actors. Another resource is one that I stand by which is Voiceover.biz. This is a trusted and respected resource of professional vetted talent. This site is not in the game to make money off of talent or the buyer, it is just a platform to connect to voice over talent that other voice over talent and buyers trust. 
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Make sure you are listening to samples of the talent you are looking at. Jot down notes, flag them to come back later to and don’t be afraid to contact them and ask if they can produce the sound or delivery you are looking for. As a voice over talent we have multiple disciplines that we are suited for which means from the ability to voice a character in animation to being a friendly teacher in an eLearning module we’ve trained to gain these abilities that give us a dynamic range for multiple types of projects. And that’s good. Why use 5 or 6 voice actors when you can use one for 5 or 6 different types of projects.

3)     Building and Maintaining Your Relationship

I do business with people I know, like, and trust. For example, I have a shoe guy that I built a relationship with some years ago. In my first experience, he did a great job with my shoe-fitting and was personable, honest, and gave me some advice on how to take care of my shoes so they would last longer. I was in the market for another pair a few months down the road and went back to him because he left a great impression. Since then I barely have to do anything when I go back, just tell him I need a new pair of shoes and I trust he’ll find the right pair. He knows how to fit them exactly right. Over time there has been less learning about how each of us works which saves time and ensures a better experience for both of us. Just like building and maintaining a relationship with your voice over talent you can expect the same, except for the shoe thing. They get to know your company, how you work, what sort of clients you work with, and each time you work less trying to get what you want from them. Here’s an article from CIO.com providing tips on optimizing your vendor relationships. Give it a read, tons of great information.

In conclusion
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Knowing your audience helps determine what your voice over should sound like. Finding your ideal voice over talent isn’t as much of a headache as it could have been and forming a relationship with your talent is an investment for the future. If you're a voice over buyer and you agree, disagree, or have some insight I'd love to hear your comments below. After all, that's how we learn is through engagement.

Nobody tells you these things. It’s often never discussed. It’s a sign of weakness to some. But it’s killing us. Breaking us down, from our relationships to our business. FEAR.  

Some of the most “successful” top performers experience fear. Magazines, podcasts, and television depict them as “fearless” “confident” and “measured”. The truth of the matter is that every one of us experiences fear in some form.  

As an entrepreneur, fear is a daily occurrence. Ever heard the phrase “fake it till you make it”, it’s a load of crap in most cases because covering up fear only makes it grow. It’s what leads us to a mid-life crisis, a complete mental breakdown.

​Feeling like you’re always behind and that you just need to reply to one more email, scramble to schedule that “life-changing” meeting, or work for one more hour even though it’s already 2 am is killing you whether you can see it now or not. You don’t want to wait to find out.
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The idea of pushing harder and faster for the “hustle” is why we are eating unhealthy and gaining or losing weight, having more migraines, drinking more, feeling drained when we wake up, not feeling like we want to get out of bed because we know we have a mountain to climb before noon even hits. That feeling of constant distraction when we’re with our loved ones and never feeling present are the things we’re missing out on. We want to feel present, it’s why we married our significant other, why we had kids, built a new house to entertain guests, and decided to start a business to reap the rewards of freedom that seems more like a prison than anything else.

In the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, wishes were granted to those with grand dreams but they always came with a price. If you wished to be rich, you sacrificed your happiness. Well in some cases the same is true with entrepreneurship. We have to decide not what we WANT out of life but what pain are willing to live with for the lifestyle we chose. Sure we can set goals for ourselves that read something like “I want to work for myself to have the freedom to spend time with my family” but the issue is what pain are you going to endure to get there or sustain as a lifestyle? There will be long hours, countless sleepless nights, and stress levels affecting your relationships. Or, you could work for someone else. Helping them achieve their dreams. Your stress is now controlled between their workable hours. If only it was that simple as an entrepreneur. Set workable hours. Workable goals. For all the millennial's out there I get it, WE WANT IT NOW. Plain and simple. We push and push and push till we either burnout and give up or worse we succeed but lose everything else in our lives that we care about. Sorry to sound so grim but the point I want to get across is that entrepreneurship is a tough sea to navigate alone.

​I’m sure you are wondering when I was going to start mentioning solutions to these problems we all face. Well there isn’t a clear cut solution, just things to try that have been proven to be helpful in steering your entrepreneurial ship and keeping it afloat.

The first solution, write down your end-goal and follow that up with what sort of pain will I endure along the way. Be clear about the hours, the startup cash, working a survival job, constant rejection, being disciplined enough to be your own boss, are you moving from steak dinners to Ramen for a period of time, and can you honestly handle that. Start weighing your pros and cons and really contemplate what you are willing to give up. An example being, you have a discussion with your spouse about dedicating X hours a night for X amount of weeks/months to launch a particular portion of the business, the key is communication. Another example being, stop ordering take out or delivery because you need to cut expenses and instead get used to simple food preparation. If it’s canceling an evening or morning activity to make time for your startup to make it work for you just make sure you don’t forget about the people you care about. If you start making a list and realize you’re questioning your family, friends, and the people in your life that helped make you the person you are today then you may need to find another avenue for your entrepreneurial ship to set sail into. For example, if you end up finding that you are constantly breaking plans with friends and family just to make that “last” update to your website or finish a proposal that is a problem. Just as if you were working for someone else during those “workable” hours you need to create clearly defined work time and stick to it. What if it takes 5 years instead of 2 years, will that ruin everything you’ve worked for? I’d hope not, sometimes some of the most amazing things take time. Think about your relationships, they took time to build didn’t they?

Remember, as you continue along your path try enjoying the journey rather than dwell on the fact you aren’t where you want to be. You will go mad, I can assure you that. Talk to somebody. A close friend, a therapist, or a colleague, they won’t judge you for admitting your fears, and if they do they were never meant to be in your life in the first place. There is something freeing about admitting you’re not “perfect”, don’t have it all together, and are generally scared that you don’t know when your next paycheck will arrive or when you can even start collecting a salary. It helps to speak out loud, which releases the hold your fear has inside your body, and the vise-grip it has on your mind. It will create space for the “good” stuff and clear away the brain fog.  
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To wrap things up, it’s okay to admit the pain you are going through. It doesn’t make you weak, the only thing that makes you weak is letting the fear force you to keep quiet. The voice in your head that says “don’t admit it, don’t show weakness, don’t admit failure” all of that is fear controlling you. Don’t ruin your life for something superficial. Your loved ones, your body, and your mental health need you. Sketch out what pain you are willing to live with while you are on your journey and talk to someone. Some would say working your “survival” job until your revenue has increased enough to leave it is pain. Or those controllable late nights or early mornings working with clients on the other side of the globe is pain. An accountability partner is a great resource, especially if you’re in the same field. This person may be someone you already know or you can find this person through a Facebook or LinkedIn group, through Meetup.com, or form a relationship with a colleague in your industry. There is less panic when you’ve got someone else in your court, on the same journey, that you can bounce ideas off of, share insecurities, and share successes. So go out there and find an accountability partner, make a friend and steer that entrepreneurial ship with a clear mind. Your life will thank you.