How many times have we said the phrase “Ah, it’s good enough” when we knew darn well that is wasn’t? God knows, I have been guilty of that myself. Mediocrity should be illegal in this country. A crime punishable by a slap in the face and a kick in the ass! Okay, I’m kidding. Sort of.
When I first started out in voiceovers, I didn’t have the same principles that I do now. I would record a script and send it off. Always with the old “that should be good enough” phrase dancing in my brain and rushing to move on to the next project. I realized how unsatisfied I felt working this way – I knew I needed to make a change. Once I started giving every project my best and full attention, I felt fulfilled. It actually ended up giving me more time in my day because I wasn’t going back and forth with clients to make changes and edits.
When we settle for mediocrity and don’t do our best – our integrity and creativity starts to get lost. We tend to spread ourselves too thin, so we don’t do anything well. I can say from experience that this is not a good place to be – for ourselves, our clients or even society. Whether I am producing a voiceover demo for a student or a commercial for a client, I always take the time to review it. Listen! Listen! Listen! You are always going to be able to do it better. Don’t do something once, say that it’s great and pass it on. Work at it like an artist works on a painting.
The creative industry is filled with talented people with short attention spans, I should know, I am one of them! Clients used to tell me that I sounded like I was in a hurry or that I was rushing the copy. Again, this goes back to the frame of mind I was in. I was not in the mindset of a professional. I would always try and get each project done as quickly as possible without even thinking about the client. Shame on you, Terry! I was settling for mediocrity.
The great Martin Luther King Jr said “Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead and the unborn could do it no better.”
Find your passion, don’t settle and you will be amazed at what you can do!