Last year I started a voiceover business. If you’re not sure what this is, think the guy or gal whose voice you hear when a TV or radio commercial plays, or the narrator guiding you through a documentary on the History Channel. This is a business where you audition constantly, facing off against literally hundreds of others competing for the same job.
My auditions were rejected a lot. The reasons varied – “you’re not talented enough;” “that’s not the tone I was looking for;” “I like your read, but your voice reminds me too much of my ex-husband.” That first year felt like a long slow slog through enemy territory.
Looking back, I’m glad it went down just as it did, and there’s not a single thing about what happened that I would have wanted to change. I hired a coach who quickly help me realize that getting “picked” and becoming good in the long run means failing quite often – especially in the beginning.
Never waste a rejection. Each of them affords us an opportunity to learn how to bend and not break, a chance to explore how to do it better next time, to come to terms with the fact that failing early is the price of admission for having success in the long run.
