Business is Fun

Isn't business fun? If it's not, you're probably in the wrong one (business that is). I find people have fun in their businesses for different reasons: one enjoys the battle for new clients; another enjoys the time he gets to spend with customers, yet another gets an ego boost from being recognized in public. All different, yet all the same.

I suppose for younger folks, work is all about survival and accumulation. As one gets a bit longer in the tooth, the challenge and rewards morph into something different (in my mind, something better).

There is satisfaction in the work itself. I smile when I write something clever or playback a voicetrack that nails what I am trying to accomplish, or, now, when an interview goes really well on www.talkshoe.com/tc/43512 .The money is nice, make no mistake about that, but that special feeling tells me I'd do this even if I won that big lottery (of course, I'd have to play to win...wouldn't I?).

A friend's father was a physician of some reputation. In college, my friend pursued medicine for a few years, then went to his father to apologize for deciding medicine was not the career he wanted. No one was more surprised than my friend when his successful father replied, "Don't make the mistake I made, do what you enjoy."

I hope everyone not only enjoys his/her labor, but finds it satisfying and fun.

Survival

Survival during this economy is requiring a new, or perhaps renewed, creativity. The income streams we came to depend upon are changing; which does not mean there are no income streams, only streams that have changed course or streams into which we have never stuck our toe.

Learning new technologies (whether actually new, or simply new to me) and seeking new partnerships are becoming second nature. It's a new way of working, but I like it! The new approach is blowing out some of the cobwebs formed from years of doing business the same way. www.smooth-male-voiceover-talent.com is changing along with much of the other elements of my company.

The new "talkshow" ( www.talkshoe.com/tc/43512 ) is proving to be lots of fun as I worry about the next week's guests, watching the details on downloads, podcasts, etc. to get an idea of how the audience is growing. I think I'll do the next blog on growing a call...that would be good for me.

So, survival brings invention, renewal, exploration and it's all good.

Full Moon? I believe it.

Last night was a full moon...I happened to see it, but I would have guessed it even if the sky had been completely obscured by clouds.

I have this new show on Talkshoe (http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/43512), and I'm having the best time interviewing entrepreneurs and other gutsy folks who refuse to give in to pessimism even in the face of unrelenting bad news on the economy by the "main stream media." Most of those to whom I speak began their businesses in economic circumstances similar to those we're experiencing today.

I love to talk to these interesting, energizing, hardworking and positive people....so what's the problem? Well, last night everything went wrong. My studio computer refused to talk to the Talkshoe website...meaning I couldn't talk to the website.

So I called into my own show on the telephone...but, after the show, the tape reveals a problem with my audio (unheard on my end of the conversation) I can only blame on gremlins or the phone company.

Then, the chair in which I'm sitting falls apart in the middle of a guest's most important point...all you hear is a loud crash and muffled (remember, the sound sucked) profanity followed by my own laughter (I laugh at myself a lot).

I thought that was it, but when I awakened this morning, the grease I noted on my thumb last night from trying to repair the chair with one hand, while still talking to my guest and holding the phone in the other, well, that grease turned out to be a very painful bruise that makes my thumb look like I just cast a vote in an Iraqi election.

Say what you will, I blame the moon.

Social Obligations

I find myself in a constant state of over-commitment. Every invitation I receive sounds great at the time of reception...but my interest inevitably wanes as the event draws near. So, I find myself either calling to withdraw my reservation...or attending with extremely low expectations of enjoying the event.

Such was the case with a meeting I attended this past weekend. It was an important planning meeting, and my presence was absolutely critical. Initially I had, of course, thought the meeting sounded boring, but the dinner afterward might be a lot of fun. Then, as the day drew closer, I began to dread the entire experience. Who wanted to have dinner with a lot of people who were virtual strangers? What fun would that be...a lot, as it turned out!

We had an exceptional time learning all about our new acquaintances, and free flowing wine lubricated the conversation to a pleasant degree. I now look forward to the conference we gathered to plan...not because of the conference material, but because of the opportunity to spend more time with our new friends.

Perhaps I'll change my pattern when it comes to social obligations...nah!

Spring Fever

Now this is more like it! The weather today is as much like the Spring days we remember from our childhood. And it's made just that much sweeter because we know there's probably at least one or two more snows hiding just around the corner.

When the weather turns I remember why I choose to live in a place with four seasons. Each change brings new possibilities and old memories.

Of course, Spring and Summer also bring allergies, so I have to time my work to coincide with those times when my voice actually sounds like me. Often this time of year, my voice lacks the resonance and power to which I'm accustomed.

Clients of www.smooth-male-voiceovertalent.com deserve to voice they're paying for...so I do whatever it takes...recording late at night or early, early, early in the morning if that's when the voice is present.

One disadvantage of the new online conversation, http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/43512 , is my belief it's important to be live at the same time each week...so, voice or no voice I'm there.

But right now, I'm going to walk around the block in the sunshine and forget all about work...it's just way too nice. This, this is Spring Fever, and I love it.

Listen to "That Still Small Voice"

Sometimes we know so much we get in our own way. Last night I had dinner with a family I had been told had children with "a problem." Expecting behavior less than conducive to a relaxing meal, Lucia and I met the family at the appointed hour. The children were absolutely wonderful.

Like all children, the three year old had a few moments of drama, and her five year old brother was initially shy, but the entire evening was more fun than I could have wished for.

The point, too often we accept the opinion of others instead of following our own instincts. We doubt our own inner voice in favor of what we're told by those who, we believe, have more insight (experience, education, etc.) than do we.

I believe most people know what's best for themselves or their children. Too often we listen to others and run out to find a quick fix be it therapy, drugs, or some other intervention...when what's really needed is patience, love and understanding.

I hope the parents follow their own counsel instead of listening to any one's opinion...including my own! And I hope too, that I have learned to listen to that still small voice within and ignore all the clatter going on around me.

This has little to do with voiceovers or the new project, http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/43512
but it's important to me.