i wish i could do it all. And at one time, i thought i could.
there have been many points in my professional life where after finishing a project that took a lot of time and real effort…the finished product was sub-par…and not for lack of trying.
it’s something that is a very hard lesson to learn. i try and trace it back to my childhood, and think that maybe it’s my parents fault for being so encouraging…saying that i could do anything i set my mind to…something very familiar to a generation x’er.
i suppose my parents were right…i can, and DO anything i set my mind to…but they didn’t say anything about doing everything well. (or maybe they did…it was such a long time ago now ha!)
regardless, one should always do what they set their mind to…in order to find out what they are good at, or even great at.
finding out you aren’t good at something seems like bad news. kinda like finding out it’s going to rain on your day off. but like anything in life, it’s neither good nor bad…it’s just is. and it is what you make of it. suppose it rains…so be it…your garden could probably use it. or it forces you to stay inside and work on your painting, creative writing, or in our case…your voice.
creative limitations are are misleading…it seems like a road block. as in you can’t do this, you can’t do that. but what they really are, are signs…pointing you in the right direction to fully realize your talent.
if your particular sign says ‘you cannot dramatically act’…then fine…stop wasting your time on it, and focus on direct/announcer driven spots. despite popular myth, they are still the most popular production out there, and we all need your voice. if your sign says, ‘you cannot read with high-energy’…fine…focus on making your relaxed ‘wilford brimley’ type read the best wilford it can be.
what i have found is that people will seek you out if you are good at something, because word travels fast. this is only true of course, if you stick around long enough for people to find you. meaning you can’t get discouraged by all the signs. use them to help guide you to what you are great at. find your road and drive fast.
knowing what you are good at is a freedom to be envied. here at overnight radio, we believe we are great at producing great radio spots, simply because of all the signs we came across in the last 15 years of business. all pointing us to what we do best. creating great production.
now if only i could read the signs about blogging.