Voiceover is a hard slog. Many long days of the grind and it can seem you're getting nowhere. You hear lots of no, lots of nothing. Fear, doubt, imposter syndrome, it's all part of the journey. How do you key yourself going through all this? You've got to celebrate every victory, and there are many. Despite everything, you ARE making progress. You ARE getting better, smarter and more confident. I can't believe where I am now when I look back at where I was and how I felt just 6 months ago.
In the grind, all those great little victories can get lost or forgotten. Don't let them. Celebrate! Give yourself a moment to pump your fist and tell, YES! Whatever works for you. You have to really acknowledge in a physical and auditory way. Don't do it half heartedly. Let yourself really feel it and appreciate it. Let it sink in. This is the fuel that will get you past tomorrow when that audition that you just KNEW was awesome, does nothing.
What can you celebrate?
You had a coaching session and picked a new insight, Yes!
In a coaching session you had a breakthrough in something you had been struggling with, Yes!
You read your Voiceover or acting book, Yes!
You completed a training video, Yes!
You participated in a Voiceover group session, Yes!
You complete your vocal warmup every morning, Yes!
You sent an email to a coach you want to work with, Yes!
You sent your demo out to several production companies/Ad agencies, Yes!
You joined an improv room on Clubhouse. Yes!
The possibilities are endless. These may seem like very small things, but success is made up of many small steps. Each one of these "small" things moves you closer to your goal of being a successful Voice Actor. In Voiceover, to get to 1,000, it's not 500+500. It's 1+1+1+1+1+1, ect. So celebrate each step.
The other great news is many of these celebrations happen daily, and yes you get to celebrate each time! For example, I often have three celebrations before 10am. I always go on a 1-2 mile walk/run I the morning, one! I do my vocal warmups, two! I also do some specific breathing exercises to help my vocal tone and strength, three! What a way to start the day! I don't, but you could also look back at the end of the day at all your victories. You probably have at least 5 or 6. What an incredible day you had! Let's do it again tomorrow!