Good Things Take Time!

“Nature” Image by Mabel Amber

Ahh, Nature. So many lessons it has for us! Another Summer has receded down here at the bottom of the world, and as it goes in Middle Earth (aka Sub-Antarctica)….“Winter is Coming”…for real.

The nature of Nature

Winters in the southernmost inhabited place in the world are LONG. We like to joke that Winter lasts about 7 months. We don’t see the sun until around 8am, and it’ll be gone by about 5:00pm, from now (June) til about September. It’s the latitudinal equivalent of southern Chile; beautiful, and weatherful as well!

Although I spent 25 years in California (the fruit bowl of the USA), it wasn’t until I moved back to New Zealand in 2020 that I started gardening in earnest. Over the last 3 years I’ve grown LOTS of different vegetables, fruits and flowers, and have enjoyed watching a small Native forest of about 800 trees growing up around our little one acre property.

Nature teaches patience

What I’ve learned in all of this is patience. Gardening has taught me that GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME. Nature has all the time in the world. It does not hurry, or worry. It does what it does when it’s meant to.

Nature – that which we are born from – is a cycle. There’s the growing cycle in Spring and Summer, the harvest cycle in the Fall, and the hibernation cycle in the Winter. EVERY part of it is necessary.

How does this relate to YOU? Or to Voiceover? Well, I think it’s a really good analogy for a long-lasting career.

The nature of “Seasons” in a Voiceover Career

Think about how long it takes – and ALL that goes into – a career in the entertainment industry. Nothing about the lives of successful musicians, or artists, or actors, is “overnight”. If you’ve listened to Steve and his guests talk in our Classes you know that every single one of them we consider to be “Successful” got there over a long time. They went through cycles along the way, and they continue to. It’s expected.

Sometimes the cycle is “building” – making connections and looking for agents, collaborators, projects, etc. The “build” cycle in VO is like planting seeds in your garden during Spring.

Other times it’s a “harvest” – getting the gigs and reaping the financial benefits of that.

Still there are other times of “hibernation”, where successful VA’s tell us they work on themselves, and their skillsets. They take classes, and learn new things. Especially during times when the work slows down, like now during a time of industry strikes.

Planting, Cultivating, and Tending to Your Success

I’ve sung with some of the greats, and I enjoyed a 10 year stint doing Promo work in VO. That said I don’t know VO like I do gardening, but when it comes to gardening building the right soil is everything.

Most gardeners don’t automatically have the right soil. That’s like YOU in your life and career. We don’t luck into a life that hands us the careers we want, especially in the entertainment business.

Protection

Gardeners must create the right growing environment, and in the case of down here near the South Pole I have to shelter plants and trees from harsh conditions like wind and snow.

That’s the same for YOU in your life and career. It’s important to shield yourself from negativity – no matter where it comes from. It’s important that YOU grow in the right environment.

Care

I have to tend to small plants and tree babies. Watering them when it’s dry, shading them when it’s too hot.

That’s the same for YOU in life and career. Are you nourishing yourself with the things that make you healthy and happy? Are you drinking plenty of water? Are you making sure that when you feel overwhelmed you’re scheduling in rest?

Growth

I have to make sure the trees here have lots of room to grow, and that they aren’t crowded out with other plants, or choked out by weeds.

That’s the same for YOU in life and career. Are you allowing for your growth? Are you reaching for things that you’ve never done before but that could benefit your growth as an artist or actor? Are you connecting up with others that motivate you to grow?

Cycles are Natural – How you handle them is Everything!

Are you allowing for the Cycles to be what they will be? Or are you pushing against them? Getting “down” when you’re not seeing growth?

There are seasons of “growth” in an artist’s life, “Summers” if you will. There are also “Winters”. Over the years I’ve watched Steve traverse both, and one of the things I’ve enjoyed so much about his process is that no matter what cycle he’s in he remains grateful. Receptive. Open to “what’s next?” but not lamenting that it’s not here yet. It’s one of the things that has made him SUCH a great teacher over the years.

From the Gap to the Gain

Team Blumvox was recently recommended the book “The Gap and The Gain” by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy. It’s a great book that reminds us ALL to take a moment whenever possible and look back as well as forward. It’s SUCH an important practice.

I don’t measure the height of my trees against where I want them to be. I look at pics from last year, and two years ago, and I go “Wow! Look just how far they’ve come.”

Don’t measure where YOU are to where you want to be. Measure where you are today, from where you were last week. Last month. Last year. CELEBRATE how far you’ve come (the “Gain”), not how far you think you’ve got to go (the “Gap”).

How will you choose to grow?

How you grow depends on the conditions YOU create around you. My suggestion is for you to connect with positive, uplifting people – like Steve and so many of our Guest Teachers! THEY went “through it” too. The best people to learn from are those that have experience. Get to watching those Classes, and better yet go LIVE in Class with them each month!

Make sure you’re getting the help you need to stay positive when life gets harsh and the “winds” blow you about. “Call up” when you feel down.

Make sure you take time to “hibernate” if and when you need to.

Reach, learn, ask questions, and expand when you’re ready to do that too.

When is the best time to plant a tree? Today.

When is the best time to plant a new you? Today.

Just as it is in Nature, YOU must give yourself the time and the patience it takes to grow something strong, bountiful, and beautiful for the world. Honor the cycles of nature and of your life, and remember to appreciate just how far you’ve come.

I wish you an abundant “growing season” in the U.S. I love knowing that it’s Summer somewhere, figuratively and literally. 😉

Arohanui (Big Love),

Reirani