[Colin Campbell]

I feel a little weird starting a new thread here, but Julie seems to welcome my participation.

Something I've been thinking about for a long time, about two years. More for the "up-and-comers."

There is one key ingredient to success in this business. (OK, there is the "talent" thing too but I digress.) Bob Bergen mentions this often. I've seen many talented people fail to grasp it.

NEVER GIVE UP.

You have to WANT IT and WANT IT BAD. It's slow progress. Read about Bob's story. He wanted to do voice since he was a little kid and he NEVER GAVE UP.

I wanted on radio when I was 5. Well, in today's climate that translates into voice-over. But voice is a different beast than radio. One has to "act." That is the toughest part I've had to deal with making the transition.

I can't express enough what Bob Bergen always talks about. You have to WANT IT BAD AND NEVER GIVE UP. If you're "playing around" with the idea, can't invest much time or money then just stop right now. The money side can be mitigated but the determination side cannot. You have to think about success every waking moment of every day. You have to super-serve any clients you do have. You have to trust that they'll pay the bill. Use your gut as to whether you take the job. Constantly find ways to put yourself in front of clients. Everyone has different ways of doing that. I am not a huge marketer myself but I am really good at "word of mouth" (pun not intended) advertising. It's slow and probably not very efficient but that along with continuous auditions has gotten me to a middle ground. Not a life sustaining income YET, but I'm getting closer with each passing month. The thrill of checks in the mailbox with frequency for doing something I love is an experience I can't even describe.

Sorry for the dissertation.

Your friendly Savvy refugee... Colin.