“Seize the day,” “Carpe Diem,” “Maximize each moment.”
In a society as hectic as ours, that seems to be sound advice. Especially at the beginning of a new year.
All of us are given a limited time on earth. The best thing is to use it wisely. Don’t worry too much about tomorrow. Get the most out of each day.
Go to any electronics expo, and you’ll find tons of smart gadgets designed to make us do more in less time. While some of these ingenious tools can be helpful, they are part of a trend that worries me:
Life is speeding up. People are getting less patient, and more stressed.
They are focused on the short term, instead of thinking ahead.
Why? Because we crave certainty, and it’s easier to predict what will happen in the next moment as opposed to years from now. Instant gratification has never been more popular, and has never been more destructive.
A few examples.
Politics doesn’t think in decades anymore. Voters have short memories and demand quick results. Policies that lead to temporary gains are favored over measures that may take years to implement and bear fruit. Let’s drill for energy today, and we’ll worry about the environment later!
We’re not interested in diets or exercise that lead to gradual, lasting weight loss. No, we demand results by the end of the week. And if that scale doesn’t give us a number we’re happy with, we blame it on the method and move on to something else. But everybody knows that losing pounds is the easy part. Keeping them off is much more challenging. That requires long-term commitment.
Makeover shows on television tell us that people can change their lives in a matter of days. It takes us a week to build an Extreme Home, five days to turn a failing restaurant around, and 48 hours to learn what not to wear. After that, we’ll never be the same again! Well, a few weeks later our dream home is leaking, the bistro is going bankrupt, and that fashion-challenged girl dresses like a slob again.
I’m sorry to break it to you, but quick fixes rarely lead to lasting change.
Short-term thinking is a big problem in the “industry” I’m a part of: the wonderful world of freelancing, in particular, the voice-over industry.
THE MYTH OF THE SHORTCUT
Thanks to false advertising, unrealistic expectations, and an attitude of entitlement and impatience, some people still believe they can rise to the top in very little time. Just read this book, take that seminar, and buy some cheap gear. Before you know it, you’re in business! No experience necessary.
And when these people finally come to me for coaching because they’re not getting anywhere, they are shocked when I present a long-term plan without guarantees.
“That can’t be,” they say. “This takes too long, and it’s too expensive. I don’t have the time, and I don’t have the money. I thought this would be easy.”
I tell them:
“If you’re in this for the long run, a few simple steps won’t get you anywhere. Would you throw some seeds into the soil and expect a few trees to magically pop up the next morning? And would you expect these trees to bear fruit the day after? It may very well be a couple of years before you book your first job.”
One person responded: “If it takes that long, you’re probably not a very good coach.”
I replied: “If that’s what you believe, you probably won’t be a very good student.”
THE ONLINE CASTING TRAP
Another example of short-term thinking is the way some people perceive the “membership” fee for online casting sites. They tell me: “If I book one nice job, this whole thing pays for itself.”
No, it doesn’t. It wouldn’t even be true if you only booked that one job. If you spend let’s say $399 on membership, and you make $399, what’s your profit? To see if that $399 would be a worthwhile investment, you’d have to look at an entire year of membership, and ask yourself: “For all the time and money invested, how many dollars did I get in return?”
You’d have to add up all the money made through that Pay to Play in one year, and deduct the membership fee, taxes and other expenses. Then you divide your net profit by the total number of hours required to generate that income. By hours I mean all the time spent looking at jobs on that site, doing auditions, communicating with clients, and recording/editing the audio.
When you finally look at how much you’ve made per hour in a year, do you think this is still a good investment, or should you spend your time and money elsewhere? Of course no one ever takes the time to run the numbers. Perhaps they’re afraid of the answer.
A COMMON MISCONCEPTION
But don’t make the mistake that short-term thinking is just a problem for the newbie. I often encounter it when colleagues discuss the hot topic of pricing. People with a short-term view tend to charge lower rates than those who are in it for the long haul.
“I’d rather make a hundred bucks now, than lose out on a job,” they say. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” A week later they complain that they can’t seem to make a living as a voice talent.
No surprise there.
Your rate is not just about money. It’s a sign of professionalism. It sends a signal to the client: “This is what I believe my time and talent are worth.”
It also sends a signal to the industry: “This is what I believe this job is worth.”
By the way, it’s much easier to book a low-rate job than to land a well-paid gig. Any fool can undercut the competition (and go broke in the process).
Here’s the thing: If we devalue the work we do, don’t expect rates to rise. Low rates will become the new normal.
How do we turn this around?
Step one: realize that short-term actions have long-term consequences.
If you don’t think about the long-term consequences of your actions, your life becomes inconsequential.
A NEW FOCUS
If you wish to have sustained success as a freelancer, you have to start thinking long-term, and big picture.
You have to ask yourself:
“Where do I want to be, five years, ten years from now? How much do I need to minimally make in a year to get there? What do I have to invest? How much do I need to charge?”
Of course you also have to factor in what people around you are charging, and what clients are willing to pay. But don’t let that limit you. Premium products command a premium price. If you think that’s just a slogan, tell me: who’d have thought people would be willing to pay over $1000 for a mobile phone?
Thinking big picture also means you have to consider the effect your actions may have on others, and on this planet (often for generations). You don’t live on an island. It’s not just about you. What you do or don’t do may not seem earth-shattering, but it makes a difference. A tidal wave consists of many small drops.
So, here’s my humble request for 2019:
Accept that there are no shortcuts to success.
Slow down, practice patience, and embrace delayed gratification.
Dare to say no, instead of settling for low.
Trust me.
All of this will pay off in the long run!
Paul Strikwerda ©nethervoice
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I wonder how many of those writing and publishing too soon for quality will still be writing – and selling – twenty years from now.
Or will have saved enough out of what they earned to be living the life of ease.
There are MANY paths to success, some of which I can emulate, and others I cannot.
Most of them require hard, smart work. A few give you the flash in the pan of stream gold.
I do know exactly what I’m looking for (otherwise, how would I know I have achieved my goal?): the indie way to be Margaret Mitchell or Harper Lee – the one-book wonders who took years to write those books – but in a modern selling environment.
Because I cannot be faster, I must be better, but I evaluate every incoming idea on whether it will help me achieve my ultimate goal – getting every literate reader of English on the planet to try MY trilogy.
Most people think I’m crazy when they read about my writing methods. No shortcuts there – but they work, for me, with my damaged brain. ‘Twill serve.