by Kimberly Design Love | Lifestyle Design
How Do You Create Your
Personal Strategic Plan?
When you are ready to transform the way you do things to live a more strategic life, it can be difficult to know where to start. That is why we are here to help. Below you will find the best things to do when it is time to start creating a strategic life plan.
It Starts with Your Dreams that Shapes Your Vision
First and foremost, you need to have an overall vision that you will use a strategy to create. Once you know what this vision is, you must spend time writing it down. The act of writing will make it seem more real and achievable to you, but it will also help your mind consider the things you must accomplish to achieve the vision.
Write Down Specifics to Create Your Personal Strategic Plan
Now that you have your vision written down, it’s time to make a list of the things that will be part of the strategy to achieve that vision. For example, if you wrote a vision of going on vacations more often, the things you might list in your strategic plan would be earning more money, saving money specifically for vacations, or saving your vacation time at work. These ideas will help to guide you into decision-making while you are working on living your strategic plan.
Check-In With Yourself and Learn From Mistakes
You aren’t expected to achieve your vision all at once and don’t be surprised if you make mistakes along the way. Just make sure that you are learning from your mistakes as you go. The best way to do this is by having regularly scheduled check-ins with yourself. What are you doing that’s working? What are you doing that’s not working? When you have these answers, it’s time to revisit your strategic plan and make adjustments.
And if the vision itself changes, or becomes more specific, don’t be afraid to write down these changes as well! A strategic life plan needs to grow as you grow and develop your strategy to be more precise.
Overall, to create your personal a strategic life plan may seem like a daunting task, but it’s just putting what you want to achieve on paper. And once you have your vision written down, you can break it down to specifics and build your plan. Don’t be afraid to go back and edit and change your strategic plan as you grow and learn, as this is all part of the process of having a good strategic life plan that works for you!
by Kimberly Design Love | Podcast
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We are continuing our CoronaVirus Series and talking to people who are able to earn a living from home. Today I asked Trenton Bennett a very well known and talented voice actor /audiobook narrator for audio books. Trenton is providing us with some tips on how to become a voice actor. I had the privilege of hearing Trenton Bennett present at Podfest and one of the things that impressed me was the fact that he started this career later in life. Many of our listeners are thinking about a new career after midlife. Trenton shares many tips and strategies for becoming a voice actor or hiring a voice actor to narrate a book that you’re published. Looking for a new career you can do from home definitely listen in.
How to Become a Voice Actor
Trenton shares what ACX is and a course that he took to help him become a voice actor. “ACX” is short for “Audiobook Creators’ Exchange”. It’s the place where everyone goes to produce audiobooks for Amazon / Audible and iTunes. ACX is really the best place to start because they manage the process of finding work, producing, and interacting with the author (or “rights holder”, who is not always the author) to get an audiobook pushed out to Amazon / Audible and iTunes.
Trenton recommends the ACX Master Class at http://www.acxmasterclass.com. It is taught by Dan O’Day and David H. Lawrence XVII and it’s aimed at taking someone from “day 1, I don’t know anything” to “I’m good, I get the tech, and I’m managing my own products on ACX” The costs of using the equipment are low and methods they teach are really easy to do.
How to Set Up Your Recording Studio
It can be as simple as using a closet in your home that’s in a quiet space: leave the clothes in because they dampen the sound. I first started off in a walk-in Master Closet and have since built my own studio. Some people like to build booths. If you live in a noisy area or large city, this is a better solution, but for many people you can just convert a room if you have one.
There is a really great Facebook group called “Voiceover Artist and Booth Building”
They have tons of articles about everything from a blanket-fort to building your own room-within-a-room.
Trenton hired a pro to help him build his studio. He hired George “the tech” Whittam to consult with me remotely, and it was worth every penny. George gave him a lot of tips and then specific guidance. He ended up deciding to build his own acoustic panels and put together the room all by himself. You can do it! I even post a video on how I built my own acoustic panels and ceiling cloud to help other people.
Trenton’s You Tube Video on Creating a Recording Studio
How to Hire a Voice Actor like Trenton Bennett
Trenton shared “It’s really easy! If you’ve already published to Amazon, you can go into ACX and ‘claim’ your book as something that belongs to you. Then you write up a profile, call for auditions, and narrators see your title and respond. It’s really important to properly put together the description and other information about your book, which is a full course all unto itself! But I am always happy to help anyone get started if they want to reach out to me.”
Unique Book Titles that Trenton Bennett has Narrated
Trenton narrated some unique titles including Corbin Bernsen’s Rust and The Starchild Trilogy, by Robert G. Williscroft.
Trenton Shares about Rust by Corbin Bernsen
“Rust really was an honor to do. I was so pleased to be asked to record it! Corbin Bernsen is a great actor, and this particular project was all him. It has a small-town vibe, a tough but beautiful story, a crisis of faith… and there was a lot of pressure there because it was also a movie directed by Bernsen himself. I can’t easily emulate his voice, so as I voiced his character I had to pick a sound that was close to him but wouldn’t beat up my voice trying to be a very specific person.”
Trenton Shares about The Starchild Trilogy
“The Starchild Trilogy was a huge challenge – the first book alone has over 50 distinct characters, dialogue in other languages, and some of that I had to put together on my own! It’s a genre called “Hard SF”. This is a kind of science fiction where the science is the star. That means that in between some Tom Clancy action and interstellar intrigue, I might go on some long tangents explaining VASIMR engines or orbital launch loops. Hard SF is a labor of love – it has a small but very smart fan base.”
Trenton’s Advice on Designing Your Lifestyle
“It’s never perfect! I have a T-shirt with a quote from Lao-Tzu that I used to motivate me: “Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect”. Everything about my voiceover career is a slow growth that changes over time. I learn and improve. I don’t have to start perfect—I just have to start.”
“It’s also important to know that as you spend time doing a new venture, you’ll learn things that will change the direction you need to go. It will take time. It will take patience. It will take hard work and discipline—but you can still truly enjoy it, because this lifestyle is something you chose to take on.”
“Here’s my example: I kicked off my Year One mid-year. I took the ACX Master Class and immediately started landing audiobooks before the class was even over. I wanted to know more about voiceover in general though, so I signed up for what is now VO Heroes
“And I spent the next calendar year taking every one of the 38 classes there, plus other courses on the side.”
“I used all that information to make decisions on what areas of voiceover to try to get into. It’s really important not to try to do everything, because this is a field with a lot of specialists. You need to find what best matches you, and build your skills in that, instead of trying to do everything.”
“I started trying to land commercial and documentary narration gigs, but audiobooks kept calling! Last year I ended up landing more audiobook work than I could take on, and people being willing to wait a bit to get it all done, just so they could have me to work with. That was amazing!”
“It’s really important to remember that this business—and any other business—is always a marathon and NOT a sprint. Everyone I know in this business who has been successful, it has taken them anywhere from 6-10 years to get there.”
How to Become a Voice Actor – Books that Trenton Recommends
“I did love The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene. I realize that sounds like an odd pick, but it was the fact that it was a combination of stories, real and fictional, from history and lessons about human nature. When you know more of what motivates people, it’s easier to get into the heads of your characters and truly understand what motivates them.”
“Audiobook narration is Voice Acting, and so I also benefitted a great deal from the book Secrets of Screen Acting by Patrick Tucker. It focuses on teaching you how acting for the stage is different for the screen, but in that process, you also start to get a feel for how good visuals are assembled.”
“I know, that sounds weird! I don’t do a lot of on-camera work. But it really did help my narration. When you listen to an audiobook, I’m acting out the characters, sure—but I’m also the sets, the backdrops, the props—even the ambient sounds! I’m composing the scenes on the page into audio soundscapes on a whole different platform. I have to take the author’s vision and paint that same picture for you when you hear it. So in my mind as I’m telling the story, I’m building an elaborate visual in my head and then pouring emotion and emphasis into the read to convey that ‘cinematic’ vision to you.”
Trenton’s Best Advice for Newbies
Whatever it is, you need to tackle it like it’s a business. Go for it, but be realistic about what you need to do to make it successful. Learn how other successful people in that field got where they wanted to be. Write a business plan. Make some decisions at the outset but don’t spend forever thinking about starting. You start, and then you learn, and then you pivot your sail to catch the wind when the wind changes.
I’d hand that family member a copy of the book Start Ugly by Chris Krimitsos. It’s a quick read and a motivating parable about all of these things.
What Held Trenton Back Initially from Becoming a Voice Actor
Well originally, I wanted to be an animator! I actually have an art degree. I wanted to do that, but at the time I really didn’t have many options for learning, and I also knew that getting into that field would probably require me to move to Los Angeles and wait for someone at Disney or Warner Brothers to retire! (*laughs*). It was only a few years later that Jurassic Park came out, the whole paradigm shifted, and suddenly animators were in high demand.
I’m telling you all this for a really important reason. My big mistake was that by then I let negative opinions about my talent and my potential crush my hopes…and one of the loudest voices shouting me down was my own.
I also had a real knack for acting, performing, and voicework, but I didn’t really know how to apply those skills! So I did side projects, here and there, and I found excuses to pour my talents into various places they’d do some good, like training, producing and narrating explainer videos, etc.
I still didn’t know where to begin. And so it was an unusual bit of luck that I ran across David H. Lawrence XVII. Here’s a seasoned pro who was willing to give a random stranger his time. David asked some very specific questions about my goals and my experience. He made himself available to me, but he also didn’t end our first conversation with, “But first—write me a check!” He said, “Go get acting lessons,”.
Trenton’s Best Advice or Quote
‘Don’t get complacent.’ I was working a job that was really easy to do. I’d get the day’s work done by 10 AM, then spend the rest of the day waiting for new stuff to come in and reading books. I read the entire Dune series at work in less than a month while pouncing on every job that hit the Inbox.
He said this to me while walking by my cube, and I followed him to his desk and asked for more. That one phrase motivated me to go looking around the office for other ways I could help people. I was rewarded again and again for that throughout my career. If you can think of a better way to do things, speak up. If you want to learn, as long as you’re not jumping in the way, most people like to talk about themselves and what they do. They also like asking questions if they can see that you’re truly interested in helping them.
Habits that Contribute To Your Success
I think in the long-term, and I give myself breathing room in the short term. What I mean by that is, with all I’ve got to do, I give myself one day a week to goof off. When I know that I have that day coming, I’m less tempted to take a break beforehand and more motivated to get everything done for the week.
Thinking in the long-term means that I know any given week’s work is just a step across months that cover a journey of years.
At the end of every week, as the next week rolls around, you might be tempted to stress or feel like you didn’t accomplish enough. Take a moment to list out everything you got done the last week. You may be pleasantly surprised!
Be honest with yourself and give yourself credit – did something slip because you put too much on your plate? Re-think your goals for the coming week and be reasonable about what you should expect to accomplish.
How Can You Find Trenton Bennett
I’m at trentonbennett.com, I’m on Facebook and Twitter as “VoiceOfTrenton”, you can find me on LinkedIn and YouTube and you can always e-mail me at trenton@trentonbennett.com.
My podcast, “Classic Rock Battles: the Limey & the Yank”, which I co-host with Steve Atkins, is available wherever you get your Podcasts or on http://www.thelimeyandtheyank.com and it too has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
If you have been wondering how to how to become a voice actor or how to find a voice actor to narrate your book, I hope you’ll continue your quest and check out some of these resources provided for you.
by Kimberly Design Love | Lifestyle Design
Have you ever wanted to be someone else or change your personality? Here are 5 Ways To design your personality. 
Personality is what makes you a unique human being. It encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and while you may like all aspects of your character, you may notice that others don’t always have a positive reaction to specific traits. Or perhaps you recognize some bad habits you have developed over the years and are wishing to make a change.
If you are looking for ways to enhance personality, to build new character traits that mean others are more comfortable with you, then we’ve got you covered. Here are five ways to design your personality.
#1. Discover Everything You Can About Yourself
Spend some time really evaluating who you are, what you like, how you behave, and how others react to you. Take time to notice how people respond to things you do and say, see what others appreciate most about you, and purposefully observe how you interact with others in different types of situations. Make a list of the personality traits that you think are strengths and identify a few key areas where you would like to improve.
#2. Expand Your Interests to Design Your Personality
The more you read and experience in life, the more interesting you will be. Reading, travel, and hobbies all expand your understanding of the world, teach you new perspectives, and enhance the empathy for others, also. This can make you a better friend and provides you with topics for interactions with others. Listen to a new podcast, pick up a new-to-you genre of book, or learn a hobby you’ve always wanted to try.
#3. Focus on The Needs of Others
By learning to be supportive of others, you enhance your personality and welcome more people around you. When you maintain interest in others’ passions, you show you are actively interested in their lives and care about what matters to them. Most people love to feel that others are interested in what they have to say, and they, in return, will reciprocate with interest in you, as well.
#4. Focus on Your Conversational Abilities
Whether you identify as an introvert or an extrovert, improving the way you communicate with others will enhance the relationships around you. There’s a lovely dance that goes on between introverts and extroverts. Introverts have learned to listen but by simply asking an extrovert a key question they can engage in conversation. Practice active listening techniques as well as share your knowledge and interests with those around you. Becoming a good conversationalist will help in your personal as well as professional life.
#5. Take a Stance
Most of us have a viewpoint but are afraid to show it. Most people find others with no opinions to be boring. Know where you stand on issues important to your beliefs and be sure you have information to support your perspectives. But, you should also be willing to listen to others’ views and use those to evaluate your own stance. Make an effort to talk with people whose views are different than yours to understand their perspective better.
Final Thoughts
You have the power to design your personality and enhance specific traits. By learning to evaluate what you like best about yourself, then selecting new characteristics you wish to develop, you have created a plan for your personal development.
Once you start implementing these new changes, practice again observing how you are making progress, how others respond to your attempts, and identify where you need to make adjustments. It’s always helpful to talk with others whom you really trust to see how they think you can improve your personality.
They may have identified specific traits you were not even aware others noticed about you. When you take the time to commit to this process, you will put yourself on a course toward personal development and improved happiness.
by Kimberly Design Love | Lifestyle Design
An important step to designing your life is acknowledging and understanding the choices you have in your life, being willing to make the most of those choices, and leveraging the choices you have to select the best path forward for yourself.
Life is not something that just happens to you, and you always have choices. The key to designing the life you really want is knowing exactly what your options are and using all the information at your disposal to make the best selection for you.
Your life is defined by the choices you make. While not everything that happens in your life is up to you, how you respond to life’s circumstances and opportunities is always a matter of choice. Even when you choose not to act or react in your life, you are still making a decision, so there is nothing that is beyond your control.
Becoming Aware of Your Choices
There are certain things in life you cannot control. For example, you have no control over the circumstances of your birth or family, your genetic makeup, or the opportunities you were given as a child. However, your choices can override these circumstances.
Your choices determine how you treat others, how hard you work, and the activities in which you engage at even an early age. This helps form you into the person you become later in life. As you get older, you have free will to choose who to love, what do choose as a career, and ultimately, what you will strive to achieve in life.
Acknowledging that all of these are choices in life, and not things that happen without your consent, is a big step toward designing your life. Choosing to accept responsibility for these choices, and not to blame life or others for the circumstances in which you find yourself, helps you not only move forward from your past but also accept the tremendous power you have to select your future.
You already have all the ability within you to choose the life you want and to design the experiences that will lead you to your goal.
Using Self-Knowledge to Make Better Choices
Developing knowledge about yourself, including your fears and insecurities as well as your strengths and gifts, is essential to designing your life and attaining your goals. Until you truly know yourself, which means getting clear about your beliefs and values, you will always be vulnerable to crafting your life to please others or assessing your accomplishments against what others have achieved.
When you become aware of yourself and your inner longings and desires, you can use that information to better inform the design process for your life. Without knowing your true passions, interests, and strengths, though, you are left making decisions based on poor information.
Without self-knowledge, you are more likely to pursue work or other goals that are unsuited to your talents and passions. Instead of choosing what makes you happy, you may opt to go along with the crowd or take the advice of others when you lack sufficient insight into yourself. This type of decision-making can lead you to invest more of yourself and your money in pursuits that don’t make you happy, too.
Designing Your Life is About Choice
Understanding that life is about choices and you are in charge of those options gives you the power to design the best life for you. Even opting not to choose is a choice, and only you will have to live with the consequences of those choices.
Regardless of your initial circumstances or what you were born with, your life is defined by the choices you make with how to deal with those events and what dreams you strive to attain.
