Is there such a thing as Destiny?

Many times I have heard "I just can't even begin to work on an Audiobook project". Some say they just don't have the discipline, the endurance, the time or even the willingness to give it a try. Others say they tired it once and that was enough. While other talent say "I would rather read a couple lines of copy for 2500 dollars than a 10 hour book for royalties!". Well I don't blame them, who wouldn't! Audiobooks are not for everyone. Just like Radio Imaging isn't for everyone, especially me. 

When I start getting all introspective and existential about my career as a Narrator/VO Talent it usually means one of two things. #1, I am looking within to see if I am indeed in the right profession and if there are opportunities I am missing out on because I am narrowing my focus in my efforts to find work. Or #2, I have too much time on my hands.

Its usually #2.

But in all seriousness, I do wonder if there isn't a bit of destiny involved in where I am today. I don't mean a guiding force or that a predetermined path has been set out for me, although one could argue that is exactly what destiny is, but maybe a series of events over the course of a lifetime that, when recognized, could be put together to suggest that it was a destiny of my own making.

For example, when I was in Kindergarten, I was in a class play that was acted out on stage with the rest of my classmates. I wasn't the Tree, or a main character, in fact I don't even remember what it was supposed to be about. But my part in the play was as the Narrator! Imagine that! Over 50 years ago I was already talking into a microphone to an audience! Well at the time, I wasn't thinking about how to leverage that into an audiobook deal. All that was really going through my mind was the terror of forgetting my lines as I introduced each act. (Mind you it wasn't that wordy). But there I was, brain approximately 10% developed (physiologically speaking), speaking to an audience of adults about the up coming scene they were about to see played out on stage. 

Would it be a one time thing? A one hit wonder? Well the jury is still out debating that charge but the very next time I found myself speaking into a microphone was many years later while serving in the Navy as a SONAR Technician passing information over the comms system to the bridge when we were tracking a target, "BRIDGE, SONAR. TARGET BEARING 313, RANGE 4500 YARDS CLASSIFICATION UNKNOWN". Now theres some dramatic copy right there! But that covered the bulk of what we would say on the mic in SONAR Control. So it sure doesn't look like that had any direct influence of my decision to become a Narrator.

Ah yes then there was JAZZ 88. At the ripe old age of 28 (Brain now 100% developed from a physiological standpoint at least) I found myself back in school in the Radio and TV curriculum at my local community college. Now the idea was to get a degree in that field and get a job as an engineer in a Radio or TV station. I was going to leverage my technical training from the Navy into a job I could retire from. Then there was that Radio Performance Class that was a required class for the degree program and thus began my love affair with the microphone that would take me on my wild ride to where I am now. It helped that I was, and still am, a huge music fan so the marriage of the mic and the music made for some really fun times. 

How does that fit into why I am an audiobook narrator? Well my time in the Navy taught me an important lesson. Knowing how to adapt to any situation and take advantage of what that situation has to offer, rather than fight it and force my own will upon said situation, would serve me better than any control I could exert on it. Kinda "go with the flow" if you get my drift. That flow began my first day at KSDS JAZZ 88, went through a navy base where I became a CBT narrator (eLearning for you young folks) which then turned into corporate video narration and then Audiobooks about 5 years ago. (That is a story for another post). But the one thing that I haven't mentioned yet is the passion for the stories I narrate. Every single audiobook I have completed has been my favorite! From the very first one to my most recent release. I have a vested interest in the content for varying reasons. 

So to answer my own question at the top of the post, Yes there is such a thing as destiny, if you don't screw it up along the way. You still have to make the right choices and live with no regrets. Take the ride and if you love it as much as I do, then it will never be something you HAVE to do. It will always be something you WANT to do. 

Because I LOVE Narrating!