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Karen Commins

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TDIMH — Identify With Excellence

27 May 2015


This Date In My History is an ongoing series of blog posts taken directly from my private journal entries and are intended to help others along their path. I usually use an entry that is at least 10 years old. However, today is the 4th anniversary of a significant change for me. Perhaps after reading it, you’ll want to make the same change.

Friday 27 May 2011 9:08pm

I received a Joyfully Jobless newsletter from Barbara Winter today. I just signed up for her newsletter recently although I’ve known about her for years.

Today’s was titled “The Company You Keep”. She wrote that John Tesh had received a letter from a 15-year-old boy who wanted to know how to make it in the music business. Tesh

said his best advice to was to listen to great music every day and study what other musicians do.

She also gave the example of Simon Cowell, who said that in his early days,

he was a sponge soaking up the advice of those around him who were more experienced.

She continued:

I’m surprised to discover that everyone isn’t an enthusiastic student of success…Would-be writer is not an active reader. Would-be entrepreneurs have never had a conversation with someone who is successfully self-employed about how they got started…

So where do you want to succeed? Study those who have done what you want to do. Absorb the lessons of success, not failure.

With that in mind, I realize I need and want to be an active audiobook listener. I think the last one I heard was in Hawaii last year [a year before this writing].

I downloaded Anne Frank Remembered narrated by the audiobook master herself, Barbara Rosenblat…I’ll be listening to the phrasing and pauses as much or more than the accent.

I will listen to an audiobook every day on my day job. It’s another good way to prepare for the audiobook success and constant work that is coming to me. I’m also thinking it would be great to listen to a book while swimming. I’ll have to give it a try.

Today’s Take-aways:

1) To quote the fabulous and wise Barbara Winter one more time:  Be a keen observer. Identify with excellence at every turn. It will make a huge difference in your ultimate results.

2) If you want to narrate books, you need to listen to books. If you’re an author who is considering making an audiobook from your text, you need to listen to books.

For the past 4 years, I have listened to an audiobook every day. I have listened to an average of 20 books in each of those years. Since audiobooks are a multitasker’s dream come true, you can listen while doing some other activity. This thread on Goodreads will give you some ideas of how to include audiobooks in your schedule.

3) I do listen to books while swimming, and I highly recommend the Waterfi waterproof Shuffle for that purpose. Since I don’t swim every day, I’ve found that it helps if I already know the story. Gone With the Wind accompanied me in the pool last summer, and I’m determined to finish it this summer! 🙂
 

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Karen Commins
Karen Commins
Karen Commins is an award-winning, professional audiobook narrator, producer, publisher, writer, and leading curator of information about the audiobook industry. She's also the chief cartographer of NarratorsRoadmap.com, THE destination for narrators of all levels.

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Filed Under: Audiobooks, Away From the Mic, Business, Narrators, Success Leaves Tracks, This Date in My History, Voice-Over Tagged With: Anne Frank, audiobook, Barbara Rosenblat, Barbara Winter, Gone With the Wind, Goodreads, John Tesh, Joyfully Joblesss, Simon Cowell, swimming

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Deidre Ann Johnson says

    27 May 2015 at 3:34 pm

    Thank you, thank you for this post! It is so right on time. It goes along with the saying you are like the 5 people you hang around with the most (major paraphrase here).

    I will definitely be changing my VO habits.

    Reply
    • Karen Commins says

      28 May 2015 at 1:39 pm

      Hi, Deidre! Thanks for the note.

      I was delayed in responding because I was traveling back from NYC, where I attended Johnny Heller’s Narrator Workshop on Tuesday and the Audio Publishers Association annual conference yesterday. At both events, I was surrounded by top tier players in the industry!

      You’re so right to think of the 5 people you hang around. We are all influenced every day by myriad people, places, and situations. I think most people don’t stop and realize that we can DECIDE to be in the places and situations where we are influenced by the best people!

      Best wishes for your continued health, prosperity, and SUCCESS!

      Karen

      Reply

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