We were lucky to catch up with Maddie McGuire recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Maddie, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
I love this question! Despite being someone who can get caught in analysis paralysis or overthinking the “what ifs” of a situation, I’ve learned over time gathering necessary information comes from taking action. I’ve learned so much more any time I decide to just dive in and start something rather than sit there and continue to think about it for even a moment longer.
In my opinion, most “risks” are necessary to take for your personal or professional growth. Every time I look back on an experience that I feel defines me as a person, as a creative, or as a professional – it involved doing something that made me squirm on the inside and have my internal thoughts go something like, “Hell no, please don’t do this. Return to your comfort cave, now.” And usually, it’s in those moments I know I must dive in and give myself the opportunity to see what happens.
I feel like we hear the word risk and people have one of two reactions – we either think, “If I take this risk, what am I losing, or what could I lose if I go through with it?”, or we think, “If I take this risk, what am I gaining from going through with it, even if it makes me highly uncomfortable?”
I believe most impactful decisions involve an element of risk. And I always like to ask myself – What am I gaining? (Knowledge, experience, growth, a new skill, something to build my resume). And what am I losing? (Time, energy, money, security). Usually whatever I could potentially gain heavily outweighs what I could lose.
If you ask yourself what’s the worst that can happen? The consequences are rarely ever that bad and are always survivable. I say yes too often, but it’s because I see a learning opportunity in almost everything.
I believe that my growth (productivity) is directly linked to how much you’re willing to get uncomfortable. No growth ever occurs in your comfort cave and requires you to do something you’ve never done before.
Be more afraid of staying where you are than doing what’s required of you to get where you’re going. If you were to flash forward a year from now and saw yourself in the exact same place and in the exact same life circumstances – you’d probably be pretty disappointed. Even taking the smallest, tiniest action gets you one step further on your journey than where you are right now.
Taking a risk is not always enjoyable, but it’s always been worth it.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’ve been a commercial voiceover artist for the past nine years (whoa!) and it’s been an insanely cool journey. I started out as an actor, which definitely helped my ability to get comfortable with voiceover copy quickly. I got signed by one of the best agencies in the world right from the beginning, which was very cool but daunting. My first three months at the agency I STRUGGLED HARD. One of the engineers at the agency was kind enough to pull me aside one day and offer me an olive branch – she pretty much told me, “You have a ton of potential and I think you could have an amazing career, but we work at a really elite level here and results are required. I’m saying this because I know you can do it, but we need to switch up your process.” She helped me understand how to break down copy and create an audition process for me so I could get in the right mindset before coming in to audition – a week later I booked my first job. And then was lucky enough to keep booking work. I’ve worked on campaigns for Volkswagen, Hotels Tonight, McDonald’s, Old Navy, Simple Mobile, Toys R Us, Oculus, and many more. I had a difficult transition during covid because I went from being able to audition in person where my only focus was on my performance and taking direction, and then was required to build an at-home booth and become the talent, a low-level engineer, and my own director for auditions. I desperately wanted things to go back to the way they were and I turned in a lot of sub-par auditions. I felt like I was clawing my way through my career and in 2022 I had the most challenging year of my career where it was the first time I didn’t even make enough to qualify for my SAG health insurance. My mindset was shattered and every time I went into my booth to audition, I felt like my brain and my mouth couldn’t connect – my performances felt stilted and forced and it was a year of “almost” booking a lot of things, but none of them panning out. My agent reminded me that everyone has a slump in their career, it’s not about if it will happen, it’s about how fast they can get themselves out of it. I went to work with a coach, Carroll Kimble, who cast me in my first Volkswagen campaign and she really validated the feelings I was having about voice-over and helped me re-create my audition process that allowed me to feel like an actor and create characters. I booked a campaign for Comcast Xfinity and Xfinity Mobile within a month and it’s been the most amazing campaign of my career. I’ve never worked on a campaign that’s done this much volume and I’m essentially on a “hold” every single day, where I find out the day before if I’m working or not. It is fast-paced and has absolutely helped me level up my ability, professionalism, and endurance as an artist. Last year I was wondering if I should pivot and completely change the direction of my career. It forced me to dig deep and start taking a new type of action, but I was seriously concerned the type of campaigns I used to work on were a thing of the past. I held on to the tiniest flicker of faith and it’s amazing how you truly never know what’s possible. Faith is a very powerful thing and I’m so happy I continued to believe in myself and kept moving forward.
I also got my life coaching certification a few years ago and started a coaching business. I’m a career and confidence coach for creatives and I absolutely love working with performers. I’ve been a huge lover of psychology and the study of humans, with a specific focus on our thoughts and how powerful they are. The program I went through had a heavy focus on positive psychology and I’ve been obsessed with learning frameworks, techniques, interventions, and modalities to help people become the best versions of themselves, tackle their roadblocks, and take action towards the things they want in life. I work with performers of all levels and in all locations to help them design a career roadmap that feels authentic to them, honors their strengths and uniqueness, and empowers them. I’m extremely passionate about helping creatives strengthen their mindset, create their own confidence code, and help them create internal endurance so they can have longevity in this career path. Nothing gets me more hot and bothered than talking about mindest and I specifically love the study of confidence.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Persistence – I’m not someone who gets deterred easily and if something isn’t working out like I thought it would, I really try to use the information I have and pivot. Being in a creative career, everything is subjective. One producer might think my voice is great for a campaign, and another producer on the same team might not like my voice. They’re listening to the same audition but have totally different opinions and both of them are right – it’s not baseball where you can clearly see my batting average reflected in a number that’s a fact. So finding ways to validate yourself and protect your inner knowing are vital – like doing things to connect to your own thoughts and grounding yourself. Meditating, journaling, going for a walk, working out, etc; And in every situation, how can you look back at the journey and uncover what you learned? What will keep the fire burning inside of you? How can you turn every rejection into fuel? I’m not saying don’t take a moment for yourself to feel the disappointment – rejection really sucks. But don’t sit in it too long. How can you use it to powerfully impact your journey?
Empathy – I’m a naturally empathetic person, to the point that it can feel like a strength at times and a weakness at others. I try to remember everyone is truly doing their best and they’re carrying their own life experiences and stories around with them and some of what they’re carrying can be HEAVY. I always try to see if there’s any way I can support others and give them a moment of care. It’s incredible how getting out of my own head and my own way and putting focus and love on another human being connects me back to my own heart. I can get caught up thinking about myself as a performer, my business, my craft, etc; and whenever I can tap into my empathy and connect with another individual and offer them a safe space to be their true authentic self – whether that’s just allowing them a place to talk freely, or helping them through an action – my empathy for others is something I try to protect.
Active Listening + Asking Questions – Listening has always been one of my strengths, and going through the coaching program allowed me to understand how to listen in an even more impactful way. Being able to quiet your mind and put your full focus on the other person you’re sharing space with and showing up fully allows them to share their energy and create a beautiful intimate experience that we so often do not get in life. Learning how to slow down and not think about the next thing to say or share, will allow you to be so much more present. Also, asking a question rather than sharing your thoughts and opinions first is one of the best gifts you can give to someone else. We don’t ask each other questions enough – it’s like we lost our curiosity for individuals. Asking questions allows you to explore someone in a much deeper way than just sharing your opinions or advice. Seriously, try it. Before you echo a word of advice, see what happens if you ask someone a question about what they’re describing – it will instantly deepen the conversation and you will learn more about them and yourself in the process.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
This year has been extremely fast-paced with voiceover, planning my wedding, getting a new job in sales, and working for a podcast production company…. while also moving to a new state haha so I’ve found myself definitely falling into moments of being overwhelmed.
A few things I do:
-Think about what I can control and what I can’t control – In most situations what I worry about are things completely out of my control. So I try my best to release what I can’t control and focus on what I can. During our recent move, we had a situation with my new voiceover booth needing some adjustments and our new neighbors starting construction right next door. I couldn’t control the construction, but I still needed a solution and since my at-home booth wasn’t going to work momentarily, I needed a studio. I tried to let go of all the stuff happening around me that was inducing anxiety and just focus my actions on the solution that needed solving.
-Reflect and reframe – I really try to reflect on what is it that I’m really overwhelmed about and get to the root of what’s causing the worry. I validate the fact that it’s normal for me to have the emotions I’m experiencing, and then I try to reframe the situation. Using planning a wedding as an example, it can be so easy to get caught up in all of the minute details and EVERYONE tries to give their opinion (which can be infuriating haha). But instead of getting lost in the sauce, I try to reframe and remember this is probably the only time we’ll ever have all of these people in the same place at the same time and they’re all here excited to just celebrate and be together and no one is really going to care about what the flowers looked like or who they sat next to. It helps keep things in perspective and allows me to make decisions from a more empowered place, rather than a place of fear or worry.
-I think about past times I was overwhelmed and how truly everything always does work out…. when I think back to things I’ve been overwhelmed about in the past, the memory I have of the event usually doesn’t even contain the overwhelm that I was feeling, so it’s a good reminder that even though the overwhelming feeling feels super intense right now when it’s all said and done that’s not even going to be the thing I remember about the event, so how can I channel this energy into something positive.
-Meditate, go for a walk, journal, etc; Whenever I’m overwhelmed I can get into a very reactive state, which is not helpful and can cause additional stress. I’ve learned how to give myself a pause with meditation, journaling, or going for a walk…. so I can try to respond to the situation instead of reacting. Sometimes I need to pause numerous times a day to get me through even if it’s just for five minutes here or there. It makes a big difference when I can regulate my breathing and try to slow down my thoughts, before continuing with my day.
-Call a friend – I’m a verbal processor so sometimes it’s just nice to talk it out. I’ve also gotten good about articulating if I just need to vent or if I’m actually looking for advice or my friend to be a sounding board. Sometimes just releasing the emotions and being able to get the words out is enough of a stress relief to re-regulate.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.performersparent.com
- Instagram: @maddiemcguire4 @performersparent
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddie-mcguire-48a8b981/
