13182: Is It Too Late For You?

Raw transcript:

ever thought to yourself oh it’s too
late for me no I I can’t do that it’s
too it’s too late I I had in my
opportunities way back when and I didn’t
get a chance to ever think that well I
haven’t told this story in a while but I
think it’s time to share it again
because it came up for me recently don’t
do that that’s my Bob newart thing don’t
do that stop that yeah let’s talk about
if it’s too late for you in this episode
of the vo Heroes podcast
[Music]
C so a friend of a friend of a friend
asked their friends to ask me about how
come I don’t see David in shows when he
was like in his 20s 30s 40 when he was
younger and you know I I have this
lovely story about the fact that I
decided to become an actor as a second
or third act in life I didn’t I didn’t
get my first
job let me back up I got my first job in
radio in my late
teens and my first job in voiceover
about four days later because once
you’re in radio it’s like boom you’re
you’re being asked to do
voiceover but I didn’t become an on
camera
actor till my mid to late 40s and I
didn’t get my first job on television
which was on
Heroes I didn’t get my first job until I
turned
50 and this is shocking to some people
some people are like wait what you can
do that you can you can and and what
adds weirdness to that story is the
choice of which profession I decided to
do as a second act in life acting on
camera and in film uh and on television
commercial uh some people go yeah you
know I’m going to you know retire and
I’m going to be a writer or I’m going to
I’m going to do woodworking or I’m going
to you know I’ll be a greeter at Walmart
or I’ll be a Salesman at a car dealer
who knows they make choices after
they’ve done a career they do a new
one and I want you to remember that
because you may be facing something
right now where you go oh yeah no I
could have done that back in the 80s or
90s maybe in the early 2000s but not now
the competition’s too high artificial
intelligence I mean we come up with all
these excuses but the fact of the matter
is is that if you want to be a writer or
if you are a writer and want to narrate
your own book or you want to do voice
over or you want to do audio books or
you want to work on camera you want to
do commercials you want to do something
in technology I’m only talking about the
things that I’m familiar with and in
most of those cases things that I show
other people how to do but the world is
your oyster and you actually have an
advantage you know people in their 20s
or 30s they often think to themselves oh
if I don’t get into that fire Community
you know Financial Independence retire
early or you know jump into that sixth
or seventh job by the time I’m 28 my
life is over I’m done I can’t I’m dead
I’m
I’m you have what a distinct Advantage
you have you have a whole lifetime of
experience that these kids today they
don’t have yet like that’s one of the
things that’s made it really popular and
happy for me to be an actor because I
have this life experience I can draw
from when I’m designing a character when
I’m doing an audition or when I’m on set
working you know or when I’m doing
voiceover I get to make choices that I
wouldn’t have made when I was 16 and
trying to sound like Rick D’s or Don
Imus or the real Bob James or John
Lanigan you know I was trying to be
somebody else and then when you live
your life and you have this exper I’m
kind it’s kind of like pouring out of me
because of the question that was asked
you know why didn’t he do this earlier I
didn’t know I could and I wasn’t
motivated
to I certainly was when radio started to
become a cesspool to work with I I I
just you know the early 2000s was an
awful time in the world of radio with
consolidation and all of
the group owners had their own
syndication wings and I was doing a
syndicated radio show I couldn’t get my
show on some big stations because they
were owned and and you know thank God
for w and for WGN and and XM and serus
otherwise I I would have probably not
lasted as long as I did in radio but the
choice in my mid 40s my late 40s to
become an actor was something that I
think other people are hesitant to do if
your life isn’t giving you what you
want go make a different
choice and don’t think you can’t make
those choices late in life that second
act could be waiting for you or that
third
act or that fourth act who knows but if
you want to write your own book if you
want to narrate that book if you want to
do voiceover or acting or you want to
learn how to code or if you want to go
be a greeter at Walmart or work at a car
dealer whatever you want to do give
yourself that shot give yourself that
opportunity whenever you feel ah it’s
too late for me coming up for you push
back tell it it’s wrong remove it
power does that make sense for you got
any thoughts on this I’d love to hear
what you have to say in the comments
below let me know hit the like button if
you’d like you can subscribe to the
channel you can click the notification
Bell and be notified of new episodes you
can share this with somebody who may be
facing like my friend of a friend of a
friend of a friend was and had questions
about what to do for those later acts in
life I’m David H Lawrence the 17th I
thank you so much for watching in and
for listening and I will see you in the
next episode of the vo Heroes podcast
[Music]

(from YouTube)