Have you ever fought against an opportunity?

I have.

For me it was my voiceover career.

For those of you who don’t know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Yolanda Spearman. By day, I’m a Director of Sales for Harley-Davidson Financial Services. By passion, I am a voice actor. In fact, my goal is to become THE go-to Black female voice actor.

But let me tell you something.

I got there kicking and screaming.

When I was 21 years old, I had a dream of being creative for a living. I wanted to earn money through artistic expression—writing books, creating crafts, speaking, performing, and building something that came from my imagination.

Around that same time, a respected radio personality told me that voiceover might be my niche. I listened. Kind of.

You know how we do.

We try something halfway. We give it a little effort. We test the waters. And when it doesn’t immediately work out, we feel justified in walking away.

“Well, I tried.”

That was me.

Years passed.

Then I had children.

And suddenly, the dream wasn’t about me anymore.

My husband – the one many of you know as “My Husband the Mechanic” – and I wanted our children to attend private school. The problem was simple.

We needed more money. About $2,500 a month more.

At the time, I was earning exactly zero dollars consistently from voiceover. I didn’t have professional equipment. I didn’t have an agent. As a matter of fact, I barely knew where to start.  I knew about one website: Voices.com. That’s it.

One evening I showed my husband the brochure about the private school.  I mused over how great it would fit our children and in the midst of the conversation my husband challenged me.

“If you get occasional calls to do voiceovers now that pay pretty well, what would happen if you actually tried?” He suggested that maybe voiceover was my niche.  I brushed him off as usual until…   he made me a deal.

He said “If I could earn at least ½ of the money needed for private school, he would agree to send them there.

In case you didn’t know… A momma will do just about anything for her children.

So I got to work fast.

• First, I took a local voiceover class and connected with the small voiceover community here in Michigan.
• Then I searched for a conference because I knew I didn’t have years to figure this out. I wanted my children in a new school within nine months. I found the Mid-Atlantic Voiceover Conference.

I went.

I learned.

I met people who were already doing what I wanted to do.

Then I came home and built what can only be described as a “studio.”

And when I say studio, I mean a very creative interpretation of the word.

Cheap equipment. Improvised sound treatment and a whole lot of hope.

Finally, I got on that website voices.com and started auditioning as much as I could.

• Lunch breaks.
• Evenings.
• Weekends.

If there was an audition on Voices.com, I would probably submit for it.

And little by little, things started happening.

The first month, I made about $300.

Then $500.

By month six, I was making $1,000 a month.

By month nine, I was earning about $1,700 a month.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!! We enrolled the children.

What amazes me now is that the opportunity had always been there.

• The talent was there.
• The interest was there.
• The dream was there.

But the urgency wasn’t.

The full behind my dream wasn’t big enough to push me out of my comfort zone.

Once my “why” became larger than my excuses, I found a way.

• I learned something that changed my life.
• Most people don’t fail because they aren’t capable.
• Most people fail because they never find a reason powerful enough to make them uncomfortable.

A dream is wonderful.

But a purpose?

• A purpose will get you up early.
• A purpose will keep you going when you’re tired.
• A purpose will make you learn skills you don’t have, meet people you don’t know, and walk through doors that scare you.

Today, voiceover has become so much more than a way to pay tuition.

It has become one of the great joys of my life.

And every now and then, I wonder what would have happened if I had listened the first time someone told me this was my path.

Then I smile.

Because maybe I wasn’t ready then.

Maybe I needed a bigger “WHY”.

Maybe I needed my children.

Maybe I needed a reason to pursue my dream that was impossible to ignore.

Because when the why is big enough… you will do the work.

Life isn’t perfect. Neither am I.  But every day give us another chance to get inspired again. 

Yolanda Spearman
THE Black Female Voice Actor 

My garden is my joy.

Every year, almost overnight, it goes from grubby to bubbly. The brown disappears. The flowers show off. The grasses start dancing in the wind. The whole yard seems to wake up and remind me why I love it so much.

Normally, by now, everything would be done.

This year?

Not so much.

I put my pink begonias out over the course of four days. Four days! The border is finally planted. My tall grasses are doing what they always do and showing off without any help from me. Meanwhile, weeds have practically moved into my rose garden and signed a lease.

The backyard is still a bit of a mess.

The problem isn’t desire.

The problem is time.

My children are older now. There are volleyball practices, basketball games, tournaments, and family commitments. I have my day job at Harley-Davidson. I have my voiceover career. And as a mature Black female voice actor, I am blessed to receive a lot of auditions and opportunities.

Truthfully, becoming the go-to Black female voice actor is one of my biggest dreams.

So something had to give.

And this year, for a little while, it was the garden.

Now, before you think this is a sad story about weeds taking over my flower beds, let me tell you what I learned.

There is room for both.

Sometimes we think our only options are to do everything ourselves or let something important fall apart.

But there is a third option.

Ask for help.

You can expand your capacity.

Or you can recruit help.

I chose help.

My son has officially become the Mulch Man.

I am paying him to spread mulch and water flowers for me. He charges a real fee, too. No family discount whatsoever.

And honestly?

I’m happy to pay it.

Because while he’s helping me, I’m helping him.

I’m teaching him how to work. How to take pride in a job. How to finish what he starts. How to be excellent.

Now, if we’re being completely honest, “teaching excellence” is also code for me standing outside saying, “A little more over there. No, not like that. Like this.”

In other words, I get to boss him around.

It’s a win-win.

The garden gets done.

He earns money.

And we spend time together.

The older I get, the more I realize that trying to do everything by yourself isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a fast track to exhaustion.

Some of us wear independence like a trophy.

We say things like, “I got it.”

“I’ll do it myself.”

“I don’t need any help.”

But the truth is, sometimes the strongest thing you can do is raise your hand and say, “Can you help me with this?”

Whether it’s your garden, your business, your family, your dreams, or your next big goal, you don’t have to carry it all alone.

Many hands really do make light work.

And sometimes asking for help doesn’t just get the job done.

It gives someone else the opportunity to grow, contribute, and shine too.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go inspect some mulch.

The Mulch Man is on the clock.

Life isn’t perfect. Neither and I. But every day gives us another chance to “get inspired again”

Yolanda Spearman
THE Mature Black Female Voice Actor

I laid in bed thinking about how tired I was. I had all of these dreams and goals but no energy to put behind them.

It was 3:30 a.m.

I had a plane to catch, lunches to make for the kids, a dog to take out, and laundry sitting on the edge of my bed that I promised I would fold when I woke up.

Well, I was awake, and I really didn’t feel like folding laundry. So, I found a big blanket, covered up the clothes, and left them for when I got back.

I know… bad momma. But heck, I was tired.

I got everything done (except the laundry) and made my 6:00 a.m. flight. Once I got on the plane, I realized I had a report due to my boss that I had put off, so out came the computer during my much-needed nap time.

Oh well. At least I got it done.

As I sat there looking out the window at the clouds, I found myself wondering:

When will my time come?

When would I have time for the dreams?  The books. The creative projects.  The things that make my soul happy? 

Then reality peeked around the corner of the clouds and answered: “THIS IS REALITY”

I was truly offended that reality would have the unmitigated gall to show up on my flight and interrupt my pity party. 

I think that’s why a lot of people die without fulfilling their dreams. Not because they don’t have dream.  Not because they aren’t talented.  But simply because they are busy living their lives.

It’s not easy to dream, live, raise a family, pay bills, work a job, and still have enough energy left over to build something for yourself.

So what do you do?

I’m glad you asked because that was my question too.

Here’s what I did.

1. I wrote down two things I wanted to accomplish before the weekend was over.  Both were personal goals.  Not chores. Not obligations.

Dreams.

I wrote a blog I had been talking about for months.

I wrote a chapter of my book while sitting on that plane.

And then I realized something: if I could make time for that report, I could make time for me.

2. I downloaded Joel Osteen.

Yes, I needed a personal motivational speaker, and he was it. Sometimes I need a reminder that I can do hard things. I need someone speaking possibility into my ears while life is speaking responsibility.

3. I celebrated my wins.

I wrote the blog? Celebration – I get a glass of wine.

I wrote a chapter? Celebration – My family got to hear me read it at dinner.

The chapter wasn’t perfect.

The blog wasn’t perfect. But I did it.  And sometimes just showing up deserves a celebration. 

No one can make your dreams come true but you.

• Start now.
• Start small.
• Write one page.
• Take one class.
• Make one phone call.
• Spend fifteen minutes on the thing you’ve been saying you’ll do “one day” before you spend another hour scrolling on your phone.

Because one day is built one small step at a time.

And when you look back, you’ll realize those tiny moments were actually the beginning of something big.

When that day comes, let’s also remember to celebrate the wins no matter how small.

Life isn’t perfect.  Neither am I.  But every day gives us another chance to get inspired again.

–Yolanda Spearman
THE Black Female Voice Actor

Photo by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash