VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio – #664 -Cynthia Doesn’t Need to Barrow A Thing…
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches radio. My name is Marissa as we go ahead and get into another week's episode here. We have Cynthia Barrow with us, who I know you've got quite the interesting story, so let's jump on in. My story's a little different because it's a divine intervention in, in the fact that I was crying and crying in my car for like months and I said, I really don't want to do this job anymore.
I want to get out of the legal field. I've been in it for all my life. I want to do something different. I want to do something with my voice. Always wanted to do it. I wanted to do it. I wanted to be a newscaster. Let's go back to when I was age seven and I would mimic all the newscasters and I wanted to be a broadcaster and wanted to do that.
And people said when I got older, his voice and I was like, yeah, right. You're just blowing smoke. You know, come on. You probably say that to everybody. So anyway, uh, fixed forward. I was on my way to a dental appointment in Philadelphia and I live in Delaware. So I'm on my way to a dental appointment on a rainy day.
I said, Slipped. I fell down in the parking lot. I broke my ankle in three places. My tibial fibula got my ligaments torn up five minutes from, uh, Penn Presbyterian. The ambulance me over there. I have surgery. The next stay. I've got a, I've got a pin. I've got a plate. I've got nine screws. I've got rehab.
They said it's going to take me 18 months to get back. So I had a whole lot of time while I'm convalescing. Right. So I'm in the bed and I'm like, I've got nothing to do. I can't move. Right. So hopping on one foot, I've got a walker, I've got, you know, I can't even go to the bathroom. It's terrible. So I'm all depressed and I'm like, well, what are you going to do with your life now?
If you don't have, you keep complaining that you don't have time to talk about what you want to do and what direction you want to go in. So I just recently had a big old birthday and I. Yeah, to reveal my age, I turned 61. I would have never, ever, ever guessed that. I turned 61, yeah. And so my friends, my good friends, our best friends had retired.
We went to Greece in October, and we were like, well, we can't wait for you guys to retire, so we could all go out and do more trips like this, and all of that. So all of these things started to play in my mind. So actually, next week is my fourth wedding anniversary. Second time around. soulmate. And I'm laying in this bed and I'm like, you know what?
I am going to pursue my dream. This has been my dream forever and ever and ever. And I said, you know, I worked so hard while I was working for law firms and judges and all of that. And I went back to school. I got my master's degree of 54 years, 58. I was 58. I got my I finished my masters at 54 years old.
I started back to school. I went back to school. My daughter and I graduated same day. She got her master's degree. I finished my bachelor's degree. I tried to learn something new right now. And I get in my own head in my own way. And I'm just like, I put it down and you're going back to school to get a master's at 58.
Stop it back to get my master's because my judge was retiring and he said, let me give you time to get that. So when you get back out in the field, you'll have this credential and maybe you can secure a better job and all of that. I graduated with a 4. 0 GPA. Geez. I graduated with 3. 996 for my bachelor's.
So I mean, I really haven't yet. And you're over there doing all that. I haven't even showered yet today. Um, I'm only dressed from the, I'm only dressed from the waist up, but it's okay. I've got a dress on. I've got a dress on and I'm wearing my favorite shade of lipstick, which is my, I'm known for my red lips.
So um, put it on a little lightly today. And it's also, let me tell you this, look at this. This is also my dog's favorite shade of lipstick because last week for Halloween, he got into my lipstick. It fell on the floor. Can I ask you, is that a Cavapoo? It's a, it's a Havanese. Okay, all right. I got a little Cavacoup puppy behind me.
Oh, you do? We just got him. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, I just got mine and he was my retirement gift from my husband. And I used him actually for rehab. I stopped going to the rehab facility and now I take my dog out for walks and he's got me going around. I'm doing two and a half miles a day every other day.
He keeps me so busy. He's eight months old now. I got him at four months. So he keeps me really busy. So I'm sitting there and I'm like, you know what? I work so hard. so hard for these lawyers and I work so hard and I, and I do good work, but what I need to do is I need to use that same work ethic and I need to promote myself.
I need to put that energy into doing what I love and I know I can be successful because I know the work ethic and I know how hard I go for stuff when I'm really in it. And you've already been successful because of that work ethic and you know. Like, that's the thing. Sometimes like, you know, you can just tell, like some, some people, as my fiancee likes to say, built different.
Uh, right. So it's. It's um, it's, I would say like a go getter mentality, but it's like, you don't want to give up on yourself. And when you're passionate about something and you're driven and those things come together, you're going a hundred miles an hour and ain't gonna stop you. Um, you know what I mean?
Um, and, and I'm, I've always been that same way. There are certain things that'll slow me down in life, but when it comes to, Wanting to be successful and I will do whatever I can to be successful at what I'm doing. Absolutely. And I can tell that that is the case with you. So, I know that it was like a year ago that you took the first part of This program, right?
So far all this time later, you've done a couple demos and, and, uh, you've gone through the program and like, tell me, like, obviously wanting to pursue the dream and you mentioned like newscasting, which by the way, I can hear that your, your voice, there's like a, a smooth buttery sound to it that it's not like local news.
It's like 48 hours. Like, you know, we're telling you, right? Story. I feel like sure that's, that's a different story. Um, so now that we're here, like you get into the program, I mean, what, what were the parts of going through this that allowed you to, to kind of decide, you know what, I just want to explore all of it.
Okay. Well, when I went on this class, I sent a link from my, one of my good girlfriends and she sent me a link and it was. to, uh, a segment on it's called getting paid to talk. Uh, it was through the local community college and I did it and it was crazy because on that particular day, and this is how I remember things.
It was on that particular day that I got caught up in a work project. And I was late leaving work and I was late signing on to the class and I was like, Oh my gosh, you know how you hit these pivotal moments and you hit these forks in the road. So that for me was a fork in the road and me, I could easily I was exhausted.
I was tired. I could have easily said if this wasn't anything I really wanted to pursue, I could have said. You know, it's late. I paid my 49. I'm good on that. I'll catch it next time round. But I really wanted to join. So I joined it and John was on the host and he gave everybody a script and I was trying to catch up without asking questions.
And I, um, and I did the script and I'm practicing it. And I, I actually counted the number of people. And so when you read off the number of people and when he was going to call, I knew how much time I had. So I took the time and I, you know, I just. did my little spiel and I read it and he goes, your voice is like, and I'm like, come on, seriously got me to sign up for this thing signed up.
I was gun ho about it. And then when I broke my ankle, all the, I don't know, all the enthusiasm kind of left me. I was very in a dark place, you know, but I said, I'm not going to let this stop me. I'm not going to let this stop me. This is maybe, this is maybe the universe's way of telling me to sit down for a moment, sit down and do this.
This is something that you can do. So I went, I said, well, let's postpone it for a little while till I get back on my feet. And then once I did it, and when I got to the conversational stage, Speaking because I grew up, I've told you my age, I grew up in the, in the, the radio. We're on 97. 5, you know, that little boy's time, you know, that boom, boom, boom.
But nowadays these commercials are all conversational. It's like you're sitting across from someone and you're just telling them a story. And it's so much more believable and it's so much more. And so when I was doing all of my readings and I printed out all of my materials, I literally highlighted stuff.
I marked up scripts. I did all things. I answered the questions in the workbooks. I mean, I really took it like school, like school. So I approached it that way because I wanted to get every single morsel out of it. I didn't want to skim over. I wanted to read, I wanted to look at every video I want. I went on other websites.
sites and I listened to people's demos and I listened to their approaches and I, I really started to study. That's what I'm doing. I'm a student. And so as a student, I approach it as such. What I've done after that is I set a schedule for myself, although I'm at home and I'm no longer working. I gave my resignation at the end of June.
So as of July 1st, I'm kind of. Semi retired, I actually have a schedule. So from 10 o'clock until three o'clock every day, I study voice. I read scripts. I go on the websites. I look and see what other people have done. I've joined, uh, voices I've gone on backstage. I've, you know, I've created a website. I even bought a domain.
I bought VoiceYouNeed. com, it's me. You put that in, I've developed a whole webpage, you can find my demos on there, I've got my WAV files, I'm converting them to MP3, so I can have other demos. I mean, I'm really trying to do the work. The work is not going, like when I was looking for my husband, and people were saying, and that's why I went back to school, because I was divorced, my child had gone to California, I was all alone, and they were like, you think a man is going to come by your house?
Hey, Cynthia. You're great. You're awesome. Hey girl, let's go. Let's go out. You got to put yourself out there and you find a man by not looking for a man. So I decided to work inside, right? So I went to school. I joined a gym. I, you know, started getting my hair, my nails. So by doing all of that stuff and investing in myself, I became more attracted, attractive.
So I was able to attract the person. So if you put in the work, I'm a fervent believer. The work you put in is the work you get out. And also, I also said to my husband last night, I said, it's scary. Life is scary. Love is scary. But to put yourself in these positions, you have to be vulnerable. You've got to be vulnerable.
It's like a free fall. You've got a free fall, let it go. It's a risk, but there's so much reward. So many, right? Like, that's the thing is the only way. To accomplish anything. Yes. Try. And yes, it is. You have to be vulnerable. You have to you have to allow yourself that vulnerability. And you also have to allow yourself to potentially quote fail, you know, it's not necessarily failure.
It's. It's a learning experience and it's a step to get to where you need to go. And that just wasn't the right thing in that moment, but it was because it taught you whatever lesson, and now you can go ahead and get to where you're supposed to be the whole path and all those moments. You, you getting divorced and you going back to school, that was your path.
That was what was meant to happen. And for you to love yourself inside out so somebody else could, and now you can go ahead and live your, your best damn life. Truly, truly. And that's what I love about this is that we have so many people that I think are in that same, like a similar process where it's like, I need to do me.
I've done, I've done for the man, you know, for all this. It's time for me now. Exactly. It's so true. And it's 60 years old, me, to actually reinvent. I think because in 60 years, I've gained the confidence that I lacked before when I was younger. And I also seek out, uh, doing adjunct, uh, professor work for my school, for my alma mater, because I wanted to teach a class.
I've developed a syllabus on a Class on soft skills to help young people navigate life and to teach them little things like pay your interest on your student loans. Don't take them. College isn't for everyone. I've got so many nuggets and morsels and I've actually been writing this stuff all down and journaling all this.
stuff down. I've got my dog. He's got stories every day. And I thought I could use my voice in so many ways on social media, for instance, to use my voice, to get my voice out there, but also to be talking and maybe resonating with someone. If one person can resonate with what I'm getting, what I'm saying, and maybe just get something out of it, then I've been successful.
Oh yeah. I very much agree with that. You know, it's, you're so, you know, Your stories, your experiences, people, people need to hear a lot of them, the good and the bad, so they understand, like, hey, oh, I, you know, somebody else has gone through this too, or, you know, this is maybe what I can, I'm going through this right now, maybe I can take some of what she has said and use this advice, and, you know, because I have a lot of time, I try to post all the good and the bad, and I I'm, I'm typically a pretty positive person.
So I have that positive spin on things, but, you know, over the course of time, people who have followed me on social media and stuff, they're, they're always like, you know, I love your outlook. I'm so glad to hear that. It's like, you're talking about such a tough subject, but like, I love your approach and like, you know, these things are just important because some things.
people shy away from. Uh, but, but then we don't know how to tackle it, you know? And so it's like, the more we talk, the better it gets. And, uh, I think, you know, that's, you know, the beautiful part about what you're saying is all of this, like, you know, while you're going and approaching and potentially, you know, throwing yourself out there to get voice work, guess what?
All of this stuff that you're currently telling me that you can turn into your own voice project. Absolutely. It's like, maybe it's a podcast series. Maybe it's just, um, you know, a YouTube tutorial of sorts. A series of Tik Toks. Like, I mean, you know, it might not make you money instantly, but it's something that can grow into such a huge platform for you.
Um, Absolutely. And I've taken steps to that. I've actually started, um, I've created my Instagram page cause I used to do cooking prior to COVID. I was doing cooking and I had a page and was called my husband's Phil and I'm sin. And we're. sinful. We're sinful delights. That's our, that's our handle on, on, on X on twitter.
So I built that from nothing. Zero followers went up to 1500 then covid hit. But I used to do food and talk about little videos and things like that. So now I've created, I'm creating in the midst of creating my own tiktok page just since And in that page, I love to crochet. I love to, I make homemade dog food.
I do crazy little things. My life isn't all great. My parents, my, we have, you know, like issues with that and all the things that I've, all the, the, the adverse things that I've gone through, all the hardships, the heartbreaks and all of that, that's what makes me, me, and that's why I am so. grateful that I'm still here with this sunny disposition having gone through all of that.
I'm, I'm, I can tell people I've walked the walk. I've been through it, but look at me. It doesn't have to hold you down. Don't let anything hold you down. And you can do whatever you want to do. I preach this to my kids. I preach it to anybody that'll listen. And I try to be a light, but also too, like you said, not shying away from the hard topics as well, because there are lessons in that to be learned, uh, too.
So, yeah, but, uh, all the, the Teddy, I've created a page for Teddy on TikTok. I can't wait to get in that. I got to do that for this one. Uh, Oh my gosh, I'm going to be the narrator for Teddy, the tiny dancer. That's his name. And so I'm going to be talking through Teddy. The voice that I'm going to plan to do.
I've got so many, so many things. You've got the thinking outside the box mentality. That's so many are like, they struggle to figure out, you know, how to think outside that box and, you know, just even hearing all this, like, you know, it's like a giant list of all these things that you're creating for yourself.
It could be very inspirational for somebody who's just trying to figure out how to. How to get started. Um, you know, so Absolutely. What's the thing that you tackle first? Okay, that's the, that's the good question, I guess. So the thing I tackle first is I think I need to be able to learn how to navigate this whole voice thing.
I need to be able to know what is it, what is it like to go on? I'd love to just talk to people, hear questions and answer and, you know, like the podcasty in that lane kind of a thing, just to kind of get used to it. Get a regimen, get familiarize myself. Self with the whole process of it from there. I think I can step, you know, I can, um, uh, go off into like, uh, you know, YouTube, I don't know.
YouTube is a little video. I have to get lipstick on every day, but I like the tick tock because they're short little videos. I can do stuff like that and just something humorous and just get the word out. That's all I, if I had, if someone said, what's your dream, honestly, my dream would be if God said, Oh, what do you want?
I mean, I'll give you anything you want, I would say. I would love to have a national be a spokesperson for like a, like a BMW or, you know what I mean? Or like I'd be the voice. Luxury SUV. Yes, luxury SUV. Give me a Mercedes. Sad like to be that voice where like the Allstate dude, like, you know, like, right.
Yeah. The voice where people, you got that, you got that one solid is that everybody understands. That's, that's Cynthia, uh, the, the Cynthia, the, the James Earl Jones. The Morgan Freeman. Yeah. That. Yeah, go big or go home, right? No. Hey, it's good to have the big goal because I, I think, you know, that's where it's like, you know, you take the stepping stones to get to that.
And of course you already have some, some giant stepping stones. And I think it's just a matter now, um, of, of exploring and, you know, you can go ahead and you can find, I'm sure a ton of different stuff on online, whether it's a podcast about voiceover and how. Other people have navigated things. Um, but you know, like right in the material, like it, you know, it can be just a matter of like, just searching through on your own backyard.
Um, you know, don't be scared. Um, you know, and I'm sure you're not, you probably have way more connections to people than you're even aware of, of people that might be able to use you right now. Um, you know, so it's like, Like I'm sure you're telling people that you're, you know, exploring all this, but make sure that you're yelling it from the rooftops because you're okay and you're very driven.
And I think that a matter it's, it's like a matter of time, right? It's a matter of people seeing that understanding. Oh. Man, I didn't even know I could use her. Um, you know, so let's go ahead and explore. Um, you know, because you, you're taking all the right steps, but just you're letting your voice actually be, be heard and, and like, you know, out from the rooftops of what you're doing.
Don't hold it back. Okay. Okay. I will. I'm trying to get out of my, break out of my shell a little bit. And I don't even think you really need to. Cause I, I mean, I, in, in the way of like making sure that people are aware. Um, but I, I think like, you know, again, the passion, the drive, the confidence, the, the want is all there.
So yeah, it is now just letting yourself. Be, uh, be out there for everybody else to see it. Uh, okay. Cause I, I really don't think it's, it's going to be like you just being in front of that right person, uh, you know, and it's gonna, it's going to connect to start and then it's like, okay, well now what do I do from here?
You know, where can I. How can I become James Earl Jones, but Cynthia, um, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and I, I think that's, uh, you know, you're, you're well on your way. I mean, you're taking some really great steps, I think personally. Um, you know, and it's a lot of stuff that others might be a little bit frightened. Um, you know, it's like investing in yourself.
Um, but just like I've said to so many before, like it's you, and if it's if you're the business. Nobody else is going to put the effort in. Right. Right. You have to do it. And if, if you hesitate or if you put it down for a second and the moment you put it aside, it like just sits there. You know that. Um, so, so just like, just like when you were like, I got to go back to school and I got to better myself and I got to get to the gym and I got to, like, you know, Yeah, same thing here.
It's, it's just making sure that you're out there and you're putting the lipstick on voiceover. Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Because I, um, I did a, I was approached during COVID actually to do, I was, we were actually catered a luncheon and, and the, the guy that works at his King creative, uh, ready radio.
He's like a, got a, Yeah. studio here in a local studio here in Wilmington, Delaware. And he called me and he goes, I got a nonprofit commercial. I would love to put you in the booth for it. And he put me in the booth and he taught me stuff. He taught me about your voice and inflection and animation and all of that stuff.
And, um, it taught me so much. And he was like, Oh, send me an invoice. And I said to him, I said, this is my first real like gig, like really officially being in the booth. And I said, I've been taught, you know, studying business. Sometimes it's not the money. Sometimes it's the experience. Sometimes it's the point of reference, the contact.
So I'd rather not, you hold on to that invoice, but I'll be calling you back. I'm gonna go and hone my voice and I'm gonna get it up to where I need it to be. I had issues with breath, I had issues with, um, you know, speaking and reading long lines without, you know, interruption and things, just things like that, the pointers that he gave me.
So when I came back to him, right after I got my certificate, I went back to him, called him up and I said, Hey Chris. And he goes, I'd know that voice anywhere, . And he goes, how are you doing? And I said, well, I've got a demo, I've got a website. He goes. Send it to me. He says, send it to me. I've got a movie.
We're filming a movie starting November. Come down to the red carpet. Went down the red carpet. He's like, here, we're having business meet network meetings. Let's, I want you to go every third Tuesday. I want you to do that. Talking to people. This local guy does a local thing. He heard me order a sandwich.
He was like, come in my studio. I want, I want to talk to you about, you know, maybe doing something. now, now that I've taken these, these concrete steps to actually kind of hone this craft, I'm gonna, I'm following up on these types of things, so I mean, but it's, it's little stuff, and I've gotten some private invitations on Voices.
com, but, but I gotta use my common sense on those things, because the first one I got, it was, um, a 30, 000 word project. And it was like, I think it was like 10 and a half hours of, of final. And I said, that's a lot of my words for like, it was like 1500. But I said, that's, those are just too many of my words out in the universe with AI and all I might be.
So I thought now that's not good. Then I got a second one yesterday and I thought it said 18, 000. So I said, maybe they're going down on words. But when I zeroed in and used my glasses, I saw it was 180, 000. I said, they'll become Cynthia Barrow. I can't do it. I can't do it. But the good thing is, is like there's things coming your way.
I couldn't believe it. Well, and that's the thing is, is like you get to be a little, little picky, a little bit, a little bit choosy. Um, you know, so, you know, I think it's, again, you're, you're taking all the right steps. It's a matter of time and, you know, like the connections that you've got already in place.
I mean, imagine we're talking about even more, how many you're going to have. So I'm excited for you. Well, I hope so. I just don't know where to go to actually find all these connects. Cause, um, you know, Working in legal, you're like a little skeptical about people and you got to make sure they're legit.
And Tina is a wonderful resource. And, um, she did tell me she subscribed to, um, voices. com and I saw that they have work. They send emails and they have a lot of, a lot of gigs and I'm for now, I'm not really having money coming in. So I'm kind of, you know. I'm tightening my purse strings a little bit right now until I can float until next year and get my social security.
Don't forget, I mean, just be reaching out to the businesses and like the colleges and like the studios around you because I mean, you never know who's looking for. Um, okay. And, um, okay. I'm going to write that down. Yeah, just, just like you've been doing. It's like, just let them know, Hey, this is who I am.
This is what I've done. And this is what I'm exploring. And, you know, if you could utilize me in any kind of way or get me in touch with somebody who I could send my demo to, I'd love to talk to them. Um, you know, that's, that's always the, the, the great first step to start to really just open a door. Um, so let that be the, the next, you know, stepping stone to guide you, but I'm glad that we could spend some time this morning and listen, don't be a stranger.
Marissa. com. You know, if you've ever got questions or something, or you want to even just like shoot audio my way or something, I'd love to hear it. And, uh, you know, go, go continue to make us proud. And we've got a brand new episode of voice coaches radio coming at you next week. If you have anything that you want to throw our way, Hit me up at Marissa at VoiceCoaches.
com Visit VoiceCoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
I want to get out of the legal field. I've been in it for all my life. I want to do something different. I want to do something with my voice. Always wanted to do it. I wanted to do it. I wanted to be a newscaster. Let's go back to when I was age seven and I would mimic all the newscasters and I wanted to be a broadcaster and wanted to do that.
And people said when I got older, his voice and I was like, yeah, right. You're just blowing smoke. You know, come on. You probably say that to everybody. So anyway, uh, fixed forward. I was on my way to a dental appointment in Philadelphia and I live in Delaware. So I'm on my way to a dental appointment on a rainy day.
I said, Slipped. I fell down in the parking lot. I broke my ankle in three places. My tibial fibula got my ligaments torn up five minutes from, uh, Penn Presbyterian. The ambulance me over there. I have surgery. The next stay. I've got a, I've got a pin. I've got a plate. I've got nine screws. I've got rehab.
They said it's going to take me 18 months to get back. So I had a whole lot of time while I'm convalescing. Right. So I'm in the bed and I'm like, I've got nothing to do. I can't move. Right. So hopping on one foot, I've got a walker, I've got, you know, I can't even go to the bathroom. It's terrible. So I'm all depressed and I'm like, well, what are you going to do with your life now?
If you don't have, you keep complaining that you don't have time to talk about what you want to do and what direction you want to go in. So I just recently had a big old birthday and I. Yeah, to reveal my age, I turned 61. I would have never, ever, ever guessed that. I turned 61, yeah. And so my friends, my good friends, our best friends had retired.
We went to Greece in October, and we were like, well, we can't wait for you guys to retire, so we could all go out and do more trips like this, and all of that. So all of these things started to play in my mind. So actually, next week is my fourth wedding anniversary. Second time around. soulmate. And I'm laying in this bed and I'm like, you know what?
I am going to pursue my dream. This has been my dream forever and ever and ever. And I said, you know, I worked so hard while I was working for law firms and judges and all of that. And I went back to school. I got my master's degree of 54 years, 58. I was 58. I got my I finished my masters at 54 years old.
I started back to school. I went back to school. My daughter and I graduated same day. She got her master's degree. I finished my bachelor's degree. I tried to learn something new right now. And I get in my own head in my own way. And I'm just like, I put it down and you're going back to school to get a master's at 58.
Stop it back to get my master's because my judge was retiring and he said, let me give you time to get that. So when you get back out in the field, you'll have this credential and maybe you can secure a better job and all of that. I graduated with a 4. 0 GPA. Geez. I graduated with 3. 996 for my bachelor's.
So I mean, I really haven't yet. And you're over there doing all that. I haven't even showered yet today. Um, I'm only dressed from the, I'm only dressed from the waist up, but it's okay. I've got a dress on. I've got a dress on and I'm wearing my favorite shade of lipstick, which is my, I'm known for my red lips.
So um, put it on a little lightly today. And it's also, let me tell you this, look at this. This is also my dog's favorite shade of lipstick because last week for Halloween, he got into my lipstick. It fell on the floor. Can I ask you, is that a Cavapoo? It's a, it's a Havanese. Okay, all right. I got a little Cavacoup puppy behind me.
Oh, you do? We just got him. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, I just got mine and he was my retirement gift from my husband. And I used him actually for rehab. I stopped going to the rehab facility and now I take my dog out for walks and he's got me going around. I'm doing two and a half miles a day every other day.
He keeps me so busy. He's eight months old now. I got him at four months. So he keeps me really busy. So I'm sitting there and I'm like, you know what? I work so hard. so hard for these lawyers and I work so hard and I, and I do good work, but what I need to do is I need to use that same work ethic and I need to promote myself.
I need to put that energy into doing what I love and I know I can be successful because I know the work ethic and I know how hard I go for stuff when I'm really in it. And you've already been successful because of that work ethic and you know. Like, that's the thing. Sometimes like, you know, you can just tell, like some, some people, as my fiancee likes to say, built different.
Uh, right. So it's. It's um, it's, I would say like a go getter mentality, but it's like, you don't want to give up on yourself. And when you're passionate about something and you're driven and those things come together, you're going a hundred miles an hour and ain't gonna stop you. Um, you know what I mean?
Um, and, and I'm, I've always been that same way. There are certain things that'll slow me down in life, but when it comes to, Wanting to be successful and I will do whatever I can to be successful at what I'm doing. Absolutely. And I can tell that that is the case with you. So, I know that it was like a year ago that you took the first part of This program, right?
So far all this time later, you've done a couple demos and, and, uh, you've gone through the program and like, tell me, like, obviously wanting to pursue the dream and you mentioned like newscasting, which by the way, I can hear that your, your voice, there's like a, a smooth buttery sound to it that it's not like local news.
It's like 48 hours. Like, you know, we're telling you, right? Story. I feel like sure that's, that's a different story. Um, so now that we're here, like you get into the program, I mean, what, what were the parts of going through this that allowed you to, to kind of decide, you know what, I just want to explore all of it.
Okay. Well, when I went on this class, I sent a link from my, one of my good girlfriends and she sent me a link and it was. to, uh, a segment on it's called getting paid to talk. Uh, it was through the local community college and I did it and it was crazy because on that particular day, and this is how I remember things.
It was on that particular day that I got caught up in a work project. And I was late leaving work and I was late signing on to the class and I was like, Oh my gosh, you know how you hit these pivotal moments and you hit these forks in the road. So that for me was a fork in the road and me, I could easily I was exhausted.
I was tired. I could have easily said if this wasn't anything I really wanted to pursue, I could have said. You know, it's late. I paid my 49. I'm good on that. I'll catch it next time round. But I really wanted to join. So I joined it and John was on the host and he gave everybody a script and I was trying to catch up without asking questions.
And I, um, and I did the script and I'm practicing it. And I, I actually counted the number of people. And so when you read off the number of people and when he was going to call, I knew how much time I had. So I took the time and I, you know, I just. did my little spiel and I read it and he goes, your voice is like, and I'm like, come on, seriously got me to sign up for this thing signed up.
I was gun ho about it. And then when I broke my ankle, all the, I don't know, all the enthusiasm kind of left me. I was very in a dark place, you know, but I said, I'm not going to let this stop me. I'm not going to let this stop me. This is maybe, this is maybe the universe's way of telling me to sit down for a moment, sit down and do this.
This is something that you can do. So I went, I said, well, let's postpone it for a little while till I get back on my feet. And then once I did it, and when I got to the conversational stage, Speaking because I grew up, I've told you my age, I grew up in the, in the, the radio. We're on 97. 5, you know, that little boy's time, you know, that boom, boom, boom.
But nowadays these commercials are all conversational. It's like you're sitting across from someone and you're just telling them a story. And it's so much more believable and it's so much more. And so when I was doing all of my readings and I printed out all of my materials, I literally highlighted stuff.
I marked up scripts. I did all things. I answered the questions in the workbooks. I mean, I really took it like school, like school. So I approached it that way because I wanted to get every single morsel out of it. I didn't want to skim over. I wanted to read, I wanted to look at every video I want. I went on other websites.
sites and I listened to people's demos and I listened to their approaches and I, I really started to study. That's what I'm doing. I'm a student. And so as a student, I approach it as such. What I've done after that is I set a schedule for myself, although I'm at home and I'm no longer working. I gave my resignation at the end of June.
So as of July 1st, I'm kind of. Semi retired, I actually have a schedule. So from 10 o'clock until three o'clock every day, I study voice. I read scripts. I go on the websites. I look and see what other people have done. I've joined, uh, voices I've gone on backstage. I've, you know, I've created a website. I even bought a domain.
I bought VoiceYouNeed. com, it's me. You put that in, I've developed a whole webpage, you can find my demos on there, I've got my WAV files, I'm converting them to MP3, so I can have other demos. I mean, I'm really trying to do the work. The work is not going, like when I was looking for my husband, and people were saying, and that's why I went back to school, because I was divorced, my child had gone to California, I was all alone, and they were like, you think a man is going to come by your house?
Hey, Cynthia. You're great. You're awesome. Hey girl, let's go. Let's go out. You got to put yourself out there and you find a man by not looking for a man. So I decided to work inside, right? So I went to school. I joined a gym. I, you know, started getting my hair, my nails. So by doing all of that stuff and investing in myself, I became more attracted, attractive.
So I was able to attract the person. So if you put in the work, I'm a fervent believer. The work you put in is the work you get out. And also, I also said to my husband last night, I said, it's scary. Life is scary. Love is scary. But to put yourself in these positions, you have to be vulnerable. You've got to be vulnerable.
It's like a free fall. You've got a free fall, let it go. It's a risk, but there's so much reward. So many, right? Like, that's the thing is the only way. To accomplish anything. Yes. Try. And yes, it is. You have to be vulnerable. You have to you have to allow yourself that vulnerability. And you also have to allow yourself to potentially quote fail, you know, it's not necessarily failure.
It's. It's a learning experience and it's a step to get to where you need to go. And that just wasn't the right thing in that moment, but it was because it taught you whatever lesson, and now you can go ahead and get to where you're supposed to be the whole path and all those moments. You, you getting divorced and you going back to school, that was your path.
That was what was meant to happen. And for you to love yourself inside out so somebody else could, and now you can go ahead and live your, your best damn life. Truly, truly. And that's what I love about this is that we have so many people that I think are in that same, like a similar process where it's like, I need to do me.
I've done, I've done for the man, you know, for all this. It's time for me now. Exactly. It's so true. And it's 60 years old, me, to actually reinvent. I think because in 60 years, I've gained the confidence that I lacked before when I was younger. And I also seek out, uh, doing adjunct, uh, professor work for my school, for my alma mater, because I wanted to teach a class.
I've developed a syllabus on a Class on soft skills to help young people navigate life and to teach them little things like pay your interest on your student loans. Don't take them. College isn't for everyone. I've got so many nuggets and morsels and I've actually been writing this stuff all down and journaling all this.
stuff down. I've got my dog. He's got stories every day. And I thought I could use my voice in so many ways on social media, for instance, to use my voice, to get my voice out there, but also to be talking and maybe resonating with someone. If one person can resonate with what I'm getting, what I'm saying, and maybe just get something out of it, then I've been successful.
Oh yeah. I very much agree with that. You know, it's, you're so, you know, Your stories, your experiences, people, people need to hear a lot of them, the good and the bad, so they understand, like, hey, oh, I, you know, somebody else has gone through this too, or, you know, this is maybe what I can, I'm going through this right now, maybe I can take some of what she has said and use this advice, and, you know, because I have a lot of time, I try to post all the good and the bad, and I I'm, I'm typically a pretty positive person.
So I have that positive spin on things, but, you know, over the course of time, people who have followed me on social media and stuff, they're, they're always like, you know, I love your outlook. I'm so glad to hear that. It's like, you're talking about such a tough subject, but like, I love your approach and like, you know, these things are just important because some things.
people shy away from. Uh, but, but then we don't know how to tackle it, you know? And so it's like, the more we talk, the better it gets. And, uh, I think, you know, that's, you know, the beautiful part about what you're saying is all of this, like, you know, while you're going and approaching and potentially, you know, throwing yourself out there to get voice work, guess what?
All of this stuff that you're currently telling me that you can turn into your own voice project. Absolutely. It's like, maybe it's a podcast series. Maybe it's just, um, you know, a YouTube tutorial of sorts. A series of Tik Toks. Like, I mean, you know, it might not make you money instantly, but it's something that can grow into such a huge platform for you.
Um, Absolutely. And I've taken steps to that. I've actually started, um, I've created my Instagram page cause I used to do cooking prior to COVID. I was doing cooking and I had a page and was called my husband's Phil and I'm sin. And we're. sinful. We're sinful delights. That's our, that's our handle on, on, on X on twitter.
So I built that from nothing. Zero followers went up to 1500 then covid hit. But I used to do food and talk about little videos and things like that. So now I've created, I'm creating in the midst of creating my own tiktok page just since And in that page, I love to crochet. I love to, I make homemade dog food.
I do crazy little things. My life isn't all great. My parents, my, we have, you know, like issues with that and all the things that I've, all the, the, the adverse things that I've gone through, all the hardships, the heartbreaks and all of that, that's what makes me, me, and that's why I am so. grateful that I'm still here with this sunny disposition having gone through all of that.
I'm, I'm, I can tell people I've walked the walk. I've been through it, but look at me. It doesn't have to hold you down. Don't let anything hold you down. And you can do whatever you want to do. I preach this to my kids. I preach it to anybody that'll listen. And I try to be a light, but also too, like you said, not shying away from the hard topics as well, because there are lessons in that to be learned, uh, too.
So, yeah, but, uh, all the, the Teddy, I've created a page for Teddy on TikTok. I can't wait to get in that. I got to do that for this one. Uh, Oh my gosh, I'm going to be the narrator for Teddy, the tiny dancer. That's his name. And so I'm going to be talking through Teddy. The voice that I'm going to plan to do.
I've got so many, so many things. You've got the thinking outside the box mentality. That's so many are like, they struggle to figure out, you know, how to think outside that box and, you know, just even hearing all this, like, you know, it's like a giant list of all these things that you're creating for yourself.
It could be very inspirational for somebody who's just trying to figure out how to. How to get started. Um, you know, so Absolutely. What's the thing that you tackle first? Okay, that's the, that's the good question, I guess. So the thing I tackle first is I think I need to be able to learn how to navigate this whole voice thing.
I need to be able to know what is it, what is it like to go on? I'd love to just talk to people, hear questions and answer and, you know, like the podcasty in that lane kind of a thing, just to kind of get used to it. Get a regimen, get familiarize myself. Self with the whole process of it from there. I think I can step, you know, I can, um, uh, go off into like, uh, you know, YouTube, I don't know.
YouTube is a little video. I have to get lipstick on every day, but I like the tick tock because they're short little videos. I can do stuff like that and just something humorous and just get the word out. That's all I, if I had, if someone said, what's your dream, honestly, my dream would be if God said, Oh, what do you want?
I mean, I'll give you anything you want, I would say. I would love to have a national be a spokesperson for like a, like a BMW or, you know what I mean? Or like I'd be the voice. Luxury SUV. Yes, luxury SUV. Give me a Mercedes. Sad like to be that voice where like the Allstate dude, like, you know, like, right.
Yeah. The voice where people, you got that, you got that one solid is that everybody understands. That's, that's Cynthia, uh, the, the Cynthia, the, the James Earl Jones. The Morgan Freeman. Yeah. That. Yeah, go big or go home, right? No. Hey, it's good to have the big goal because I, I think, you know, that's where it's like, you know, you take the stepping stones to get to that.
And of course you already have some, some giant stepping stones. And I think it's just a matter now, um, of, of exploring and, you know, you can go ahead and you can find, I'm sure a ton of different stuff on online, whether it's a podcast about voiceover and how. Other people have navigated things. Um, but you know, like right in the material, like it, you know, it can be just a matter of like, just searching through on your own backyard.
Um, you know, don't be scared. Um, you know, and I'm sure you're not, you probably have way more connections to people than you're even aware of, of people that might be able to use you right now. Um, you know, so it's like, Like I'm sure you're telling people that you're, you know, exploring all this, but make sure that you're yelling it from the rooftops because you're okay and you're very driven.
And I think that a matter it's, it's like a matter of time, right? It's a matter of people seeing that understanding. Oh. Man, I didn't even know I could use her. Um, you know, so let's go ahead and explore. Um, you know, because you, you're taking all the right steps, but just you're letting your voice actually be, be heard and, and like, you know, out from the rooftops of what you're doing.
Don't hold it back. Okay. Okay. I will. I'm trying to get out of my, break out of my shell a little bit. And I don't even think you really need to. Cause I, I mean, I, in, in the way of like making sure that people are aware. Um, but I, I think like, you know, again, the passion, the drive, the confidence, the, the want is all there.
So yeah, it is now just letting yourself. Be, uh, be out there for everybody else to see it. Uh, okay. Cause I, I really don't think it's, it's going to be like you just being in front of that right person, uh, you know, and it's gonna, it's going to connect to start and then it's like, okay, well now what do I do from here?
You know, where can I. How can I become James Earl Jones, but Cynthia, um, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and I, I think that's, uh, you know, you're, you're well on your way. I mean, you're taking some really great steps, I think personally. Um, you know, and it's a lot of stuff that others might be a little bit frightened. Um, you know, it's like investing in yourself.
Um, but just like I've said to so many before, like it's you, and if it's if you're the business. Nobody else is going to put the effort in. Right. Right. You have to do it. And if, if you hesitate or if you put it down for a second and the moment you put it aside, it like just sits there. You know that. Um, so, so just like, just like when you were like, I got to go back to school and I got to better myself and I got to get to the gym and I got to, like, you know, Yeah, same thing here.
It's, it's just making sure that you're out there and you're putting the lipstick on voiceover. Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. Because I, um, I did a, I was approached during COVID actually to do, I was, we were actually catered a luncheon and, and the, the guy that works at his King creative, uh, ready radio.
He's like a, got a, Yeah. studio here in a local studio here in Wilmington, Delaware. And he called me and he goes, I got a nonprofit commercial. I would love to put you in the booth for it. And he put me in the booth and he taught me stuff. He taught me about your voice and inflection and animation and all of that stuff.
And, um, it taught me so much. And he was like, Oh, send me an invoice. And I said to him, I said, this is my first real like gig, like really officially being in the booth. And I said, I've been taught, you know, studying business. Sometimes it's not the money. Sometimes it's the experience. Sometimes it's the point of reference, the contact.
So I'd rather not, you hold on to that invoice, but I'll be calling you back. I'm gonna go and hone my voice and I'm gonna get it up to where I need it to be. I had issues with breath, I had issues with, um, you know, speaking and reading long lines without, you know, interruption and things, just things like that, the pointers that he gave me.
So when I came back to him, right after I got my certificate, I went back to him, called him up and I said, Hey Chris. And he goes, I'd know that voice anywhere, . And he goes, how are you doing? And I said, well, I've got a demo, I've got a website. He goes. Send it to me. He says, send it to me. I've got a movie.
We're filming a movie starting November. Come down to the red carpet. Went down the red carpet. He's like, here, we're having business meet network meetings. Let's, I want you to go every third Tuesday. I want you to do that. Talking to people. This local guy does a local thing. He heard me order a sandwich.
He was like, come in my studio. I want, I want to talk to you about, you know, maybe doing something. now, now that I've taken these, these concrete steps to actually kind of hone this craft, I'm gonna, I'm following up on these types of things, so I mean, but it's, it's little stuff, and I've gotten some private invitations on Voices.
com, but, but I gotta use my common sense on those things, because the first one I got, it was, um, a 30, 000 word project. And it was like, I think it was like 10 and a half hours of, of final. And I said, that's a lot of my words for like, it was like 1500. But I said, that's, those are just too many of my words out in the universe with AI and all I might be.
So I thought now that's not good. Then I got a second one yesterday and I thought it said 18, 000. So I said, maybe they're going down on words. But when I zeroed in and used my glasses, I saw it was 180, 000. I said, they'll become Cynthia Barrow. I can't do it. I can't do it. But the good thing is, is like there's things coming your way.
I couldn't believe it. Well, and that's the thing is, is like you get to be a little, little picky, a little bit, a little bit choosy. Um, you know, so, you know, I think it's, again, you're, you're taking all the right steps. It's a matter of time and, you know, like the connections that you've got already in place.
I mean, imagine we're talking about even more, how many you're going to have. So I'm excited for you. Well, I hope so. I just don't know where to go to actually find all these connects. Cause, um, you know, Working in legal, you're like a little skeptical about people and you got to make sure they're legit.
And Tina is a wonderful resource. And, um, she did tell me she subscribed to, um, voices. com and I saw that they have work. They send emails and they have a lot of, a lot of gigs and I'm for now, I'm not really having money coming in. So I'm kind of, you know. I'm tightening my purse strings a little bit right now until I can float until next year and get my social security.
Don't forget, I mean, just be reaching out to the businesses and like the colleges and like the studios around you because I mean, you never know who's looking for. Um, okay. And, um, okay. I'm going to write that down. Yeah, just, just like you've been doing. It's like, just let them know, Hey, this is who I am.
This is what I've done. And this is what I'm exploring. And, you know, if you could utilize me in any kind of way or get me in touch with somebody who I could send my demo to, I'd love to talk to them. Um, you know, that's, that's always the, the, the great first step to start to really just open a door. Um, so let that be the, the next, you know, stepping stone to guide you, but I'm glad that we could spend some time this morning and listen, don't be a stranger.
Marissa. com. You know, if you've ever got questions or something, or you want to even just like shoot audio my way or something, I'd love to hear it. And, uh, you know, go, go continue to make us proud. And we've got a brand new episode of voice coaches radio coming at you next week. If you have anything that you want to throw our way, Hit me up at Marissa at VoiceCoaches.
com Visit VoiceCoaches. com for more voiceover news and information.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa chats with another former student, Cynthia Barrow! Her excitement, passion and outline setting mindset are sure to inspire!
