You don't make mistakes, you have happy accidents.

This weekend, I had kind of a chill Saturday, which is always nice. I cooked a fabulous pork roast in the slow cooker, did some organizing, and spent some time teaching Friday a new trick…all of which puts me in my happy place. Being an obsessive planner, I also found myself pondering the auditions I needed to do Sunday.

Bob Ross was on the TV, painting masterpieces that came together at an astonishing pace. (Seriously. Start a video, about five minutes in, look away for about two minutes and look up again. Mind. Blown. What just happened? Did I slip into a worm hole?)  

Watching him paint, it struck me how steady he stayed in his own lane. Bob never rushed, never fretted about whether the world expected a mountain or a happy little tree. He simply followed the path his brush wanted to take, trusting that it would all come together because it always had before. There’s something so comforting in that rhythm, that soft certainty. It reminded me how often we, as voice actors, tie ourselves in knots trying to mold our sound into whatever the casting specs seem to demand. 

Then he said some things that just felt incredibly, personally relevant as I continue my journey to accept that to the world, I do not have the voiceprint I think (or thought) I do. The universe doesn't see the jolly, joyfull, silly person I am inside. The rest of the world, without knowing me personally, hears someone grounded, more serious. My Mom used to tell me I was “14 going on 40”. Good heavens, I think she may have been right! This is a tough pill I’m still working to swallow.

He said, "You make the decisions. That’s what makes it fantastic.”

That hit me like a ton of bricks. What comes out of your face, isn't wrong if it’s genuine. Stop working so incredibly hard to meet a spec. As long as you’re holding on to your truth and telling the story, you can hold your head high with confidence that you brought something special to the table. We twist, we contort, we second-guess, when maybe the wiser move is to take a breath, trust our training, and let the read unfold the way it naturally wants to. There’s a real beauty in honoring who you’ve always been, even if that person surprises you from time to time. Maybe the grounded, grown-up tone the world hears isn’t a limitation but a gift I’ve spent too long overlooking. Maybe it’s simply the reflection of a life lived with intention, steadiness, and a little bit of old-fashioned grit.

I'm accepting that there’s room for joy in that, too. And if Bob taught us anything, it’s that the world has a way of celebrating the person (and the voice) who shows up fully as themselves.

As Bob said, "You don't make mistakes, you have happy accidents.” What a treasure. Give yourself room and grace to just be you. And, when needed, “beat the hell out of it” and shake off the negative influences.