We had the good fortune of connecting with James Shechet and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It just didn’t feel right not to. I had a nearly decade long break from performing before I jumped back into it. The first week I committed to doing this, I remember I started sleeping better and feeling more energized in the mornings. There was a hop in my step and I was just smiling more… it became so obvious to me that this was missing in my life.

Voice over started with my deep-rooted passion for the performing arts and a realization that I would regret not pursuing it if I didn’t give it a try. My love for performing goes all the way back to my childhood. Like many millennial kids, I spent a lot of my time watching TV and playing video games. As far back as I can remember making sounds and moving, I was imagining these worlds in the living room, reenacting characters, and doing impressions constantly. I even remember my kindergarten teacher complaining to my parents that I was a disruption for being goofy while standing on a desk in the middle of class!

My parents took the feedback and eventually put me in an acting class 🙂 …throughout my school years, I did loads of theater, musical theater, film projects, choir, and competitive speech tournaments so it’s been a part of my life from the beginning…I’m hesitant to share publicly at the risk of coming off too vain, but it’s genuinely a part of my story so I have to…I actually did really well as a performer growing up…doing the lead parts in many shows, joining the advanced choir in high school, and finaling in state and national speech tournaments often. But none of that was the focus nearly as much as just having fun doing it!

Despite my passion and success growing up, I was still cautious about the uncertain life of a struggling actor. Hence, I decided to “play it safe” and pursue the business side of the industry. As I was graduating high school, I leveraged all that experience and got accepted into USC’s undergraduate business and cinema dual degree program (BCA) where I learned more about the business side of entertainment.

During school and after I graduated, I embarked on the corporate Hollywood path, interning at various networks, studios, agencies, and talent management companies and generally “growing out” of the performance part of my life, assuming that if I found my success in the business…that would “do it for me.” A decade into my career at Disney, Fox, and now YouTube, I witnessed and participated in the overall instability and disruptions of the entertainment industry. Simply put, there were no guarantees even in the business side which was the very thing I was naively envisioning to be the “safe” and stable path.

I entered a self reflection period during the pandemic and as I was approaching 30… I started to feel that undeniable pull back into needing a creative outlet…because why not! I absolutely still love the career path I’ve chosen and wouldn’t do it any other way actually. Out of all the performance outlets, I discovered voice acting had a great combination of being the most accessible option for my time while juggling a full time career… plus it offered a range of possibilities for characters and genres across commercials, animation, video games, etc. It was also totally new to me and I was excited to explore a new type of performance art.

The other helpful piece was timing. I coincidentally jumped into my business during the pandemic with the shift in work-from-home for both corporate jobs and performers too. The business skills, strategic thinking, and industry relationships gave me a great foundation to structure my new venture. I started realizing that there was a nice synergy that came from this newly discovered path. The performance experience from my youth surprisingly supported my corporate career… and my corporate career experience guided me with the thoughtful approach for forming the creative business too. I was just patient with myself and committed to doing at least one thing daily to move forward. I just keep focusing on being better than yesterday!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
A big realization for me was to actually care less about success. I’m doing what I want to do and the end results, like success, are a symptom or side effect of enjoying the process and the system I’ve created for myself. I think it’s easy to fall into this trap of confusing achievement for fulfillment…and I used to be so guilty of that. I had to first realize the things that brought me joy…and once I had that, commit to continuous improvement, iteration, and the occasional reimagining of everything. The outcomes are now simply a bonus. It’s a really freeing feeling and I’m always surprised with what happens next. It also gave me permission to be my unapologetic self, where I have the confidence to know that what I bring to the table is valuable. Any rejections are just a mismatch of taste and an opportunity to learn for next time.

I had a hard time initially announcing myself as a voice actor actually. It took me a few years. I was afraid of how I’d be perceived by my network who always saw me a certain way and how it could change the brand that I was already so invested in. I didn’t want people to take me less seriously in my full time career, think I was less committed to my role with the company, or jeopardize future employment prospects. How would I even present myself on something like a LinkedIn profile? I just took a leap of faith in reinventing myself. I let things gradually progress into what they are now. It doesn’t happen overnight but from persistent, small progress.

A really helpful framework I heard once was, “talent x exposure x time = opportunities.” We all have an underdetermined amount of time so we can’t control that one and it’s constant. What we can improve… is our talent and our exposure. Talent can improve through practice, experience, coaching, lessons, and immersing yourself with other talented people. Exposure can be found from the right communities, identifying decision makers, relationships, going to random social and business events, and scaling your presence on the internet. Once you combine all 3…in time, your growing talent and continuous exposure will present you opportunities.

Execution is everything—ideas are only as good as making them happen…and that can be really hard. We can spend years sitting on thoughts before they turn into action. Nothing is ever as easy or straightforward as you’d hope and there are always surprises along the way. The cool thing about surprises though is they can also be helpful and steer you in a new direction your past self couldn’t see and your current self couldn’t imagine being without.

When it comes to execution, you don’t have to do it alone. Trust and relationships are equally vital; your reputation and the connections you build with others can make or break your career. It’s not just about ensuring you’re the trustworthy one but finding others you can believe in too. We can’t do everything so being willing to lean into the expertise, experiences, and support of others is essential. That applies to both your professional and personal relationships.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The best people to learn from are the ones who are already doing the thing you want to be doing. Chances are they want to share their story to people with the same passion.

We’re all storytelling and emotional creatures at the end of the day. It’s what made us stand out among the other early human genus alternatives, so if you’re alive today… you have the storytelling and emotional buttons inside you too. That’s probably why so many people feel compelled to get into artistic careers. I love how a great story or speech can change your life. So many significant turning points in human history were set in motion by someone giving a powerfully moving speech.

Life has so much to offer if you just notice it. None of this even needed to exist. If you’re not inspired by something, you’re just not paying attention!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Coming from someone who is born and raised in LA…you can spend a lifetime exploring this city and still not see it all…but if I were to pick the plan, we’d start the day at a beach in the Malibu area to get a great surf session in and soak in the sun. For food, I would either take them for breakfast burritos at Lily’s Malibu on the way back or lunch at The Destroyer in Culver City…or if it was a Sunday, we’d go to the Mar Vista Farmers’ Market and grab fresh veggies, eggs, and other great ingredients for an amazing home cooked meal. Since I live in the Culver City area, we’d walk off the meal in the neighborhood and recharge, passing by the heart of Downtown Culver City. Later that night I’d take them out to my favorite restaurant in Culver: Piccalilli…that place is amazing, especially if you like spicy and interesting flavors. For the night time activity, we’d let loose and dance the night away at one of my favorite places, Good Times at Davey Wayne’s to funky 70’s retro!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to mention my mom, dad, and the rest of my family. They’ve always been so encouraging and cheer me every step of the way. They’ve done everything they could to give me the best possible chance to thrive in this world and shaped my character. There are too many teachers and mentors in my life to name that gave me consistent wisdom, support, and the tough love I needed to grow. I wouldn’t be me without that. I’m also overwhelmed with gratitude towards the random people in my life that took a chance on me in any capacity…that’s how life changing moments happen and the ripple effect is hard to track yet significant. I am, of course, incredibly fortunate to have such a remarkable community of friends who believe in me and inspire me every day too. These are the people I’ll be sharing the rest of my life and fun with. I’m excited to see where we all go. I also have to mention my dog, Neo. He’s the sweetest, most loyal, patient, and intelligent dog I’ve ever met…and a great companion with me on my journey!

Website: https://www.jamesvoices.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/james__voices/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-shechet/

Other: https://linktr.ee/james__voices

Image Credits
Dillon Bugarin, Mattie Hanson

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