The Significance of DRAFTing Your Life: A Lesson from the VoiceMaster’s Experiences

Becoming successful in life is possible, but you have to put in real hard work and make some sacrifices. There are no stories of success without failures, setbacks, disappointments, and rejections. To get you started, you have to carefully understand your steps and action plan. If you’re still clueless, follow a DRAFT plan in your life.

I have been in the industry for more than 25 years as the Philippines’ VoiceMaster. Name every voice acting related project in animation, film, TV shows, commercial, live events, hosting, public speaking, radio drama, and more… I have done them all.

I have experienced both ups and downs in my career and personal life. This is why it’s less difficult for me, especially at this stage of my life, to create a new DRAFT or plan for my next vision.

DRAFT Your Life: A Guiding Framework

DRAFT stands for Desperation, Rejection, Aspiration, Frustration, and Transformation. When you are desperate, you will do anything. You will be pushed to the limit. I remembered that point in my life when I had almost nothing on me to start with but I didn’t ask for help. Instead, I found ways to improve myself on my own. The best time to believe in yourself is when no one else believes in you. The best thing you can do for other people is to believe in them, especially during times when no one else does.

R stands for Rejection. Everyone gets rejected in different ways, but that will make you more self-reliant. Believe in yourself more when some people reject you. Let them have their own world. Create yours instead. If they think they win, then so be it; but you are already a winner by not working and being with those stupid and negative people. See yourself as a winner.

A stands for Aspiration. Basically, there are dreams that you want to become a reality. However, you need to take action, too. (Aspire + Action = Aspiration).

F stands for Frustration. Did you become frustrated? There are a lot of selfish and greedy people in our industry of voice acting. Just focus on yourself, so that every negative practice and treatment will lead to corrections in your path. Correct the wrongdoings you witnessed while focusing on your gifts.

Lastly, T stands for Transformation. Everything you have reflected from your desperation, rejection, aspiration, and frustration will lead to your transformation. It will boost your self-confidence and help you trust in your own skills and character. That’s your total transformation.

Desperation leads to development. Rejection leads to resourcefulness. Aspiration leads to action. Frustration leads to focus, and Transformation leads to trust.

How I Created a Deeper DRAFT in My Life

I remembered both the good and bad experiences I encountered in my journey. When I was younger, at around 18-19 years of age, there were veterans in our industry that deprived us of opportunities. I experienced office politics during those particular moments. I promised myself to become better in my craft because I believe I have the potential. Honestly speaking, when that selfish person recently passed away, I felt indifferent. If he were one of those people who had helped me before, I might have gone out of my way to pay my last respects. However, I focused more on how he deprived an eager beginner like me of those opportunities.

Rather than finding ways to avenge or get even, I turned it into positive motivation. I realized there simply are those kinds of people in the industry. I want to change that culture, though. You cannot change a person unless you change the current culture and system first because everyone who’s exposed to that system will just follow the status quo of that company or industry.

I was not even scared at all because I can be at par with what they can do. Also, I hate the “If you can’t beat them, join them” mindset. I believe instead in “If you can’t beat them, create your own”. Because at the end of the day, when you join them, it’s like eating your own sh*t. Why would you join them if you don’t like their work ethics? That’s the problem because once you eat your own sh*t, you are a sh*t. Unfortunately, a lot of people are eating their own sh*t.

I know that many other people like me are looking and aspiring for opportunities. Instead of looking for it, I created my own pathway. I’m looking for inspiration, but I cannot find it until I became the inspiration that I’m looking for. I was looking for a hero when I realized the hero I’ve been looking for is my future self.

DRAFTing New Goals and Visions in Life

I need to create another vision that is bigger than who I am. It’s not me anymore; it’s the universe that will conspire to make things happen, especially now that I’m with Titans (a company with other self-made Pinoy millionaires). It’s no longer me. It’s beyond me. This is already a service to others, which is not parallel to the industry I have worked in for the past 25 years.

I’m already retired in the sense that I made myself obsolete, so that I can do better things than before. In reality, I am only competing against myself to create a bigger and greater Pocholo De Leon Gonzales in a parallel world that’s more than being a voice talent or being someone in the voice acting industry.

This is the Pochology principle to get out the greatness within. This is why I am traveling across the country to train more people for them to recognize their own gifts and focus on their strengths. Only then will they become happy as they focus on their strengths and use their gifts to be a better person rather than just following what is dictated upon them.

DRAFTing my life led me to this level of achievement and success. I encourage you to start DRAFTing your own life, too, so you’ll have a clearer vision of turning your future dreams into present realities.

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