Last AMA Answers (#6): Gear, Services and Success

hey there it’s David H Lawrence the 17th
and today we’re gonna wrap up the
answers to the AMA series we’ve been
doing he asked me anything serious great
questions some questions that I didn’t
quite understand so I didn’t include
them some questions that were outright
insults so you know consider consider me
insulted okay thank you but today what
we’re going to talk about first off is a
question I got about the software that I
use to produce the videos for this
series and most people use iMovie or
premiere or Final Cut Pro or any number
of different well-known video editors
they’re specifically designed to be
video editors I absolutely adore a piece
of software called ScreenFlow
it’s from Telestream they’re big in both
the broadcasting and the video
podcasting space and I originally
started using ScreenFlow to do the
lessons for vo to go go because what it
was originally created for was to do
ScreenFlow captures of what’s going on
on your screen which you could then add
voice over to so what I do is I create a
PowerPoint presentation I run through
that PowerPoint presentation while I
narrate it and it’s really easy because
ScreenFlow records your screen as it
records your voice but what I didn’t
expect and what is really really cool is
that ScreenFlow is an amazing
full-featured awesome easy to use very
intuitive video editor
well you know yes it does scream
captures but it also does great video
editing great audio things like that so
um I just fell in love with it and I
love using it I I tell everybody about
it the reason I like it so much
iMovie is supposed to be very easy right
Final Cut Pro is not supposed to be very
easy and with the changes they made
between Final Cut 7 and Final Cut 10
Apple really shot themselves in their
foot they lost an entire market by doing
that but iMovie you know ever since I
started using iMovie I have not been
able to keep separate the concept of a
project and an event I’m sure there’s a
way to do it that makes it easier for
people but it’s unnecessary and
ScreenFlow knows that they have done an
amazing job of making everything look
great so I’ll put a link to it in the
show notes and you can find it for
yourself it’s really really really
amazing it’s for Macintosh only for
those of you on pcs it’s like Camtasia
but I would keep using premiere because
premiere is pretty good as well on PCs
alright so if you want all of the gear
that I’m using here and I’m gonna do a
future video just on how I produce these
videos you can find all of it at vo to
go go comm slash my – gear and the the
tab that opens up is the hardware tab
but if you look in the bottom section
that hardware tab it actually shows you
all of the video stuff that I use my
camera the lights that I use the
microphone that I use I talked a little
bit about that in one of the other
videos the software um everything you
know III even use a slate to be able to
match up sound with you know make sure
it’s perfectly aligned with the video so
that’s that you’ll see it all there vo –
go go comm slash my – gear alright next
question would it be easier to sell my
voice services if I was able to be more
full service meaning writing scripts
producing complete soundtracks for
videos helping to get these videos onto
YouTube etc I’m thinking in terms of how
I would be able to cultivate face to
face really
ships with local customers and offer
them more of a kind of one-stop shop so
not just your voice of work I completely
get it they just want to advertise
without getting into the mechanics of
how to make it happen I would think I
could help them with that side of it do
you agree or perhaps you have totally
other thoughts I’m open I totally agree
it’s what I do I often will tell my
clients if you’d like me for example in
an audiobook to do your related PDF if
there’s one needed for your book for a
long time I was a producer of
commercials I wrote copy I got pretty
good at it know how commercials are
supposed to sound once they’re on the
air so yes I offer those services at a
time and I urge you to do the same thing
I think it’s a great idea that is that
inner entrepreneur and you coming out I
love that I love that you know what
you’re offering is not just your voice
you’re offering studio services which is
great so yes I applaud that absolutely
and then finally how do you David define
success both personally and
professionally what in your opinion are
the pitfalls of always defining success
as being determined by the amount of
money one earns well um if you’ve
watched these videos or listen to me
speak I have a definition for success
and that definition is do more of what
works and less of what doesn’t and what
can be the challenging part is knowing
what works and knowing what doesn’t but
usually when I say that I’m talking
about the processes the choices that you
make in terms of how you run your
business how you do your work how you
choose to tell a story things like that
but what your question has prompted is a
sort of an extension of that do more of
what works and less of what doesn’t for
you
you know like are you happy doing the
things that you’re doing now what things
make you happy do more of those what
things don’t make you happy what things
do you avoid do less of those I actually
have a video coming up called the ABCDE
video which
gonna talk about how to put more on your
plate of what works and what makes you
happy
you know I’m interested in three things
happiness safety and satisfaction notice
that none of those are profitability
because I think profitability is
inherent in being happy and safe and and
being satisfied but happy safe and
satisfied when I can do that that’s when
I feel like I’m being successful when I
have those at the top of my priority
list as opposed to having to worry about
when am I going to make some more money
you know it just seems to fall in place
when you when you make a priority of
being happy and staying safe both
financially and physically
and being satisfied overall with how you
spend your time in your day and what
you’re getting out of life you know I
think that’s my definition of success
and it works both on the procedural
level of do more of what works in less
of what doesn’t and also on the personal
I guess satisfaction is the best way to
put it
happiness safety
it still remains my definition of
success so I hope that helps I really do
this has been fun I love doing AMAs
maybe we’ll do it again for the 200th
episode we’ll do it one more time and of
course if you have questions you can
always put them in the comments below if
you have any reactions to what I’m
saying I’m happy – happy – I need a sip
of water excuse me one sec
it’s gotten really dry here all of a
sudden
so that’s that’s the AMAs we’ll get back
to the single subject videos next and if
you have any comments as I said leave
them in the comments below if you’re
watching this video anywhere but at vo
to go go calm pop on over to vo to go go
calm because we’ve got so many great
things there for you vo the numeral to
go go comm if you’d like to subscribe to
my channel on YouTube go ahead and click
on my head there or click run on a
subscribe button somewhere below the
video you want to see the latest video
I’ve done click on that frame YouTube
will play it for you I’m David H
Lawrence xvii I thank you so much for
watching I’ll talk to you tomorrow.