Finding My Voice: The Journey to Hitting Record
Talking It Out, Writing It Down, and Turning Thoughts into Something Real
Welcome to another episode of UnRambling, where I record myself while biking, hiking, running, driving, walking, or swimming—well, maybe not swimming. I then transcribe and analyze my thoughts in an effort to preserve the rich insights and ideas often left out on the road.
Today is Thursday, February 13, 2025, and I am walking with my three dogs in the forest behind my house.
I’ve been thinking about the progress I’ve been making with these Unrambling sessions over the past few months.
Hearing myself talk, hearing my voice echo in my ear, has made my voice sound a little less weird. Less foreign. The pauses, the awkwardness—it’s still all there, but not as much as it once was.
I think this is one of those skills you just have to work through.
Actually, I think the reason our own voice “sounds weird,” is because, when your’re talking to someone in a normal conversation, you aren’t really listening to yourself. You’re too busy thinking about what you’re going to say next or how you can tie the conversation back to you.
Honestly, conversations are a selfish tug-of-war. You’re hearing, but you’re not actually listening
In conversations, your focus is on reacting. You’re busy watching the conversation volley back and forth.
That means you don’t really hear your own voice the same way you do when you’re by yourself.
But when it’s just you. The forest or the inside of your car. The silence. Your thoughts. Then the sound of your voice? That instantly becomes deafening. Echoing. Intimidating.
And realizing that—for me—has been huge for me.
Because when you catch yourself doing it, you can stop. You can begin listening. That makes you a better interviewer. A better communicator. A better listener. And ultimately, a better writer and storyteller.
But what does that have to do with me hitting record? Well… because I’m still really uncomfortable in front of the camera.
The Challenge of On-Camera Presence
It turns out that I can talk just fine when I’m out running with my dogs on one of these Unrambling sessions.
They don’t care about what I’m saying as long as it’s not “No!”
They’re sniffing. They’re peeing on stuff—totally uninterested in whatever I’m saying.
But put me in front of a camera or let me see a red “record” button flashing?
And I freeze up. My voice changes. My delivery is stiff. This can’t possibly sound like me?
It sounds like some weird, unnatural, robotic version of me.
I watch guys like Peter McKinnon, Gerald Undone or Charlie Houpert from Charisma on Command, and they make it look so easy. Natural. Effortless. But I know it’s not effortless. They’re using teleprompters and scripts. They’ve practiced pacing and delivery. They’ve figured out how to make it feel real even when it’s totally planned.
And that’s where I want to be.
But just like with photography, with writing, with interviewing… getting better on camera isn’t about wishing I was better. It’s about doing the reps. I have to do the work.
You can wish, hope, dream about getting better at something all you want. But unless you’re actually out there doing it—taking pictures, writing, speaking—it’s not gonna happen.
Wishing isn’t the work. The work is the work.
I know some people have that natural ability. They pick up a camera or a pen or stand in front of a room of people, and they just get it. That’s not me. Never has been. Every skill I have? It’s because I’ve done it over and over and over again. Hammer on the anvil. Banging out reps. Smashing my thumb. Breaking stuff. But in the end, all that matters is that I’m making something and hopefully that will just keep getting better. I’ll keep getting better.
And there’s something liberating in that. Because talent isn’t the thing that determines success.
The only thing standing between me and where I want to be is the amount of steps I’m willing to take to get there.
The Reality of Skill Development: Reps Over Talent
I’ve spent decades capturing moments. First, it was with photos. Then, it was with audio and video. And now, weirdly, I’m coming full circle back to words. Writing. Structuring thoughts. Working through analogies. Getting the reps in on paper.
It feels different this time, but at the same time, it’s exactly the same. It’s still about sucking at something, practicing and always showing up.
I think talent is overrated. Some people are naturally good at things. Sure. But most of what we call talent? It’s just repetition. It’s grinding through the bad stuff, failing, and figuring it out. The real talent is in not quitting.
The real question isn’t can I be good on camera. The real question is: am I willing to suck at it long enough to get better?
Because that’s where most people stop. They do it once or twice, realize they’re bad at it, and then they quit. But that’s the whole point. You have to be bad at something first before you can ever be good at it.
The Evolution of My Content Creation Process
Right now, my process starts here—walking, talking, rambling into a mic. Then, I transcribe it, post it on Substack. That was the plan. That was supposed to be the whole plan. But then I got stuck.
I thought I needed to refine everything first. Write a perfect article. Script it out. THEN record. But that’s just another roadblock. Another excuse to not hit record.
So, screw that. Here’s the new plan:
UnRambling → Talk it out, raw and messy.
Transcript to Substack → Lightly clean it up and post it.
Podcast-Style Recording → Read it out loud, refine as I go.
Video Podcast → Record it, add pro audio and lights.
AI Automation → Let AI chop it into clips and social posts.
And here’s how I see it working in practice. I start with an UnRambling session—just me talking out my thoughts as I go, no filter, no overthinking. Then, I take that raw transcript and do a light cleanup, nothing too polished, and I post it on Substack. Once that’s done, I go back and actually read it out loud, shaping the flow and refining how it sounds when spoken. That’s the practice that helps me smooth it out for when I hit record on video. When I do sit down for the video podcast, I’ve already worked through the message, so now it’s just about delivery—lights, audio, making sure it all comes together. Then, to make the whole process even smoother, I use AI to take that long-form content and break it down into clips for social media, so I’m maximizing what I create without adding extra steps.
The Next Step
And what I really need to do is less un-rambling and more leveraging what I’ve already created. I’ve done the work. The words are there. Now it’s about refining, shaping, and actually putting it out into the world. Because at some point, the process itself can become another excuse to not hit publish. But I felt like this session was necessary—to work through this in real-time, to get it out of my head and onto the page, and hopefully, onto YouTube. Because if I don’t start now, then when? If I don’t take what I’ve already built and make something with it, then what’s the point? So yeah, it’s time. Time to stop hiding behind preparation and just hit reco