Ace McKay “Things You Wish Someone Would Have Told You?”
From weekly blogs & coaching to staff meetings & Momentum, we get a wealth of information from people who have gone before us. Those we look up to and those we look to become on and off the air.
This came up recently in a chat with an actor friend of mine, Bill Kelly. He has been acting for years but mostly recently plays the Sheriff in the movie “Where the Crawdads Sing”. Bill and I use to serve on worship together and it’s great to watch his success but I have kids who look to being entertainers someday so he was sharing his wisdoms of what he wishes he knew coming into the profession and they each translate well into what we do in radio.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started”:
- Don’t sweat auditioning. It’s part of your craft. But do it and forget about it when you’re done. It will save you a lot of time agonizing over something that is totally out of your control.
This easily applies to us as we apply for the next radio gig or promotion. God is the author and finisher of our faith and we can find peace when we let him orchestrate the next open door.
- Cheer for the people who get the part you auditioned for. It’s nothing personal. And they will remember you for it.
We cannot only cheer for those who get promoted or the job we really wanted because that is their blessing and answered prayer from God. Yours IS COMING! This also applies to celebrating our competition. While yes we all want to win in the market we serve, there will be times when we aren’t in the top seat but celebrating their wins makes us better players of the game. We build better relations in our market and what a powerful message that sends to your supporters, staff and underwriters when you hold them up for their accomplishments.
- You’ll learn something every single day you’re on set. Some of it will make you a better actor. Some of it will make you a better person.
This is SO true in Radio! We learn from each other every single day and we should rise to the challenge to absorb all that we can and pass on all that we can. We are a team, no egos and no agenda other than to work as a team both professionally and spiritually. We also learn from those who do things wrong as they learn from us. Apply it!
- Put your t-shirt on before you go to the hair & makeup trailer.
This one made me laugh because we’re not just voices anymore, we are the faces of the radio station thanks to social media but as I thought about this point it really took on a spiritual nature. Putting on our “t-shirt” allows us to reflect on where our hearts and heads are before going into the studio or starting a show. It goes before “hair & Make-up” as there is an order to things and when we come in unprepared or do things out of God’s order it makes a mess.
- Don’t visit crafty and fill up on junk. Your waistline will thank you for it.
This is a good point, Radio people eat well because there’s always something in the breakroom or staff meeting to enjoy. Moderation I always say.
At the end of the day, reflect on the things you learned, celebrating our peers and realizing we GET to do this today and tomorrow we get to do it even better because of who God is shaping us to be.
Ace is a producer/voiceover for EWTN & Morning Show Host for WAYRADIO in Jacksonville, Florida. Ace can be reached at acemckay@gmail.com