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My Lesson from Brad

Brad Venable and Peter K. O'Connell

Brad Venable and Peter K. O’Connell

I’m going to talk about me here in this post but it’s about a lesson I had today that I pray can help you. I also have a message for you that I hope you’ll see at the end. Here goes…

I fail at peopling sometimes.

Hard.

Some years ago…I had a very minor business disagreement with voice actor Brad Venable who has been my friend for years and to this day. Through both our faults, I think we went to our neutral corners (as men sometimes do) and stayed there.

Time passed, there were some likes and positive social media comments we shared with each other but for no other reason than I thought we’d moved on from it and were probably OK, I did not pick up the phone. I was thoughtless about this because I know better.

Never leave friendship, never leave love, never leave understanding unsaid.

Today, I received my penalty for my thoughtlessness and hundreds of my voiceover friends received the equally crushing news that Brad’s health had quickly failed him and he died.

Today, the would-ofs, should-ofs and could-ofs have poured from my eyes and heart torrentially.

I deprived myself of the interaction with a wonderfully caring, sensitive and joyous soul. If he felt a burden, I neglected to lift it from him. I distanced myself. For what? Why?

My failure to directly initiate forgiveness – clear the air- was and is shameful. Period.

In the Catholic Mass, there is a prayer, the Confiteor, said by the congregation that reads in part:

I confess to almighty God

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have greatly sinned

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done,

and in what I have failed to do;

through my fault, through my fault,

through my most grievous fault;

“My most grievous fault.” Oh boy.

Is there forgiveness? There is always forgiveness…God forgives and I believe Brad forgave. Here’s why.

This morning as I was getting ready for work, without knowing Brad had died, Brad clearly came into my thoughts. I was thinking about him, in my mind I was offering advice because he used to ask me stuff. Why would he come into my thoughts like that…on THIS day?

Why would my feelings and my thoughts about this internal communication with Brad at that moment be positive and great?

I may not know for sure for a while or ever.

Maybe I am kidding myself or trying to make myself feel better…but I think Brad did that. What else explains it? Goodness knows how many hearts Brad reached out to today but he certainly was that kind of guy.

I think his spirit….his wonderful, loving, gifted, sensitive spirit somehow knew he and I needed to communicate our friendship and love. Forgiveness…in life he understood when he needed to ask for it and when it needed to be offered….I talked to him about it many times.

I would feel better if I had done it on this earth but..that is the lesson from Brad.

Likely if you are reading this, you are not a stranger to me and are, in fact, a friend, colleague or family member of mine (my voiceover blog readership isn’t that big).

Here’s the lesson: Know that you, my family and friends, are loved by me.

I need make sure I continue to go through my life, raising my children with Andrea, doing my work…all with love in my heart, expressing that love to those that need to hear it. Less pettiness, less pride and more care. Stumbles to expected, maybe, but I need to do the work.

You and I will do right and wrong by each other, we will have both shared and opposed beliefs and we will hopefully figure that out…but you are loved and appreciated. That’s in writing.

Brad will want us to move forward with our lives and we will…with love in our hearts and our words.  So let it be done

MEDIA RELEASE – Veterans Life Center of North Carolina Recruits O’Connell

BUTNER, NC – January 4, 2021 – – The newly opened Veterans Life Center of North Carolina secured national voiceover talent Peter K. O’Connell as narrator for the facility’s recently produced fundraising video.  Veterans Life Center of North Carolina_Peter K. O'ConnellO’Connell also provided the voice for the Center’s new public service announcement for broadcast and web media.

The Veteran’s Life Center of North Carolina (VLC) is a holistic, residential program designed to help at-risk, 21st Century military veterans – who have been unable to make a successful transition into civilian life – become self-reliant within 2 years or less.

Opened in 2020, VLC was conceived in 2010 by a group of Iraqi War veterans to help solve the problems many service members face after their military service. These issues can include PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, Depression and Addiction.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

About Veterans Life Center of North Carolina
The Veterans Life Center of North Carolina is designed to help at-risk 21st Century veterans, preventing them from falling into crisis – chronic homelessness, incarceration, suicide or premature death.

About Peter K. O’Connell
Multi-award winning male voiceover talent Peter K. O’Connell has shared his voiceover and audio production skills with companies around the world. In addition to his recent narration recordings for Veterans Life Center of North Carolina, Peter’s commercial and narration clients also include brands like Crest Toothpaste, IBM, Duracell Batteries and Kraft Foods. O’Connell owns audio’connell Voiceover Talent, a division of O’Connell Communications, LLC. He can be reached via peterkoconnell.com

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

CONTACT:

Peter K. O’Connell

Your Friendly, Neighborhood Voiceover Talent

audio’connell Voiceover Talent

P.O. Box 5493 | Raleigh, NC 27512-5493

PH. +01 716-572-1800 & +01 919-283-1516

EM. peter@audioconnell.com

W. audioconnell.com

COMPANY MEDIA CENTER

http://www.audioconnell.com/media

PETER K. O’CONNELL VO CREDITS

VO Credits Link

COMPANY NAME SPELLING

Use lower case letters- audio’connell or audio’connell Voiceover Talent

COMPANY NAME PRONUNCIATIONau·di-o’·con·nell (awe-de-oh-kah-nel)