The Power of Your Knowing Your Why
2:00
Brad from the Cinema Guys ( www.wearethecinemaguys.com ) explains how he was approached by a small local Cinema Chain who listens to his podcast. Brad worked a deal that enables him to get tickets to movies. Brad (being the cool guy he is) is using them as a give away for his audience. He has also worked to do a screening of Brad's all-time favorite horror movie, "John Carpenter's The Thing." They get to introduce the movie and then do a Q&A afterward.
Earn Money Referring People to the School of Podcasting7:20
As a podcaster, people may approach you about how you started your show. You may be thinking of creating an online course, or an ebook. Instead of spending all that time and resources, you can signup to be a School of Podcasting affiliate and earn a commission when they subscribe and also for every month when they stay subscribed. For more information go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/affiliates
Why Knowing Your Why Matters8:00
It keeps you focused. You are no longer distracted by things that don't help you achieve your goal.
If you know why you're doing something, you can see the results clearer. This enables you to spot the small victories that then motivate you to keep going.
It is then the motivation that enables you to try again.
When another small victory comes along, you get another dose of motivation, and a pinch of this thing called confidence.
How My "Why" Gave Me Super PowersI had been wanting to lose weight, and over the last year, I have been going up and down. I would get down to maybe 218 lbs, and then go up to 221 or 222. I wanted to get up and go to the gym in the morning. I knew to drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep. I knew what to do. However, when I listed my priorities I wrote down things like rewriting my book More Podcast Money, I needed to update some tutorials at the School of Podcasting, and take a class on SEO. Nowhere in there is anything about my health. That's when I realized why I wasn't losing weight. It simply was not a priority.
I got a call from letting me know that I was being inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame. The minute I hung up the phone, I said out loud, "Well somebody's getting up early tomorrow." While it is somewhat weird, as I normally try not to care what people think of me, I knew there would be lots of pictures. I even hired a photographer to take pictures during my presentation. Suddenly, like a light switch, I had willpower. I had focus. I had a purpose. No longer did I need to watch TV. I realized that most of the taped TV shows I use to watch rarely delivered any real value. I could take that time and use it at the gym, or walk around, or cook healthy food, and THAT would deliver value to my goal of losing weight.
When You Know Your Why You Can Make it Through the How“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.– Mark Twain
Apple Podcasts hits 550,000 PodcastsI listened to my first episode, and in it, I mention in April of 2005, there were maybe "4000" podcasts. This article says in 2005 there were 3000 podcats, now there are 550,000 and according to this TechCrunch article, there have been Fifty billion episodes have been streamed/downloaded since launch. The new numbers include 18.5 million individual episodes representing 155 countries, in more than 100 languages.
So in 2005 when I was explaining to people how cool podcasting was, and how awesome it was that you could "teel the software to watch this site" (better known today as a subscription) and that you didn't ' need a Mac, and you didn't need an iPod to listen. IT WAS PAINFUL as many people just didn't get it (it took a while for me to get it). But I knew the potential power of podcasting, and I had quit listening to radio, and I wanted people to experience the same joy I had found. It didn't seem hard because if I helped ONE person understand and start listening to podcasts, and I had ONE more person to talk about Dawn and Drew with, it was worth my time and effort.
When you know you're why the "work" doesn't seem like work. It just seems like something you do. When I first started playing the guitar it was BRUTALLY PAINFUL, but I knew I wanted to play. I wanted to be like my brother (who played) and so the pain wasn't so bad. I knew it was temporary, and I could make it through the how.
My "Whys"- I get to help people (my background is in training. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Education specializing in Technical Education from the University of Akron)
- It's creative (my hobbies are music, writing, photography, poetry).
- It's geeky (I get to play with software to build websites, track downloads, and more)
- I get to leave a very small fingerprint on the planet. Neither of my marriages produced any children. The word "Legacy" seems a bit much, but you get my point.
- I am meeting and creating great friends.
- It's helping me to pay off my student loans
- If I lost my job today, I would have a cushion of money coming to tie me over (and in reality, I would probably be able to the School of Podcasting Ful time)
- I'm not sure what I would do with my free time if I didn't.
Your Why's Might Be:
- Share your knowledge
- Get your message out out
- Promote a business
- Stay connected to friends and family
- Be seen as an expert
- Open the door to possibilities
- Find like-minded people
- Inner office company communication
- Educate
- Entertain
Getting the Motivation To Start
I just listened to a great episode of the You Wanna Do What? Podcast by Monica Rivera where she interviewed Jeff Haden about motivation. It was a really good interview and had some great insights into motivation. Including:
You only need enough motivation to start. If you set small achievable goals, those "little wins" give you the motivation to try again and keep moving. So some examples of small achievable goals my be
- Buying your equipment
- Plugging everything in and making your first recording
- Getting your artwork
- Publishing your first episode
- Syndicating to Apple, Stitcher, etc
- Getting 10 downloads for an episode
- Getting 50 downloads an episode
When accomplishing these little milestones, it feeds your motivation to keep going.
25:10
Brenda from My Tech Toolbelt explain how her kids are grown, and while she is thankful for her job, it can be kind of boring, and she is podcasting because she enjoys learning. Yes, there is a lot to learn but as she put it, "It's fun. It's exciting, and I've already got two press passes (to be continued)"
27:37
Jim Collison from The Average Guy Network (and my Co-host for Ask the Podcast Coach) is a lot like me. We both love being around people, we both love helping people. We both like to talk and to influence people to help them do things.
The #1 Killer of Motivation and Why Podcasting is Like Golf
30;03
There is a reason that employees at companies are strongly urged not to share their income amount with other employees. If two people share that information, one person is leaving that meeting upset. So when people share how many downloads they get in a Facebook group, and their numbers are three times as many as you, ignore it and instead of focusing on their numbers, focus on your audience and how you can serve them.
If two golfers shared their scores, someone is going to think, "WHAT?! How is that person better than me? Well, there are a number of factors:
- Better equipment
- More experience
- Better coaching
- Better attitude
- More athletic
- More time to practice
So if you came to me and said, "I can't believe they are better than me! And I answered:
- Your sound quality is very distracting
- You have half as many episodes
- They have a completely different niche
- They have more time to promote their show
- They have a budget to market your show and you don't
- They have no children and you have five
- They went to the School of Podcasting and you watched outdated YouTube Videos
Wouldn't you be able to see why someone might be getting more downloads than you (and keep in mind, there are more ways to measure podcast success than downloads).
So unless you want to detail your podcast DON'T COMPARE YOUR SHOW TO OTHER PODCASTS.
Heli PR77D Microphone Shootout
35:02
The Heil PR77D is basically a Heil PR40 with a bass roll-off switch, and something that will look very cool in any videos. It comes in black and purple and retails for $249 where the Heil PR40 is $308. You will hear these with my mic preamp the DBX 286 $199 off during the shootout.
In today's shootout, I compare it to an
Electrovoice RE320 $299
Audio Technica BP40 $349,
Blue Yeti $129
The Heil PR77D has that traditional warm Heil Sound. When I switched it voice mode (which cuts out frequencies below 120Hz) it seems a little too clear for my voice). It comes with a nice black velvet bag to keep it in. It's a very sturdy microphone, and I love the retro look.
Of the microphones above, the only one I steer people away from is the Blue Yeti unless you PROMISE to read the manual, buy an over-priced pop filter, and use it on a boom arm. I personally use the Electrovoice RE320, but I liked the warmth of all the Heil Microphones and I need to play with it a little more to see how the proximity effect is (if it has more bass when you get close to it). The rear rejection seemed about as good as the other microphones.
Where Will I Be?42:07
Catch me speaking at Podcast Movement July 23-26 in Philadelphia PA (and being inducted into the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame )
I will also be speaking at Podcast Midatlantic in September in Philadelphia PA
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