Are you a podcast listener? I am. It started a bit over seven years ago as I had to drive long commutes a couple of times a week. The first podcast I started to listen to on a regular basis is the Entrepreneurial Though Leader series, which is produced by Stanford University. I’m not sure how I found it but it got me started.
Listening to a podcast is a different experience, compared to reading a book or an article. It keeps going by itself, just like music or an audiobook, and like an audiobook, it requires attention. I can work with music in the background but I can’t work and listen to a podcast at the same time. I also have to rewind often, re-listen to a few sentences and when the contents ignites my thinking, I drift away in my thoughts, stop being attentive and I have to rewind again. It might sound unnerving - and it sometimes is - but great contents can be so stimulating.
Nowadays, I still listen to podcasts on commutes, even if they are shorter and by train, or in flight, or while jogging. On a side note, listening to podcasts while jogging has an interesting effect: it let you run at your very own pace. When I don’t listen to podcasts while jogging, I then listen to music and I naturally tend to follow the pace of the music and I must take care for not running too fast, or too slow. But I digress and could cover this in a different post.
Fast forward a few years, I found the “I will teach you to be rich” podcast by Ramit Sethi. If you hear about this one for the first time and think this is one more get-rich-quick scam, check the title again. I will teach you to be rich, not to get rich. Ramit addresses money and money psychology, focusing on the concept of “rich life”, which he advises to define explicitly and which should be lived now, not only when being or getting rich. He also addresses basic money management. This podcast has a specific format. In each episode, Ramit discusses money habits and money psychology with a couple. It reveals tons of fascinating aspects and I really recommend it.
But why “podcasts are trees”? Not only because how they can make ideas and concepts bloom into your mind but also because of the way they connect with each other. I can be slightly obsessive and binge consume contents and podcasts are no exception. When I discovered “I will teach you to be rich”, there were roughly 120 episodes and I listened to all of them way too quickly. With one episode getting out every Tuesday, I needed my daily dose so I searched for “Ramit Sethi” in Spotify and unbeknownst to me, this was the start of the second phase of my podcast listening. Just like bloggers sometimes to guest posts on other blogs, podcasters go as guests on other podcasts. Not only this gave me a different view of Ramit’s work but it also allowed me to find other podcasts.
Some are not really my cup of tea but having Ramit on it made them interesting. Other turned out to be totally my thing and one of them is The Diary of A CEO or DOAC for short. Yes, I did not hear about Steven Bartlett before. Shame on me? May be, matter of perspective. Anyways, I found about it and was hooked after a few episodes.
Another way to expand your podcasts tree even more is simply to discuss with people around you. At first, I was surprised how many people I know are also podcasts listeners and also that we have some podcasts in common. Discussing contents with friends is even more stimulating, as is exchanging podcasts recommendations. Will you like all podcasts recommended by your friends? Probably not. And you’ll also definitely not like all podcast out there and this is ok.
One thing that pushes me away from podcasts is the amount of advertising which sometimes is going too far. A friend of mine advised me to listen to the Huberman Lab, which has top level contents and is likely one of the best podcasts out there. But 5 minutes of non-stop advertisement at the beginning of an episode is a major push back for me. I fully understand that podcasters need income, no question, but it is a matter of balance and also of alternative ways. Podcasts can be used to create interest and get attention, build profile, to later become a paid speaker or sell other products, books, trainings, and the like.
Who am I to judge this? I started a podcast on air traffic management and we have roughly 65 episodes, with a total of zero adverts. We use it for the reasons mentioned above: build profile, show expertise and stimulate the conversation in this pretty small community. Will this blog once turn into a podcast? Possible...
For now, one question to you: what podcasts are you listening to? Let me know and discuss, to grow your podcasts tree and mine too!
I hope you liked this post. As you might know, this blog is not really started yet and will launch on the 1st of July 2024. If you want to be informed when it starts and when trial posts become online, fill this form. Thanks and see you soon!