Why I love podcasting
Podcasting has changed my life.
I’ve always loved a good story. My father constantly listened to the radio. An appreciation of audio is in my DNA. My go-to fix was a variety of NPR shows including Serial, which for many people put podcasts on the map. In the summer of 2015, my former partner introduced me to Entrepreneur on Fire and Smart Passive Income. Those two shows changed the trajectory of my life by inspiring me to show up and serve school leaders via a podcast.
Since September of 2015, I’ve shipped 100s of weekly podcast conversations and have earned millions of downloads along the way.
Podcasting has clarified my thinking and grown my skills
Between my two podcasts, I’ve probably shipped around 1000 episodes.
Putting out that much content has a great second-order consequence — you get very clear on what you love to talk about. Done consistently over time, you will even be seen as an expert in your industry. This has been my experience and it can be yours too (as long as you don’t give up too early). By having hundreds of conversations with other leaders, I have had the opportunity to learn from their successes and failures. Action has always been important to me and applying the ideas I learned has grown my skillset.
By creating a podcast I’ve developed my leadership skills and increased the value I create for others.
Podcasting has opened many new doors
I had a number pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming in the past twelve months.
All of these opportunities are because of my podcasts:
- I signed a contract to write a book about my work with a reputable publisher in the education sector
- I’ve spoken at many conferences and workshops
- I have the pleasure of serving around 75 leaders in either a group or 1:1 capacity
- Harvard’s Graduate School of Education is now a sponsor of the show
- TeachFX asked for a multi-year sponsorship agreement (I used to do these by the quarter)
- My leadership community is full, so I am training new coaches and opening new cohorts of the mastermind in 2021.
Who knows what is to come in 2021 and beyond, but everything great I’ve experienced in the past six years can be directly linked back to my podcasts.
Podcasting has been a great way to serve my ideal listener
At the end of the day, I love to do two things: create and help others.
The Better Leaders Better Schools Podcast and The School Leadership Series help me serve tens-of-thousands of listeners on a regular basis. I call my audience, “Ruckus Makers” — those out-of-the-box leaders making change happen in education. Through my two shows, I can serve this audience at scale and for free. It always tickles me when I hear from a listener who tells me a story of how they took me on a road trip with their family or how I was there with them when they packed up their apartment and moved into their first house.
Video or the printed word wouldn’t have allowed me to make such an impact as quickly or as profoundly.
