Today, we’re talking about life lessons I’ve learned from having a podcast! Now, if you don’t already know, I have TWO side hustles…this blog and the Fools in Love Podcast. Even though the blog is separate from the podcast, I’ve found that what I’m learning from the podcast actually applies in all areas of life–mom life included! Which is exactly why I want to share what I’ve learned in these past 6 months of podcasting. Even if you have no desire to ever start a podcast, I believe the following 5 points will still apply to you.
Ready?
1.Just Ask.
A huge lesson I’ve learned from our podcast is that much of the time, all you have to do is ask. We’ve had Dave Hollis on the podcast. Brandon and I never in a million years figured we’d get Dave–but Brandon was brave enough to ask. And because he asked, we learned early on that there are so many people out there who really, truly, want to help and support you, even though often they don’t actually know you. We’ve been overwhelmed (in the best way) by the number of people willing to give 30-60 minutes of their time to chat on the Fools in Love Podcast. And the best part is that once you get comfortable asking in one setting or circumstance, you suddenly aren’t afraid to ask anyone pretty much anything. You realize: the worst they can say is no.
2. Fear makes you grow.
You know what I hate? Public speaking. Recording my voice. Watching myself on video. And yet here I am, on a podcast and doing a FB/IG live every single Wednesday night. It’s out of my comfort zone. But I have also grown so much in these past 6 months. Tackling my fears has made me more confident and helps me see that no matter what the fear is, if I actually face it, there could be great benefits and rewards on the other side.
3. You don’t have to be a natural to be successful.
I’m not a talker. I’m a writer. I’m an introvert through and through. Podcasting may not be my natural forte, but I’m also not a quitter. So I have kept on going, every single week, pushing past my discomfort, to become more natural. I’m nowhere near perfect. I mess up all the time. But as time goes on, I’m learning that just because I am not naturally “something”, it doesn’t mean I can’t eventually do a good job and help other people.
4. Motivation comes and goes.
There are lots of times in our week that we need to be working on the podcast. We don’t always want to. But even when it seems like so much more fun to skip the work and go watch TV, we rarely do. We’ve got a podcast that needs to be planned, recorded, edited, uploaded, and so much more…if we only worked on that stuff when we felt motivated, we’d probably put up a new episode every few weeks. Episodes go up weekly because whether we want to or not, we put in the work to accomplish the goal. So when you don’t want to do whatever you need to do, sometimes it’s best to just jump in and start doing it!
5. Someone wants to hear your message.
For a long time, I struggled with publishing this blog. After that, I struggled with who on Earth would care about our podcast. And finally, I struggled with who would sit and watch a whole Live of Brandon and me?? Turns out…someone did want to do all of those things. My blog has more readers that just my mom (unless she’s been secretly traveling around to hundreds of cities every week just to head to this website from a new IP address!), and the podcast episodes are getting downloaded every day! The replays of the Lives are doing well too…which means that my concerns that no one needed what I have to offer were just invalid. So whether you have a huge platform or not (I don’t!), there is someone who wants to hear your voice. That random post on Insta where you are talking about how you failed at #momlife today? That was exactly the post someone needed today. Maybe you don’t use social media, and maybe that someone is your best friend who just needs you to pick up the phone to check in. No matter what though, someone cares about you and needs you to care about them.
See? I told you that these are applicable for anyone!!
What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned recently?
