Why I love podcasting?

The revelation for starting a podcast came to me during the Christmas break in 2017, after listening to numerous podcast episodes that have inspired me to share my thought leadership with the world just like my idols did. In my typical fashion, I started looking feverishly for recording equipment and was even prepared to invest in one, until I got persuaded to start small and think big.  

I decided to follow Gretchen Ruben’s model who records most of her podcast episodes with her sister. This seemed like a good way to continue to bond with my sister, which had been one of my New Years’ Resolutions for a few years. And this is how GloriouslyGood Podcast took life on the   

Our first podcasting episodes were a recollection of the good things that had happened to us during the day, a sharing of experiences and life lessons, told in a relatively unstructured way that evolved organically, the more we recorded. We were so excited about podcasting that we were recording daily and I became the highlight of our day. Each day, as I was commuting to work or walking about, I was thinking what the topic of that day’s podcast would be. It felt thrilling as it gave me something to think about, hope and dream.  It also felt like an escape from my daily pressures.

So, why do I love podcasting so much?

1.       A chance to connect with people that I wouldn’t normally interact with

When I had the vision to invite people to become guest speakers into my podcast, I realised this was my chance to tap into a world that would’ve been inaccessible to me otherwise. Podcasting is the best networking opportunity I’ve created for myself. And it feels so much more natural. It gave me the chance to explore topics that I love learning about with people that inspire me so much. In a way, podcasting became my excuse for approaching people from various fields and getting them to talk to me, to share their knowledge and passions.  

The first guest on my podcast was my mentor and I loved how podcasting enabled me to reconnect with him in a new way, by talking about one of his passions (books) for a change, rather than focusing the conversation on my work success. I then went on to interview people from so many different industries, writers, yoga teachers, runners and athletes, entrepreneurs and business owners, who shared their gloriously good life learnings with me and my podcast listeners. Another benefit is that my podcast becomes a platform for establishing future interactions and connections.

2.       Sharing goodness with the world

My podcasting mission is to be able to inspire my listeners to find and nurture happiness in their daily lives. With this in mind, I have started to interview people that I admire and inspire me. I learnt a lot from talking to each and everyone of my guest speakers and I hope my listeners did, too. For me it’s great to learn how others go about their daily lives, how they make the most of the everyday, how they’ve  made themselves better to get to where they are now – an inspiration for me and others.

3.       It’s given me the opportunity to upskill myself

Podcasting has not only given me the opportunity to learn about audio equipment, what makes good sound, but also to improve my communication skills, my ability to interact with people that I wouldn’t have much in common with to start with.

4.       The chance to have a voice

When I was recording podcasts with my sister or solo podcasts, I noticed that podcasting about a topic was making me to immerse myself into that specific topic and formulate opinions about it, without having had strong opinions on that topic beforehand. In a way, it made me acknowledge how I felt or what I thought about things that I hadn’t given much thought to before.  Or, its given me the impulse to come to research and come to strong conclusions on things that I only thought about vaguely before.     

5.       The chance to express myself creatively

I’ve always aspired to have an artistic inclinations and I find that through podcasting I found a way to express myself creatively, by exploring new ideas, and create content on topics that are interesting to me and, hopefully, others. Podcasting has become a creative medium that brings me so much joy for allowing me to rise above the confines of my day-to-day job.

To sum up, I love podcasting for opening my mind up to a new world, for stimulating me to get in touch with people that I admire but wouldn’t dare to speak to otherwise. I am so grateful to the readily available and easy-to-use technology and proud of myself for taking the initiative to create this opportunity for myself. Take a listen: GloriouslyGood Podcast.