I have released episode 1 of a weekly podcast that I have planned for years but, finally, have taken the initiative to put together and release it to the world. Each podcast is meant to be 10-20 minutes long and discuss something I have been thinking about, and hopefully provide some inspiration or challenge thinking for the week. There is no script; it is just me talking about some points and sharing ideas.
This week, I posted about the importance of “risk-taking,” which seemed to be a relevant topic to the release of the podcast. I have loved blogging for the past ten years, but reflection just became such a habit for me that I wanted to try something else to push my learning. But the reason that I didn’t start the podcast sooner was because of the same excuses that I would roll my eyes if others used such as, “I don’t have time” or “who cares what I have to say.” For me, these were a way out more than a way forward. So I pushed myself to start, put a schedule together, and started playing around. I am not happy with the sound quality of the first episode, but I have been playing around with mics and testing things out. If I were waiting for perfection to happen, I would have never started now or in the future. So I decided to jump.
So why now? The simple answer was I needed to push myself. The best way I can explain it is through an exercise analogy. If you do the same routine with lifting weights and continue to lift the same amount of weight, this will not lead to a maintenance of your current state, but a regression. For me, I was feeling this effect mentally, so I decided that I would change things up. Here is one of the points that I made in the podcast:
In “Innovate Inside the Box,” I shared the following:
I hope I never grow tired of learning, but if I do, I hope that I have the courage to leave the profession before I stand in the way of anyone else’s learning and growth.
If I am going to continue to ask people to push themselves in their learning, I know that I am going to be able to point to examples where I am doing the same. The discomfort of the process is something that I am learning to not only get through but enjoy. We always say that if “we can just make an impact on one person, we will have made a difference.” Sometimes, it is essential that “one person” is ourselves as we can inspire many others through our example.
If you want to check out the podcast, you can subscribe on iTunes or check it out on SoundCloud.
