The Efficient Podcast Listener

Life in the Internet Age is really two lives.

One is online where you now engage with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers through screens providing a heightened literal face-to-face communication confrontation.

When that harrowing ordeal is over, you check your phone for texts, images, emojis and videos conveying accompanying messages – as vital as your grandmother’s health report, to as trivial as a bird on a giraffe’s back – with the same flat, rapid, flash of presentation.

Sliding over to your social feeds, you post a few images about your delicious meal, new shoes, or child’s messy face, and then stare jealously at your friends’ more delicious meal, hipper shoes and cuter child.

With heightened reluctance you switch off the screen to tend to your other life…the real one.

Your physical life is the one of private discussion, gentle cries, confusion, fear and misunderstanding.

And never more so has this stood out than now when you face a world where you have to learn to operate in crisis and disruption.

Sadly you know no one who has ever faced this type of turmoil.

Neither does anyone you know.

The knowledge circle that used to come from experiences of extended family, teachers or community leaders is closed. 

Your chance to extract information has disappeared, and perhaps your opportunity to be successful, and have the comfortable life you expect, has gone with them.

Where do you turn?

To the fastest rising information, education and communication platform in the world…podcasts.

The Surprise Behind the Mic

If you thought podcasts were only for big name stars, provocative politics or senseless comedy, you may have missed the extraordinary bucket of information burgeoning from the 99.99% of podcasts that create most of the content.

Across all categories from activists to educators to professionals, non-profits, entrepreneurs and health practionners, podcasters are having the conversations you used to hear in your living room.

The conversations once offered by mentors, community leaders, and instructors in limited circles, and behind closed doors, are now offered to everyone within earshot of a connected device.

If you are a professional seeking to hear detailed information about how to grow your career; or a college student wondering how life in the ‘real world’ really plays out; or a concerned citizen who is uncertain how best to contribute to building a better society; or an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to understand how to really get a business going…there is a podcast conversation waiting for you and your notepad.

But how do you find this treasure trove of knowledge and information in the massive sea of options presented on your smartphone?

You start here.

Finding Relevant Podcasts

This post highlights what you should know about extracting valuable information from podcasts available right now for your listening pleasure.

But instead of passively absorbing the conversation, this post recommends you take the guidance you hear to the next level, and apply the knowledge to your career path, education or entrepreneurial decisions going forward.

The purpose of a podcast interview is to give the listener new insights to absorb and implement.  The opportunity for you is to take the advice and run with it.

Podcasting is a fairly new industry with no formal structures or established reference resources.  Podcasts are hosted by dozens of platforms, and listed in dozens more directories.

But most directories limit search results to the most ‘relevant.’  This presents the top podcasts with unlimited search result real estate, and all the rest lost behind algorithms designed to ignore them. 

A podcast capturing valuable specific interview content for a young professional, rising business owner or college student could be ranked from #201 to #1,000,000, and effectively be ‘undiscoverable.’ 

But if you are that person who wants that information, the question is: how can find the 99.99%?

And when you do…what should you do with the information?

The Value of Virtual Mentors

Most people do not receive the information they need to be successful.  The schools do not teach the personal development and self-help ideologies, that tens of millions of adults will go on to purchase in later life.

And the majority will fail to learn that some people are successful not because of demographics or wealth or education, but simply because they get great information they understand early enough to apply it to their life choices.

In a world built on democracy and free enterprise, there’s a belief that people operate on a leveling playing field – that the society by virtue of its success values will encourage anyone to be successful. 

But in reality, success often comes to those who have the right information.

In Robert Kiyosaki’s best selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad, he explained this reality.  You get the right information by either having a ‘Rich Dad’ who will impart it to you, or by knowing you are missing out, and finding where you can learn what you need.

A ‘Rich Dad’ is any human who pro-actively teaches or demonstrates how to maximize your resources to grow for success; and ‘Poor Dad’ teaches nothing, but following the status quo.

The most effective ‘Rich Dads’ provide not only the knowledge, but the life skills to understand how to apply what you have learned for the long-term.  ‘Poor Dad’ is rarely economically poor, but yet leads a life where decisions are driven by earning a salary to pay monthly bills, and scrimp and save for retirement.

People who grow up with ‘Poor Dad’ often believe they are doing everything right, and to society, they are, until they hit financial concerns. ‘Poor Dad’ learners are the ones who are shocked by financial crises, rising mortgage rates, equity market swings, and the interest rates on their car loans, student loans and credit card debt.

Following ‘Poor Dad’s’ example means spending on the items you believe you need like a house and car, and being worried that you cannot afford those same items whenever there is a crisis.

Even the ‘Poor Dads’ who teach frugality, and end up with a couple million dollars in the bank at retirement, don’t seem to be having a good time because they have never learned how to spend money for enjoyment, and are constantly managing to the last penny in fear of ‘running out.’

For those who are interested in entrepreneurship and starting a business, ‘Poor Dads’  caution and insecurity is discouraging. Entrepreneurial ideas go untested because of fear, and the inability to break habits from the past.

But those same people, maybe even you, know about ‘Rich Dad,’ and maybe are watching, wondering and asking, how do you have a great life now? 

If a potential ‘Rich Dad’ is not within your reach, you can find one as a virtual mentor who will give you the guidance and wisdom you need to ensure your life meets your expectations.

Since financial education is not taught in schools, you have to be exposed to ‘Rich Dad’ in some other form.

But if you don’t have a ‘Rich Dad,’ and you know you are missing out on the information you need, and you are ready, willing and able to implement good advice, you can discover these valuable mentors for yourself by absorbing and applying the lessons being taught…in podcasts.

You can make yourself information privileged by finding the podcasts that are having conversations with people who have the knowledge you need.

How to Find Your Podcast

Podcasts grow by word of mouth, which means the most successful podcasts are those that have been recommended.  And the interview podcasts tend to be successful for the same reason. Interviewers speak to a finite rotating list of A-name stars who tell the same stories over and over again.

Even on podcasts that purport to offer a different perspective, or unique angle, the same story is being told by the same people.

To break away from these familiar conversations, and find podcasts you can use to advance your life, you have to become more creative in your podcast search. 

If those in your circle are not interested in enhancing their lives, they will not be the ones to recommend the podcasts you should be listening to.  You will have to find these shows on your own.

Search by Keyword

The podcast description is the key location where podcasters state the nature of their content.  But a podcaster can state this information in a variety of different forms.

A keyword you are searching for may not appear in the podcast title or description, yet valid for the type of content provided. You will have to assess each description as you see fit.

Some podcasters also have episode descriptions that state the episode features, and expert or specialist interview content. But this information varies by podcast.

When using keywords to search for podcasts:

1. Search for your unique podcasts by using Google or another search engine for [your keyword] podcasts to see a list of possibilities.
2. Read the descriptions to see if the information sounds valuable to you.
3. Since your search topic may cover more than one area, try different categories and keywords around broad subjects. For example, entrepreneurs can look for:  ‘entrepreneur,’ ‘entrepreneurship,’ ‘business,’ ‘success,’ ‘startup,’ ‘side hustle,’ ‘action,’ ‘boss,’ and all variations of ‘boss lady.’
4. If you are aware of experts in your field such as professors, researchers, and organizers search [their name] podcast – the person’s name with the word podcast written after it – to see if you can find their appearances on different shows. When you find the appearance of someone you admire, you may find others who have appeared on the same podcast, and discussed similar topics.
5. Stop when you have at least 100 podcasts to research. Avoid trying to find every possible category, every type of podcast may be lurking in.  Once you begin by searching one or two categories the results will lead you on to more.

Social Media

Searching social media hashtags and keywords can also help discover previously unknown podcasts. However, social media generally takes more time and does not often provide additional information about the show.

Social media may be more valuable AFTER you have listened to an interview, and want to learn more about your virtual mentor.

How to Listen to the Interview

When you discover a podcast with interviews with people whose advice you may wish to add to your ‘Rich Dad’ information library, listen to the conversation as if that person were providing the details directly to you.

If your hands are free, take notes on important points you may want to clarify or research later. 

For example, if you want to be an entrepreneur, and listen to entrepreneurs interviews on podcasts, you could be considering:

• How the entrepreneur got started
• Where their opportunities came from
• How they made money.

For example, on the Trailblazers Impact podcast, ‘Financial Diva’ Victoria Woods, the CEO of ChappelWoods Financial Services spoke about her rise.

An aspiring entrepreneur listening to this interview may realize:

• You have to keep your eyes open for opportunities to make money, like babysitting 6 kids at a time, instead of one
• You maintain your opportunity by being responsible, organized and reliable
• You should be productive with your free time, for example take an accounting class or other continuous learning.  You may be surprised to discover a subject you love that is also a career opportunity
• Accept no limits – use your energy and effort
• Follow the trails of those who have done it before
• Stay open for new opportunities
• Find the right partner by making sure your goals and lifestyle are aligned
• Always ask why a customer decided to work with you, why were they motivated to call you. You can learn from what you’re doing right
• Decide where you are and where you want to be, then fill in the blanks about how you want to get there
• Don’t take advice from broke people – physically, financially or spiritually

If you had this information imparted directly to you over coffee or dinner, what would you do with it? 

Use the Knowledge to Build your Life Going Forward 

Use the information you hear in podcast interviews to begin building a store of knowledge that can help you design your life to ensure you accomplish your goals, without waiting for circumstances to take you in another direction.

Unlike generations past when good advice was kept among families or scholars, the average person now has the information freely available, and ready for use.

If you are serious about having the life you really want, being proactive about your choices, and making your own success, use quality podcast interviews – beyond the top 100 – to get your share of the information privilege you are unlikely to receive anywhere else.

Let the podcast world provide you with an additional education grounded in realities that you will not hear about from those around you.

This is an exciting time to be a participant in the new economy, now you can adapt the possibilities to your own ends.

Summary

Why should you be listening to podcasts?

For the information, knowledge, entertainment and news.

But why should you try and find the #101 to #1,000,000 ranked podcasts?

Because in the interviews and information of the 99.99% of podcasts lies a layer of wisdom that would otherwise be completely inaccessible to you.

The manor door has been left wide-open, you can slip in, and absorb the next level of higher living that comes not from money, but from information, heard, absorbed and used to repeat success, not let it fall away.

Take advantage of this moment while you can, by taking a step beyond the obvious, and making your podcast listening count for more.

How to Find Your Relevant Podcasts – use the same techniques guests use

The Value of Virtual Mentors

How to Listen to the Interview

Use the Knowledge to Build your Life Going Forward