Try the 30 day challenge!
When given the challenge to try something new for 30 days by a friend, I whinged a bit …and rolled my eyes…..and tried to avoid it…..and had it been suggested by anyone else other than Dianne – I might not have succumbed to the idea ….. to my detriment. Thinking I had already taken on enough challenges for 2017 I thought what else can I possibly add that can give me value – no point just doing it …just to say I was doing it. Dianne suggested the Ted talks and to listen/watch one per day – THIS I jumped at because it WAS something I had MEANT to do but unless you have a plan in place you won’t do it and I hadn’t.
So, I listened to my first that day at the gym on the treadmill – as I was already committed to doing SOMETHING at that time anyway, I might as well try it – and as it didn’t take any more time – it was doable. I actually felt like a real twit when I first put my headphones in trying to look cool – then got home and found there was a L and a R on them…..now I hear better….
I had always thought the idea of podcasts rather daunting and didn’t really understand them so I started with what I knew which was the Ted Talks, the Ted radio hour and the Ted X podcasts and listened to Ted’s suggestions. What I found was I couldn’t find one to hold my attention through the 40 minute treadmill session – I wanted to be totally engaged. When you are not visually connected to the talk it is different – sometimes better, sometimes not but I prefer it. In the past I had only watched them online.
I did listen to a few great speeches and as Dianne had recommended the “My mushroom burial suit …” which was truly amazing and if I could have just found similar stuff easily, I would have stayed there. So only because of this – as I just love TED talks I have watched in the past – I started exploring by going to the podcast ‘APP’ and researching people who were interviewed ON the TED radio hour – and I hit gold. They were about 50 minutes sessions and got me so fired up! There was SO much incredible information here that the podcasters were willing to impart – for FREE.
My enthusiasm is building the Womens HQ website,the Womens HQ social media platforms and make it an easy and enjoyable and safe headquarters for women 30 to 40 to 50 to 60 PLUS. A place were things can be tried, where women can increase their self belief and self worth and find the courage to have a go at any age. By doing it myself, I can see the hurdles, pitfalls and also show the benefits of making change in your own life.
I have always loved promoting women in business and I love meeting or being introduced to women who are also genuinely following their dream and originals. I LOVE originals! So I want us all to share their journey as they push themselves to explore, try, give it a crack, go back to school, the gym, follow their dream – and to do this I need to learn how to make my business grow to offer this support to everyone who wants to be involved. And this is where the mighty awesome podcasts come in.
Fore 12 months I have been asking question, been online, following women in the United States, the UK and Australia, signing up to online courses, following other bloggers and over the past year nothing has grabbed me. Until now.
To learn from people and be totally engaged and excited, you have to LOVE what they do. They have to appeal to you, they have to TEACH you and you have to have those WOW moments – and it is only possible – to me – from people who have ALREADY MADE IT. I have found a whole raft of people who are so generous with their information giving and I can’t get enough of it.
My faves are Nathan Chan founder of @Foundr who is a quietly spoken man from Melbourne with a great story. I found him by listening to Chris Brogan founder of @Chrisbrogan.com who I also LOVE. I found Chris Brogan by listening to @Ted Radio and then the guru @halelrod of @miraclemorning fame and then found Darren Rowse @problogger another honest modest but awesome Aussie entrepreneur – and these young men are today’s icons. They might not be QUITE accurate but it is close…
I’m not suggesting you will necessarily enjoy my choices however I urge you to explore the world of podcasts. It has created a whole new dynamic for me – as if I am finally plugged in to where I wanted to be – and I am finding the answers to questions I have been asking forever! For me it has been the most frustrating thing – trying to find who knows what you need to know and hearing it in their own words how they got there – so much better than just trying to learn from other means – in my opinion.
Just try it for 30 days (or 7 days if that is too scary but 30 is better)– look up podcasts or open the APP and have a look around – I pay for nothing. You don’t even need head phones however I do love them so I can be fully engaged in what I’m listening to ……….and I can pretend I can’t hear anyone talking to me – it’s a brilliant way to be rude and now I have discovered why my sons have been wearing them for years……
Enjoy and thanks for reading xxxxx
