Want to Learn and Be Inspired? Try Podcasts

Want to Learn and Be Inspired? Try Podcasts

In July, Disney+ streamed the Broadway Cast production of 'Hamilton' and around the nation (and world) the internet became a lot slower from streaming this event. Our family gathered in an outdoor amphitheater (the backyard while maintaining a reasonable social distancing) and enjoyed this play together.

The youth of today have a keener interest in the founding of this country because of the music and narrative of Lin-Manuel Miranda's creativity. It is great to see this transfer of knowledge from a source of entertainment.

Because my grandchildren were singing the music and talking about this play, I am now listening to the book 'Hamilton' by Ron Chernow, which was the inspiration for the play.
This leads me to my topic for this month: Take time to listen to podcasts. Here are some of the reasons this can be a great platform for learning, entertainment, and enrichment.

1. Narrative and storytelling
Being surrounded by a myriad of entertainment options, telling a story has been dying for decades. With podcasts, storytelling is making a resurgence. It is refreshing to get caught up in a story and drawn into a place and time by the narrator. It allows our minds to be free of day-to-day encumbrances and become empathetic to those around us by understanding their stories.

2. Reduction of screen-time
Since you are reading this in front of a screen, it is ironic to say . . . but enough is enough! Email, texts, productivity software, movies, sports, and more all add up to a lot of screen time. Give your eyes and your imagination a break and let your ears do some of the work.

3. Hear directly from experts
There are endless variations of podcasts from subject experts. You can often hear the same message you would get by going to a conference without all the time and expense of traveling. You can learn about marketing, industry trends, and almost any discipline you want from experts on the topic.

4. Escape from the divisive news of the day
Today we want to blame everything on politicians and the media. There is a lack of trust, and this increases our stress levels.

Listening to podcasts can take us away from the day to day divisiveness that is commonplace when listening to the news. Take some time and find new ideas and avocations that will give you a break from the cacophony that comes from our media today.

5. Get inspiration
"Business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationships." -- H. Ross Perot.

With the advent of remote working and COVID-19, it is easy to get a little 'demotivated' and be casual with the process and procedures needed to keep your business moving forward and keep you and your team engaged.

Listen to a few podcasts, find something that suits your needs, and use it as an inspirational tool to get you going forward personally or as a business.

Here are a few podcasts that I like:

  • Hidden Brain, by Shankar Vedantam is a nice one for general knowledge.
  • The $100 MBA Show, by Omar Zenhom is a 15-minute primer on business subjects you want to know about.
  • This American Life, by Ira Glass is an Americana narrative that makes you think and gives insight into this great land.

Here are a few podcast favorites from our team:

You can find thousands of subjects on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SiriusXM, and other formats.

Find something that interests you and ENJOY!

 

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