I was cleaning out my apartment a couple of months ago and I came across a few of my old audiotapes. Most of them were of Richard (Bandler), some of Tony Robbins and then a whole host of others from Jim Rohn to Zig Ziglar and many more legends. I used to be an audio course addict. Everywhere I went, I was downloading the wisdom of one of these geniuses into my mind while I was running, driving or walking. The ability to be trained wherever you are is extremely appealing to me and although I love reading, there is something about hearing someone speak that really helps my memory of what they are talking about. I used to create my own audio tapes. On one side, I would give some conscious suggestions for whatever topic I was talking about (e.g. study better, stop smoking, lose weight etc.) and on the other side there would be the hypnosis side. I liked it and when I got a chance to do audio books for my two books with Richard and Alessio Roberti, I jumped at the chance. I asked myself why I didn’t do more of that.
In this article I want to explain what a podcast is, why I am doing one, what my new podcast will be about, the format it will take and finally I want to share with you some of my favourite podcasts so that you can get the benefits that I’ve received over the last few years.
A podcast is like an internet radio show that is released by a podcaster and you can listen and download it from the web. There are lots of different types of podcasts. Many interview shows. Some solo episodes of someone discussing different topics. There are also serialised shows where stories are told over a number of episodes. Podcasts are free and some podcasters monetise their show through advertisements they play during each episode. Shows can be anywhere from a couple of minutes to several hours.
Finally, after talking and thinking about it for years, I have decided to do my own podcast. Not only that, but I decided to throw myself in the deep end and release two a week for the next year. Given the amount of work that it involves and the low return the majority of podcasts achieve, a few of my friends have questioned why I have such ambitions. Podcasting itself is obviously extremely popular and seems to be getting even more listeners every day. The market is there. At the same time, there is so much competition and trying to succeed in a crowded marketplace doesn’t seem like the best strategy. There are three main reasons that I have decided to go ahead and commit to such an endeavour.
First, obviously it is a marketing play. The idea is that it is yet another way of getting out there and building interest in what you do. Second, it offers me a chance to immerse myself in study and work as the deadlines imposed by each episode will force me to read more and study more than I do currently. Perhaps the most important reason however is what this will enable me to do. When I post short articles or videos on social media I never really get a chance to cover any topic in much depth. In a podcast episode, I will get the chance to deep dive into a variety of ideas and build up dozens of hours of training people in areas that I know can help. It will allow me make more of an impact.
My new podcast is called Changing Minds with Owen Fitzpatrick. Every Monday, I’ll release a solo episode on a different topic such as Influence, Thinking or Motivation. I’ll explore the science behind each idea and suggest research based strategies that you can use. Every Thursday I’ll either release an interview that I’ve done with someone cool that is full of actionable takeaways and ideas to consider OR I’ll do a solo episode on a particular author or thought leader. This type of episode is a fun one as I get to summarise the work of some great experts out there and provide you with some key ideas from them.
Podcasts are now a habit for me. I listen to them almost every single time I go for a run and, along with audiobooks, they keep me occupied on many of my long flights and travels. Some ones I’d recommend are:
- THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE
- THE TIM FERRISS SHOW
- THE JAMES ALTUCHER SHOW
- HIDDEN BRAIN
- YOU ARE NOT SO SMART
- THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESS
- SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW
- ONLINE MARKETING MADE EASY BY AMY PORTERFIELD
- THE PSYCHOLOGY PODCAST
- SMART PASSIVE INCOME BY PAT FLYNN
- THE JORDAN HARBINGER SHOW
There are also amazing crime podcasts, story podcasts and serial podcasts out there and literally hundreds and thousands of options. The most important one of course being Changing Minds. It would be amazing if you could subscribe and give it a try. Podcasts are free so all it takes is a few minutes to listen and see if you find it of value. If you’re like me I’m sure you will. For more information, please visit https://changingmindspodcast.com/
