6 Find YOUR conversation first

Before we continue let’s tap in again to setting the space as in the introduction to the Essentials

”I am willing to learn from this experience”

”I’m willing to dive into the space in between”

”I will re-discover the space in me that holds the wisdom of what's next”

”I give myself the gift of the space in”

Why is this important? Because being able to move from a beginner’s mind is one of the most important skills we can develop as a human being.

This skill is taught through most spiritual and scholarly schools of thoughts.

In Sanskrit, the term for the beginner’s mind is abhuta (a b h u t a)

The best word in English that the term translates to is wonderment.

It’s the wonder in a child’s eyes when he sees bubbles for the first time, or when you have your very first encounter with a puppy, kitten or a baby.

It’s the moment when you walk outside and something about nature blows your mind.

It’s the WOW.

A beginner’s mind is the entry. It is the doorway to depth, complexity and refinement.

As skills build to excellence, the beginner’s mind is step one into a systematic approach towards optimal performance that begins from a state of expansiveness.

It’s the possibility.

From that place…on with the show!

I’ve asked for you to consider your foundation: what is the underlying principle or essence of you

I’ve asked you to look at your podcast or podcast business in it’s current iteration and answer:

Is your podcast, your podcasts or your podcasting business the axis from which your digital footprint expands?

I’ve introduced you to the concept of moving your podcast from Show to Ecosystem and seeing the possibilities of expansion through transmedia.

And finally to recognizing the power of language that you can repeat as a key differentiator and instigator to growth - not only for yourself but for your work.

As you’ve mulled over these concepts, regardless whether or not you’ve gotten some specific answers or feel that you are still in the murky waters of “I have no idea what’s going on” - trust that the endeavor itself is enough.

I’m going to repeat that one more time - trust that the endeavor itself is enough.

You making time, whether it’s 15 minutes to hours to focus your mind and contemplating you and your work in the world is enough.

I guarantee that the act of stepping into the inquiry has created a level of awareness that will prove invaluable - trust me!

My hope is that you now recognize that you and your Voice in the space isn’t simply about the podcast.

My hope is that as you reference back to your foundation and the other E-League Essentials you see the capacity that we have to expand not only the message of our podcast and our work in podcasting but who we are in the world.

Moving forward, working on that infrastructure will inform the focus of the rest of this episode and the remaining Essentials.

Here are a few questions and concerns that I get a lot:

• I’ve been approached by someone as an interview for my podcast but I’m not sure if I want to have them on the show (explanation of why they should or why they feel weird about it)
• I’ve been considering publishing 2x a week vs 1x a week OR I’m feeling 1x a week is too much I want to cut back (explanation of why making this decision is challenging)
• Should I be on Twitter or (fill in the blank of the social media platform that you have an inquiry about)
• How do you get more feedback and engagement from my listeners?
• I’m getting bored with my show, and I’m not sure what to do…should I quit? Should I push through it?
• I have x amount of downloads, is that good or bad?

And two of the biggies

• How do I differentiate my show from all the others out there?
• How do I find my Voice?

All those questions might seem to not have anything to do with one another, and I’m sure as you heard them, you started to come up with solutions, either for yourself or possibly the advice that you would give to someone asking these questions.

I have one answer, in the form of a question (of course) to the above and all of the variations:

What is the conversation that you want to have?

The E-League Essential for this episode is Find YOUR conversation first

Your conversation is absolutely informed by your Foundation plus The Language That You Can Repeat.

On the next episode I’ll share the conversation that I want to have so you hear this concept in action.

How I arrived to it came from months (possibly years) of an inner dialogue that I’ve been having for a long time.

I found that from within, in my own head, I kept having the same thoughts arise.

I found myself drawn towards a type of book, a style of movie, a particular topic.

I also had enough awareness that I kept bringing up a lot of the same things with my friends, family and online acquaintances.

Which brought me to this thought (in all honesty - I have no idea where I got this - I found it in my myriad of notes that I take all the time!:

Am I arguing or getting really good at solving a problem that is THE problem that needs to be solved to have the greatest impact.

I’m not interested in arguing.

I am 100% into creating meaningful and life-affirming impact.

And I created a mind map to get clearer. In looking at my map, I plucked out the most important parent categories.

I implore you to do the same. If you’re not a mind map person, an outline, if not an outline, a page split into 6 columns. Here are the categories

1. What are the conversations that I want to have?
2. What is important to me that isn’t being said in digital or social media?
3. What are the things I cannot shut up about (in my head or otherwise)
4. Whose voices do I resonate with the most? and why?
5. What types of things trigger me?
6. Who or what has had the most powerful positive impact in my life?

I found those to be the guiding principles around crafting my ecosystem and the conversations that I want to have.

They are the pulse of creation, choice making and groundedness.

Here comes a BIGGIE. In sitting down and working on the above it will help you in recognizing that…

You are the cultural creative in the conversation. Take that seat. And give it voice

Being public with our voices challenges us to deepen the game.

In order for us to have the conversations that we want to have, the conversations that are going to change, transform or evolve culture we must have them.

We can only become fluent in our voice if we practice IN the world.

Pay attention to the ideas, the narrative that will NOT GO AWAY.

For you.

The same teachings continue to appear, meaning, the same conversations, the same words, the same dialogue will surface around you.

That or those that influence you have something that connects them.

Once we speak, we are given the opportunities in real life to articulate and refine - and PRACTICE.

These conversations are there to inspire us to ask deeper questions, not to settle, and NOT to regurgitate!

It’s about iteration and distillation of who we are and what we stand for.

Actions are powerful, and for those of us that podcast, VOICE rules. Stepping into you as leader in creating the culture that you want, that you need, is imperative.

As you work on this, write this on a post - it or note card or maybe create or as the top of the page of your work:

● Hold the vision of the WHOLE.

● What is your through line?

● What’s the story you’re telling and where is it going?

You’ll start to see the patterns. It’s about seeing the connections. Josh Waitzkin said it better than I ever could

Find hidden harmonies between seemingly disparate parts of life

A quick re-cap of the next steps

Create a mind-map, an outline, use index cards or simply 6 columns that answer:

1. What are the conversations that I want to have?
2. What is important to me that isn’t being said in digital or social media?
3. What are the things I cannot shut up about (in my head or otherwise)
4. Whose voices do I resonate with the most? and why?
5. What types of things trigger me?
6. Who or what has had the most powerful positive impact in my life?

Once you are done refer to these questions:

● Hold the vision of the WHOLE.

● What is your through line?

● What’s the story you’re telling and where is it going?

So that you can make connections and see the patterns!

In the next episode I’ll illustrate how all of this comes into play in real life and how it applies to making choices about your podcast and you work in the world.