How a Podcast Can Change the World

Photo: Pixabay

A turning point.

One morning, a few months ago I was listening to a podcast. It was an interview of JB Glossinger, a guy I’d never heard of. He is a coach/author/podcaster focusing on lifestyle design. Now I was listening to a lot of podcasts at the time and this one was good. Not particularly earth-shattering for me but good advice. I was sort of half listening while walking, until he told a story about one of his listeners. He told a story which captivated me and changed everything. It was a turning point.

Joshua asked him to recall a story that stood out as a great transformation of someone in his coaching community, and he shared the tale of how he found his avatar, the person he writes to when he sits down and starts working. A woman wrote to him describing the impact of his podcast on her life. She got married and moved to Europe. Life was great until shortly thereafter her husband began beating her. She would hide in the closet and listen to podcasts, eventually stumbling upon his. Eventually her husband started beating their children and this was too much to bear. Listening to the podcast gave her the strength to leave, move back to the United States and start a new life. She eventually remarried and gained her life, and her happiness back.

She wrote a seven page letter to express gratitude for his help.

I stopped the podcast at this moment as I felt something very powerful in these words and I needed to let this story sink in. I went back and listed a second and third time to make sure I wasn’t missing something. I sat down on a nearby bench, took in a breath and just thought for a while.

We feel so small, helpless and insignificant at times; but in fact we have the capability to have profound impact on individuals. Sit for a moment and realize the richness of your existence; all the thoughts, emotions and experiences that seem to be bursting from you. Now think of a moment where someone profoundly helped you.

Experience that gratitude for a moment.

And now imagine 7 billion or more people at the center of their own struggles, dealing the universe in their own unique ways. Imagine for a while the power we all have to touch other people’s lives. I can’t be certain, but that may have been the moment I subconsciously committed to starting this blog. What greater motivation is there?

We all have something awesome inside of us, something we are good at, something we are passionate about but often it is covered up by our ego and personality. Fears of failure and ridicule are common. But someone somewhere needs what you have. I realized I just couldn’t keep these ideas in my head. Maybe someone needs them.

Maybe I have an avatar…

Maybe not…

…but I have to try.

I hope you can see the derivatives and possibilities here. The right idea at the right time in the right person could cause a cascade of incredible events no one today can imagine. Or maybe you just change one persons life forever in a way that only affects them. Maybe that idea is inside of you. Maybe this is your gentle push to action.

Share your ideas with the world. Share your passions and use them as a force for positive change both within you and the people around you. We are living in an era that has in aggregate never been so free, and never have we had access to so much information and so many ideas. I’m grateful to JB for sharing that story, grateful to Joshua for asking the question and doing the interview. I’m grateful for all the writers, artists and creative minds that inspire me. I’m grateful to you for reading these words.

Thank you.