598- Major podcast projects left in your lifetime

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter show, we deliver an episode from another podcast show of mine called The Struggling Biz. So we are repurposing this episode that deals with the theme of planning major projects for you during the rest of your lifetime.

As you will hear in this repurposed audio episode, my major projects remaining in my own lifetime experience are PODCASTS. And so here are the shownotes from the repurposed original podcast episode:

We reflect on a theme propagated by podcaster, Todd Henry, of the show called The Accidental Creative. This theme was that of deciding which big projects you should select and complete — because there are only so many of them you can do with the remaining years of your life. So you may understand this, the average time for a large project in your life — be it business or personal — is about 5 years in length.

Or better put, as Todd states in an episode released in December of 2021:

“Michael Bungay Stanier is a force of nature. My recent interview with him about How To Begin really made me think. We can take on about one big project every five years or so, which means you can subtract your current age from the average lifespan, divide by 5, and figure out how many more big things you can take on. Really makes you think about where you’re spending your time and energy. (By the way, I likely have about 5-6 big projects left in me. You?)”

Well, this made me think about my own situation as an entrepreneur and especially the business projects (including podcasting and screencasting, which are driving my business revenue at present) that I currently have or am planning to have and launch in the near future.

Well, for myself, I remember when I was in elementary school back in the 1950s, and the teacher drilled into our heads that the average lifespan for someone like me was 71 years. Well, thank goodness that I have surpassed that time, as I am now living on what seems to be “borrowed time.” And the several projects that I have currently are several, which have been long-term and going on for 10 years or more. They deal with me as a content creator and consultant for screencasting, videocasting, New Media content creation and podcasting, etc.

And when I look at the future, I know that I only have 2 to 4 more large projects left under the definition given earlier (even that would be a stretch at my age). So what do I do and how can I plan to do the best and maximize my ideas, my project goals and my business and my life? Well, I already stopped my journey to get my PhD. in International Marketing (and I was at the dissertation stage when I had to stop, due to problems that I had to deal with in my family — and that was a major project that will never be completed by myself).

The podcast and video content creation

I had in my plans since 2019 to create and launch 2 more personal podcast shows:

The Real Academy of Life show — which would be the equivalent of memoirs and my perspective on my life in the future and in the past, with accomplishments and setbacks, but with a satisfaction of having delivered my success stories and weaknesses that would give me a type of fulfillment and closure. This would be free-form and not subject to a rigorous schedule. As a matter of fact, I had even prepared an episode to capture my thoughts about this and become energized to plan and launch this show in details:

and also,

PodcastScreencasting.com — this was to be a podcast show that would highlight my experiences as a podcaster and screencaster and video content creator (insofar as tutorials, training videos and commercial videos). And at the time of this publication, it may be that the domain has been relinquished, due to non-launching of the show.

So, according to the formula that is highlighted by Todd Henry in his podcast episode, I would have to first end the current 2 projects that I have now — and these should be completed in about 2 to 3 years. Then I would have to allocate another 10 years (5 years for each major project planned) in order to complete the other major projects in my mind.

According to the calculations, I would reach age 85 by the time that these major shows would be launched and completed. Now, for someone who is suffering from medical complications from results of exposure to Agent Orange (as well as the mental problems caused by PTSD, stemming from my days as a combat infantryman and paratrooper when I was a machine-gunner in the Vietnam War), I seriously doubt that I will reach that age before I expire. As the age-old saying goes: “I am living on borrowed time.”

Thus, I did take a look and see what would be realistically available insofar as time left in my life (as well as energy and enthusiasm and euphoria) in order for me to look forward to completing these current projects in which I am engaged in my business, as well as starting and finishing these other 2 projects.

My summary about this exercise that I did was that it is, indeed, of great value. I feel that this could be very beneficial to every entrepreneur and bring him down to a level of reality to clearly see what remains for dreams and projects to be imagined, to be planned, to be started and launched, and to be possibly completed — for the self-satisfaction and closure is something that I feel would definitely be worth it for your life and your business.

I sincerely hope that you undergo such an exercise to look inside yourself and see what major projects you can plan, and which ones would be realistic for your life span — I am sure that your high priority projects would deliver the best results in satisfaction and closure for you.

Thank you for your attention.