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podcast

644- BONUS – Breakthrough strategies for entrepreneurs and podcasters

In this Bonus episode, we discuss some ideas on capturing and implementing BREAKTHROUGH STRATEGIES. It does not matter whether you are an entrepreneur seeking ideas to improve your business and creating revenue streams. And if you are a creative professional or content creator (such as myself, as a podcaster), this can also be the roadmap to take advantage of those moments — whether accidental or not — to grasp ideas and turn them into manageable and actionable plans for successful execution.


Now, when I first thought about breakthrough strategies when I first saw the terms “Business Breakthrough Strategies” in a business card which I received from a conversation with another at a conference that I had just attended. I really studied this more while on a plane when returning back from the event. Of course, those 3 words were the ones that were in the name of the small business. What I saw on the back of the business card was the 4 x 4 square with the words underneath the image:  “How many squares do you see?”

Of course, the answer to that question is one that I already gave in my course of personal productivity to try an get the students to get the mind primed for patterned recognition and making thoughtful leaps into the data and going beyond. So this is the tale of the entrepreneur who called his firm “Business Breakthrough Strategies” (since 1998).

So now, when I hear those terms again, it gave me the pattern to create and form an idea for either revenue-generating tactics and projects, or else some creative strategies.


And here are three questions that Todd Henry  in his podcast show called The Accidental Creative said that should be used in looking for the breakthrough strategies:

  • what does a good idea even “look like?”
  • do you have the appropriate level of FOCUS to identify and define it effectively (i.e., will you recognize it)?
  • will you know how to implement this idea effectively after refinement of the idea?

Now, Todd gives detail about ideas and tasks that you need to include in your daily life and workflow to generate these ideas and move them into actionable strategies for your business or your content creativity. He describes them within the term “showmergence.”

I would suggest that you consume that podcast episode that explains this concept, for it may give you some creative thoughts to help you develop some tactics that improve your creative suggestions and benefit your business, as well as your content creation.

We would like to thank you for your attention, and thank you for listening. We shall see you next time.

Copyright (c) 2023, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Todd Henry and TheAccidentalCreative.com. All rights reserved.

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podcast

594- Ben Krueger on Podcast Procrastination

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we consider an article by Ben Krueger (podcaster and creator of cashflowpodcasting.com) in which he ponders the reasons why potential podcasters delay in getting started — in fact, he titles it “The One thing stopping you from starting your podcast.”

Now, you could consider this a type of procrastination from getting your feet wet in the podosphere as an aspiring podcaster.

And as we delve more deeply into this article, there is food for thought that someone who would like to podcast should really know what he may be missing out on by not starting. And we would ask ourselves the same question — what is the one big reason why anyone who wants to podcast would hesitate?

In the article, Ben describes the dilemma and the lost potential of communicating with a good audience and telling your own story and delivering your own message:

The biggest thing that gets in the way of podcasting dreams is the desire to do it right. And it’s not surprising if you think about it. Industry advocates and leaders have become successful because when they decide to do something, they make sure they do it well.

They make the effort to create high-quality work, use a strategy that gets results, and make the most of their time so they can focus on what they’re best at. This drive to do it right is key to their success in other things, and podcasting is no different.

The problem is that because they are so focused on this, their podcast becomes the project they think about for months—if not years—before they’re ready to commit. In my experience, this is usually due to three main issues that must be addressed before these would-be podcasters feel ready.”

And so Ben describes these main issues for aspiring podcasters and their procrastination:

  • Issue number 1:  the excuse or reason is “I don’t have the time.”
  • Issue number 2:  Being intimidated by the tech in podcasting;
  • Issue number 3:  The desire for success (and the resulting fear of failure to meet expectations).

Now, in my past, I have taught Personal Productivity (aka “time management”) courses to professionals. There is always some proven method to be able to be more productive (about 25 per cent for many people) with their time. In fact, when I taught the course, the objective was “to accomplish more in less time with better quality and to reduce stress.”

As Ben addresses in the article, getting help with software, or with virtual assistants, can free up time for you to be able to engage in the podosphere and get some good results. Obviously, his call to action is to hire a professional who can assist in helping you get started (like himself). And I have no problem with this, as I myself did hire Dave Jackson of The School of Podcasting to help me get my podcasts launched (even after I had taken self-study courses in starting a podcast show and creating and publishing an episode).

And, of course, if you have the money and want to get a pro to do it all for you, the hiring of help is the ideal way — even though most of the aspiring podcasters cannot afford it:  “The third and best option is to hire a full-service podcast production agency that takes care of the strategy, as well as all the time-consuming and technical stuff so that all you have to do is show up and hit record.”

I highly recommend that you, as an aspiring podcaster, should review the contents of this article so that you can really get past the excuses of “no time” or “no tech savvy” to get yourself into the podosphere — especially since most of us cannot go with the third alternative, which is to hire a full-blown studio to do it all for you. And although this is one alternative that can be provided by Ben Krueger, your budgets may have a warning for you from proceeding down the full-blown studio setup.

Yes, it may take some time and some self education, as well as a minor investment in training materials, as well as the tech devices and software. But once you get past the learning curve, you will find out how satisfying it can be to prepare, produce, publish and promote your own show and episodes.

As Ben summarizes, the HELP you need is something which you must explore, investigate, analyze and plan for stepping into the podosphere: “The moral of the story? Get help at whatever level is appropriate so that your time and effort are maximized for success…Instead of trying to figure out all the tech on your own, there’s a much simpler and more effective way: Ask for recommendations, and keep it simple…Starting a podcast can be time-efficient, simple and rewarding — if you let it.”

In fact, Ben recommends one of his resources to start with, as it is a free key piece of advice:  “(A great place to start is to download our free book, which breaks down our proven 5-step process for starting and managing a podcast…)”

In his book, Die Empty, Todd Henry (a podcaster and author) also mentions that a graveyard is the biggest container of lost ideas and valuable projects that never got started. Thus, Ben, in a similar manner, suggests that you NOT let procrastination of getting into the podosphere be one of your tragedies that were never realized in life.

Thus, we hope that you will find the time and get the training and education and put together a realistic plan to engage in the podosphere and have a successful podcast.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Ben Kreuger and Todd Henry. All rights reserved.

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podcast

584- Possible aimlessness in your Podcasting business

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the theme of a Podcaster’s dealing with aimlessness, in spite of what could be viewed as a successful podcasting business at the time of evaluation.

In order to do this, we refer to a podcast episode from Todd Henry’s show called The Accidental Creative.

Now, for a small business owner or entrepreneur or professional podcaster that has an outward appearance of having success at the moment, the feeling of “aimlessness” can begin to erode the confidence of your work and your duties, and it can start to allow the feelings of stagnation, fear of failure, a loss of purpose, and others.

What is aimlessness for the entrepreneur?

As Todd explains: “A lack of a clear through-line in your work — a lack of the overreaching “WHY” within your work or your commitment to your tasks for reaching success. When there is little connection between the core why of your work, it is difficult for you to do your best work ” and reach a satisfaction result from your work and results.

And this is true, even difficult, when you are doing the work that you may really love — Todd explains this, and I must say that this also applies to professional podcasters who are totally committed to their work and love what they do. The aimlessness is like an asymptomatic virus that attacks our soul and our spirit to prevent you from reaching your goals for your business and doing your best work. Sometimes, it can even lead to have little or no hope in deadlines and lack of appreciation for your tasks and results of your accomplishments (and even delay them).

Todd continues: “When you succeed, you can still feel hollow when you have accidental success, if there is not any intended purpose behind it.”

To overcome this, you still need good strategies in order to get to the final result of “victory” for your work, instead of futility. “Aimlessness can be destructive, removing the joy of success and the gratification resulting from your hard work.”

Aimlessness does not have cohesion between yourself and your work. You can start to feel this way when you recognize the early symptoms of certain states — like burnout, for instance.


Now, Todd addresses this issue with some strategies in defining your battles and aligning yourself to fight your opposing forces to make progress. And he sets these strategies within the framework of “passion”  (and he correctly defines what real passion within your work is about). And more importantly, he explains about “productive passion.”


We recommend that you consume this episode to see if the strategies explained can be meaningful to you, your work and your business. He explains how you can discover this “productive passion” — especially if you want a small workbook which he offers from his web site to walk yourself through his strategies — with the following ideas:

  • understand the theory of “compassionate anger”;
  • what moves you emotionally?
  • what obsesses you (i.e., “the splinter in your mind”)?

So, we hope that you can identify your current productive passion and find value from Todd’s episode as described here. In this way, you can see if there is a possible road to aimlessness in your current situation and work, especially if you realize that you have not been spending your hours in good time/energy focus. We sincerely wish for you the best in getting your business on the road to success, especially when discovering and overcoming aimlessness.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Todd Henry from theaccidentalcreative.com. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com and Todd Henry. All rights reserved.

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podcast

575- Podcasting boldness and bravery

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss  the theme of the mindset of the arrogance  vs the leadership quality of contemplation and possible change or pivoting. This deals with the brash boldness  that leads to a type of cowardice by not wanting to communicate vs. the bravery of the critical thinking that knows how to communicate and LISTEN — and how this can make the difference sometimes between success and failure for our own podcast shows.

We get this theme from the episode of the podcast show called The Accidental Creative by Todd Henry, where the topic is called “Bold vs. Brave Work, and 3 Elements of Brilliance.”


In Todd’s recent episode from The Accidental Creative, we get examples of brash boldness — i.e., the stubborn and tyrannical type of leader that decides which direction to take (and it may be against conventional wisdom or even contrary to any suggestions that formal or informal advisers may give that individual). A clear example of this can be as exaggerated as Adolf Hitler in WWII, when he refused to even listen to his advisers and generals (especially toward the end of the war), mainly because he felt he was history’s greatest military strategist with his past conquests. And in today’s modern environments, it could be the age-old leader that literally flies by the seat of his pants (i.e., his “gut feel” that made him successful, in spite of his own wrong decisions and actions). This type of individual would not listen to anyone — in fact, that individual would be most comfortable in dictating orders and activities, regardless of the possible outcomes or even against advice that was given with data and logic to back it up.

However, today, the element of bravery would command the element of communication and listening to advisers, studying the past and logic in making decisions and steering directions for your business.

As Todd elaborates in his podcast episode:

“This week’s podcast episode is about the distinction between boldness and bravery.

  • Bold leaders speak in declaratives, while brave leaders are willing to wade through the discomfort of seeing nuance.
  • Bold leaders identify scapegoats as the source of their problems, while brave leaders take accountability for their own thoughts and actions.
  • Bold leaders scream against events happening in their circle of concern, while brave leaders focus on what’s in their own circle of influence.
  • Bold leaders listen to what they want to hear, brave leaders listen to what they need to hear and are willing to change their mind when confronted with new information.

In the face of uncertainty and chaos, it’s tempting to act with boldness, but now more than ever our world needs bravery.”


As a podcaster, you may want to continue with the old ways of putting together your podcast episode and moving your show in the same direction that you have been doing so for the past 16 years (for those of us who started podcasting in 2005-2006). Since your processes and your practices have worked well until today, this may seem like the “safe” way to proceed. And you may consider doing the same without thinking about changing or modifying your show, because things have been fine so far. In this case, perhaps you may be acting like a  podcaster with boldness. Others may even use the term “conventional wisdom” when describing you.

However, a brave podcaster may want to learn about new tools, new processes, new procedures and even experiment and test new ideas to see if he can improve his podcast show. He may seek the feedback for some newer ideas on workflow or methods from some pundits or some colleagues that may help to make his podcasting better (which is the mantra delivered by age-old podcaster and disrupter, Evo Terra of podcastpontifications.com).

So, we recommend that you should try to pause before implementing some processes and procedures and determine if you may be acting like a bold or brave podcaster — and then perform the cost-benefit analysis for trying to extrapolate the possible results for your show, to see if they will bring your podcast show success.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and michaelandmike.com . All rights reserved.

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podcast

601- BONUS episode — Podcasting motivational strategies for 2022

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we we reflect on a post from Todd Henry in his email-delivery podcast called The Daily Creative, in which he asks us to celebrate a clear mindset while seeing what type of plan for the year we can initiate. And it just does NOT have to be at year-end or at the New Year’s celebration. In fact, it can be at any time during the first half of the year (whichever would be in your good time-line for planning and reflection).

This theme has to deal with the fact that we can CELEBRATE all that the past year had delivered our way in the form of positive events, situations and thoughts for ourselves, our businesses and our podcasts, posts and dialog amidst the negativity and fear-mongering brought about to us by the lame-stream media.

And Todd gives us not only the ideas to deal with so that we can have a grateful manner of moving forward — either at the beginning of the new year, or during the 1st quarter of the year, or even in the first half of the new year. And we do have the ability and the ammunition with which to CELEBRATE for ourselves with some real significance:

In his final words of this email post from Todd,

“You should celebrate. Marking moments is an important aspect of mental health. We need to mark the passage of time, to celebrate wins, and to look back at the mountain we’ve just climbed.

What in your life needs to be celebrated today?

What good things in your life are you grateful for?

What adversity did you overcome this year?

How have you proven to yourself that you are able to persist?

What risk did you take that you look back on with deep satisfaction?

In what ways did you grow this year, whether in perception, skill, or emotion?

What new relationships have entered your life that you should celebrate?

What old relationships remain that should be marked?

What have you moved on from this year that you need to celebrate and leave behind?

Take some time today to end the year well by marking the moment, celebrating your wins, remembering why you’re grateful, marking the moment, and preparing to move ahead.

Good endings lead to good beginnings.” 


So, thus, being grateful for what we have experienced and being reflective of what we had accomplished or planned — and what could have resulted as BENEFIT for ourselves (either financially or mentally or in momentum, etc. — Todd gives us a framework for us to reflect on a positive note the past, so that the future can also help us to “move the momentum-indicator” to the side that can best be helpful to us personally, as well as for our business, and especially for our participation in the New Media and podosphere.

So, we would like to thank Todd Henry for his reminder to us that all good things can be used to benefit our mental attitude and give us the energy, momentum and euphoric feeling to move forward in the following year.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2022, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Todd Henry and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

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561- Daily Podcast shows — their possible returns with community

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the announcement of a podcast show that will be more than just episodes — it will have dialog, a community for conversations and interactions, as well as feedback and creativity. This new podcast is a re-incarnation of the prior podcast show from earlier years by Todd Henry (the podcaster from The Accidental Creative since 2005) and it is called The Daily Creative.

Now, this announcement proclaimed the arrival of the published book by Todd in September of 2022. Why, then, is he launching this podcast and this project for more than a year ahead?

Well, he wants to give his audience a chance to consume the book one episode at a time in the podcast space as the book is being “written.” And for a mere $50 per year, the audience member can join and receive the nuggets one episode at a time. And this offer to his audience members has been available since July of 2021. What a new way to monetize content for a podcaster!

Is this a new trend?

Not really.

I had commented about his earlier podcast show of The Daily Creative from an earlier episode in this series (episode 102) that was titled “Daily Podcast Show — will it survive?” 

And this episode was first published in November of 2018, with the growing trend of a daily episode in a podcast show. And the content of this 6-minute episode tended to focus on the resurrection of the daily episode of a daily podcast show — yes, THE DAILY CREATIVE by Todd Henry. And I did subscribe to this podcast show in 2018, until the podcaster went on a long break after just over 100 episodes that were published and promoted daily (Monday-Friday). And here was the discussion of the content of this episode:

And I did mention some other daily episode podcast shows in the brief history of the podosphere in that prior episode.


Now, when I received the episodes of the 2018 The Daily Creative, I saw that they were 5-to-10-minute episodes from Todd Henry. But they were very similar to a prior project in the 2006-2009 time frame, in which Todd had a premium content podcast with episodes. The project was called “AC Engage” — especially since the topics were so very similar and possibly with more details. And there were close to 150 episodes to this program. So now this seemed to be yet another opportunity for monetization with repurposed content.

Thus, for me, this new 2022 project of THE DAILY CREATIVE podcast is really the 3rd generation of Daily thoughts from Todd Henry, which indeed, he is monetizing for a suggested further audience. First, there was AC-Engage, then The Daily Creative podcast show of 2018, and now, The Daily Creative book, community and podcast of 2022.

As for this podcaster, I find the thoughts motivating and insightful and they do deliver value to both the podcaster and the entrepreneur who struggles with creativity (e.g., new media, podcasting, screencasting, video, blogging, etc.).

I would probably recommend the daily thoughts given in this newly announced series to both the podcaster and entrepreneur — for the value could be great, especially if they have been updated and enriched with the environmental challenges for the last 3 years.

So, I hope that you do find value in either written chapters of the book, or the blog or emails, or the audio podcast episodes of the 2022 The Daily Creative podcast — and that you can improve yourself to become more brilliant, more prolific and more healthy as an entrepreneur and podcaster.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2021, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Todd Henry and michaelandmike.com. All rights reserved.

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457- Less important parts in Podcasting can be important — Evo Terra

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the recent post and podcast episode from Evo Terra of the Podcast Pontifications show that dealt with the topic of “The importance of the Unimportant Parts of podcasting.”

Now, this theme seems to be standard from Evo Terra, who considers himself to be a DISRUPTER in the world of tech and in podcasting and new media. And since I have been a fan of his topics — be they controversial or not — since 2007 when I first met him in a Podcamp event, I decided to explore what he meant and see if perhaps my own podcast shows are considering some aspects as unimportant or irrelevant when they perhaps could bear some importance.

So, as I explored this post and podcast episode, I found that he delivers some key issues to the question of podcasting success — especially if the extremes can be possible burnout from critical tactics and tasks in crisis mode versus the other extreme of lots of time off and having too much down-time. As Evo states, many podcasters have been in “crisis mode” in podcasting — including current podcasters who want to grow and become more efficient in the workflow and results of podcasting.

The sections of the post and podcast episode that Evo presents are:

  • Evo describes his idea of “…Podcast/Life Balance like an actual thing” when he disputes that idea;
  • Evo then describes what he considers “The Middle life of a Happy Podcaster and …The trick is finding that healthy middle ground for us”
  • And Evo states a great problem for most podcasters who have podcast ambitions:  “Finding the middle ground is probably hard for you as well, because you’re getting slammed on all sides with ideas on increasing the productivity of your podcasting efforts, ways to grow your podcast even bigger, and dozens of articles on ways to podcast better that you simply don’t have the time to read past the title.”
  • Evo finally uses the example of a lamp and his like or dislike of it to find someplace in the middle ground as a DISTRACTION, which then can be healthy:  “The perspective I gain by having this “focused distraction” is far too valuable to be without.”

Now, for this podcaster, I agree with Evo in that you have to find a “middle ground” area of either workaholic burnout or inactivity to keep yourself creative and active and successful in the podosphere. As stated by Todd Henry in the podcast series The Accidental Creative, you have to find ways to become a producer who can be “excellent in content results, as well as prolific and healthy.” I can say this as a past workaholic who ran into burnout on two occasions — especially when the business of entrepreneurship and podcasting were in conflict with both family and medical critical conditions that demanded time off.

As Evo uses the example of a lamp in his quest for the middle ground, I hope that you, as a podcaster, will be able to identify your own middle ground and then temper your ambitions and creativity in podcasting with the things that may seem unimportant in your life now, but could become important on second thought of your introspection. And if you do, I wish for you the best to deliver the best work in podcasting, while you keep on being prolific and healthy while executing your podcasting in the “middle ground” for yourself.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Evo Terra of PodcastPontifications.com. All rights reserved.

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439- Planning for uncertainty due to media hype and scams

In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we focus on the themes from Todd Henry in a recent episode of his podcast show, The Accidental Creative. The episode title is “How to Plan for Uncertainty.”

Now, I have known personally Todd Henry since 2013 when I did interview him for a podcast show. In addition, I have also puchased some of his books (e.g., Die Empty) and some of his audio premium podcast episodes from AC-Engage. This is because I have found great value from Todd. And I myself have used some of his suggested strategies, which had turned out to be the right formula for temporary success for me as a podcaster and entrepreneur.


Todd delivers some key issues and themes for us to do better planning and be ready to PIVOT if and when another crisis arrives — either from events that impact our economy or from the media hype and exaggeration of a plan-demic.

You have to wonder if you are going to be forced to PIVOT in your podcast and business as an entrepreneur and podcaster. If so, then you can apply these suggestions to your plight today.

The three issues that are addressed to be a better planner and be better prepared for uncertainties — especially when the lame-stream media presents us with scams due to censorship, scams and misinformation by not telling the truth (and Todd gives examples and more details to explain each of these points):

  1. You should ask better questions;
  2. You have to “build your runway” when times are good so you can have it available when they are not;
  3. What is your main thing that you will have and rely on for your success that revolves around your mission.

We recommend that you consume the episode — either in audio from the podcast, or from his email newsletter where Todd delivers the transcript summary of the episode. In this way, a small amount of time up front can help us to plan for the uncertainty of either the podosphere or small business for the entrepreneur.


For podcasts, it could be that you have already created another domain to which you will switch and generate new content — and maybe use some marketing tactics to generate different revenue streams in a premium show. And if you have the domain and a brief outline and business plan which you have created in the form of a plan, you can be ready to launch and execute the action items to publish premium content or other tactics to make money when the other podcasts have stymied due to the uncertain event. For more information on how to make money from your podcast, you may want to refer to the book previously known as More Podcast Money from Dave Jackson. And later next month, the plan is to for him to update this book with another work, the title of which is called Profit from Your Podcast (which is available now as pre-order at amazon.com).

So now, you can have a blueprint on how to plan some strategies to deal with podcasting uncertainties.

For other entrepreneurial themes, you may want to develop alternate business plans to either go into another business with a separate business model or to create a small (but new) revenue stream for your business and focus on that until the uncertainty has become more clear or until it is gone.

Either way, we hope that you can plan for your success by planning for uncertainty, as Todd Henry simplifies the process in his episode. In this way, we hope that you can avoid being spun around in confusion, frustration and loss of business and loss of podcasting by the uncertainty of the times.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Todd Henry of TheAccidentalCreative.com. All rights reserved.

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406- Podcasting as a beautiful anarchy

In this episode of PodcastReporter.com, we discuss a theme proposed in a podcast episode of Todd Henry’s The Accidental Creative recently.

The experiences of one’s life may be “living in defiance of conventions.” In fact, as you will hear in this audio episode, my own examples of detours from the rules and conventional wisdom seem to be anything but linear.

An example of a non-linear experience of a young podcaster is exemplified in The Savvy Creative — a detour from conventional wisdom and a rush to live the experiences of a “bucket list.”

Now, for myself, the podosphere has presented me the non-linear detours and passion of creativity that can be fulfilling as a “beautiful anarchy.”

We hope that you can learn from Todd and his episode and interview about the non-linear “beautiful anarchy” that perhaps can enrich your life in the area of creativity.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Todd Henry of the accidental creative. All rights reserved.

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372- How podcasters can stand out

In this episode of podcastreporter.com, we discuss the theme proposed by Jason Van Orden and Todd Henry of how podcasters can stand out in the podosphere due to their podcasting efforts.

In this repurposed episode, we refer to the theme idea from Todd Henry of his podcast called The Accidental Creative, in which he interviewed Jason Van Orden.

Jason shares with Todd the key ideas of growing your own confidence and shaping a leadership role to impact others’ lives — especially with the messages of podcasts.

As you will hear in this audio episode, the magnetic messaging framework is discussed, as well.

We wish you well in receiving the value of the magnetic messaging framework in your own situation within the podosphere. And you may listen to the episodes from Jason in his new podcast show, IMPACT.

Thank you for your attention.

Copyright (c) 2020, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All rights reserved.