Episode 199 - What I Learned From 4 Years of Podcasting (Part 1)
We’re almost at 200 episodes of the Self-Growth Nerds podcast, after which I’ll take a long break to reflect and realign. In this episode, I open up about the challenges and lessons from committing to such a consistent practice. This retrospective is packed with helpful insights for anyone who wants to start a creative project but is filled with self-doubt. Tune in to learn about what it takes to keep showing up week after week.
Topics
Reflecting on the Journey: Key Takeaways from Four Years of Podcasting
Initial motivation and evolution
Challenges Faced
Choosing Niche and Format
Self-Discoveries Through Podcasting
Advice for Aspiring Podcasters
Links
👉 Want to dig deeper into what you learned in the podcast?
Join my online program The Courage to Start New ! We start in January. Go to selfgrowthnerds.com/courage to learn more. 👈
Upcoming Event:
Rétrospective 2024: Soirée de journaling
We are having a journaling evening to wrap up this crazy year with intention (and a little side of mulled wine or holiday tea!)
The date is December 12th at the Café Lili & Ollie in Montreal, and it's only $20!
Space is limited so make sure to reserve your spot HERE
Transcript
[AUTO-GENERATED]
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:00:06]:
Welcome to the self growth nerds podcast. I'm your host Marie, a courage coach, creative soul, and adventure seeker. Since through hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019, I'm on a mission to help you embrace your most confident self so you can achieve your dreams too. If you're eager for deep conversations, big questions, and meaningful connections, join me on the quest to discovering how we can create a more magical and memorable life. Hello, nerds. How are you? I'm doing really good. This is episode a 199. We're almost at 200.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:00:49]:
And after 200 episodes, I'm gonna be taking a big break. If, you missed the episode where I announced this, it was a 193. The timing is perfect really because we're coming up to the holidays. I'm going on a trip with my partner, and I'll get to just kick back, relax, and think about what I want to do next that feels most true to me. Honestly, right now, I'm thinking I'll probably be back, but with seasons of the podcast, so that it is more sustainable long term. This is to be determined. So today and also next week, what I'm doing is I asked Chat GPT to interview me and ask me questions about what I learned in 4 years of podcasting. It came up with 18 questions in 6 different categories, so we're gonna do the first part this week and the second part next week.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:01:53]:
Before we dive in, I want to remind you that the doors are open right now for my 8 week course, the courage to start new. This is gonna be the 3rd cohort, and we're gonna start at the end of January 2025. Now the price is gonna go up next year because I realized when I was teaching the class in the last few months that it's so insanely valuable. It's a small group. We meet every week, and everyone gets personalized coaching. So right now it's $280, which is like 2 therapy sessions for 8 weeks together. And in the new year, I'm gonna bring it up to 300 and 20. So if you wanna take advantage of the reduced price right now, go and reserve your spot at sellgoatnerds.com/courage.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:02:50]:
This course is perfect for anyone who feels like they're going in circles, they're on autopilot, and their life no longer feels truly meaningful anymore. They're coming to the end of a chapter, and they wanna figure out what's next. They want clarity, and they want to feel confident enough to take on a new challenge. Whether that be leaving a relationship, starting a new job, changing career, starting a business, or starting a a creative project like this, a podcast, a blog, writing a book, this course is for you. To get out of confusion and overwhelm and procrastination and into action, so that you can look back on your life and not have regrets. You can look back and be so proud of how brave you were to pursue what was calling you. Alright. I can't wait to see who I will meet in the next cohort of the courage to start new.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:03:55]:
Oh, and one last reminder, if you live in Montreal, I'm doing my 1st in person event. It's going to be a journaling evening, where we're going to reflect on the year that just went by and think about how we want to step into 2025. It's gonna be cozy. It's gonna be intimate. It's at my local cafe, Lily and Ollie. So if you wanna join us, it's only $20, and that includes mulled wine, my favorite. Or if you're sober, there's gonna be some holiday tea. So there's gonna be soft music, my partner is gonna be there to DJ, and, I'm going to guide you through a bunch of different questions designed just to make sure you're closing the year and starting the new one in an intentional way.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:04:46]:
So if you wanna join us, just find me on Instagram at self growth nerds and the link is there in my bio. Okay. Now is the time to dive into the first nine questions about what I learned from 4 years of podcasting. Question number 1, why did you start your podcast, and how has that initial why evolved? Well, I simply started because I have a massive passion for personal growth and so much to share on the topic. Also, I often think about how lucky I feel to have had the parents. I had always encouraged me to go after what I wanted, and to instead of asking myself, is this possible? Asking myself, how can I make this possible? My dad was always telling me, you are responsible for designing your own life, and you don't owe your time to anyone other than yourself, so you get to decide. Now I've realized over time that most people didn't get that chance. They were taught to stay quiet, to be quote unquote realistic when it came to their dreams, to take the safe road, to not ruffle any feathers.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:06:07]:
And I think that's such a shame. I think that's part of the reason why there's so much depression, so much anger, and the world is going to be a much better place when people feel safe to show their authentic selves. So I wanted to share a different way of thinking. And that's why I started this podcast. Now 4 years later, my why is the same. I just have grown in maturity. I'm not sure that's the the right word, but I take myself more seriously as a practitioner. I've spent over 700 hours coaching people in the last 4 years, so I feel like I belong in this space.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:06:54]:
Whereas 4 years ago, when I was considering starting this project, I was filled with self doubt. I found a an old diary in which I was writing about, you know, who am I to do this? But over time, I grew more and more confident because I was gathering evidence that one of my gifts is to empower people to believe in their dreams and go after what truly lights them up. So my why hasn't changed. It's just strengthened in terms of legitimacy. Oh, and another one of my whys was to and I think this comes from John Green, do something that would be missed if it was gone. I think from what I've heard from you guys, this is a success and it makes me really happy. Because I feel like I've built something impactful and meaningful. More so than I had initially expected.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:07:50]:
It's very touching to see people coming back week after week after week. Okay. Let's move on to question number 2 before I get emotional. What were the biggest challenges you faced when launching the podcast? The first one was worrying what people would think. I worried that people would judge me, like, who is she to add to the noise that is already there? But I had to take a bet and trust that there would be people who appreciate what I have to offer, which now I know is the case. There's a bunch of people that listen to this every week. I do it for me and for them, and I don't care about others. Think about it this way.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:08:39]:
There's so many books out there, so many authors. But as a reader, I'm always happy to discover a new one. I believe there's always a space for new creators as long as they're authentic. When I was dating, I found a lot of hope in a quote I read somewhere that said, you don't know yet some of the people you will love the most in your life. And it's the same here. There will be podcasters and authors, musicians, artists who have a massive impact on your life, and you don't know they exist yet. They don't even know it's in them yet. It might be you.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:09:24]:
You're a creator that's going to impact so many people, and you're out there doubting yourself. And there's a bunch of people who don't know, but they're just waiting for you to wake up and have the courage to get started. So to answer the the question, the biggest challenge was just feeling good enough, legitimate enough to get started. And the other challenge was I worried I might not like having a podcast, so I only committed to 10 episodes to test it out, and it turns out I loved it. So, you know, you're not getting married to this if you wanna try something new. Just choose a number or a a time frame that makes sense to you and go on dates. And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out and you try something else. Alright.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:10:16]:
Question number 3. How did you choose your podcast's niche and format? Honestly, I didn't think about what made sense. I was not rational or analytical. I just focused on what I wanted to do, what brought me joy. The niche is me, my passion. I don't limit myself as to what I can talk about or not. It might have been wiser when it comes to business to choose a more specific niche. That's what most of the business advice says, but I didn't care about being business wise.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:10:55]:
I wanted joy and flexibility because I knew that that's what was going to make me wanna keep showing up week after week having very few limits. Same goes for the format. What I love in other podcasts is solo episodes. So that's what I made most of the time, solo episodes. And when I felt like having guests over, when that felt inspiring, when that felt alive in me, then I invited guests over. When I wanted to do an episode about the books I was reading, I recorded an episode about the books I was reading. It really just depended on what I felt like, where my intuition was leading me. That's what made it so sustainable.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:11:47]:
It felt like home, it felt like I could just be me instead of trying to fit into a specific box. Question number 4, what are the most surprising things you've learned about yourself through podcasting? This is interesting. Well, first of all, I've learned that I am a bottomless well of inspiration and not because there's anything special about me, I don't think so. Sure. I'm a creative person, but I believe anyone can come up with something to talk about every week if they are curious and if they pay attention to the world around them. It's just a way of being that you develop when you choose to commit to a creative practice like this one. Something else I've learned, and I don't know that it's about me, is that it's so liberating to show up every week in service of a greater purpose. It's not about me and how I feel in the moment.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:12:58]:
I get to set my feelings aside and show up because I initially decided that I would and told a bunch of people that a podcast would be coming out every Monday. It just removes all the mind drama. Just like when I was thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, whenever Mindrama wanted to show up, I was like, are you done walking? No, you're not. And so you keep going. It's not a decision. There's no decision fatigue. I don't have to decide whether or not I'm gonna show up, I just do because I said I would. Having a clear purpose makes every decision easier.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:13:38]:
I remember in the lead up to my thru hike, whenever I was going somewhere and wondering should I drive or should I walk there? The the the answer was easy. I'm gonna walk there if it's possible. There's a a simplicity in that that I really love. But this only becomes possible when you make a serious commitment. It's the reward of making an important decision in your core. You don't have to then make tons of tiny exhausting decisions every day. Question number 5, how has podcasting influenced your personal and professional growth? This is a big one. I've come up with 5 things even though there there's probably 22.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:14:23]:
1st, it got rid of a lot of my perfectionism. When you have to produce an episode every week, you can't you simply can't afford to be a perfectionist if you want to, you know, sleep and eat and spend time with your friends. Limited time means you can't focus on details. I constantly had to remind myself that accepting that not every episode will be high quality is the only way to manage showing up every week. The Vlogbrothers often come to mind. John Green and Hank Green, they've been making videos on YouTube for more than 15 years. Some of their videos are quite boring, to be honest, but allowing themselves to be imperfect is what makes them show up every week and sometimes create the most amazing videos. The other thing that podcasting helped me with is communicating clearly.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:15:28]:
Because for every episode, instead of just rambling, I would ask myself questions like, how do I talk about this topic in a clear, structured, and interesting way? Do I split this into 3 sections? Where do I share examples? What actionable strategies can I offer? And this forced me to also deepen and refine my thinking. Just like when you read a book, you can read super fast and then put it on the shelf and move on to the next book, But if you take the time to have a conversation about it with a friend or in a book club or maybe write a review on your blog, you not only develop critical thinking, but you also get to know your preferences, and you are more likely to remember and integrate what you just read. Recording an episode every week helped me understand also what's unique about what I have to offer, because I would notice patterns, the topics that kept coming back. And the way I approach them, the way I think about them is unique to me. But that would never have happened if I only recorded 10 episodes. Quantity is useful here just like, an artist. An illustrator has to illustrate lots of different things in order to see, oh, okay, this is my style. This is how I draw a hand.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:17:06]:
This is how I use light and colors. The more you create, the more you can see how you stand out specifically. Basically, quantity is how you find your voice, how you find your style. There's no shortcut here. You just have to do the work. Another way that podcasting influenced my growth is, it pushed me to be more courageous in my life since I was always telling you all to be brave. I had to be an example of my own teachings, otherwise it's out of integrity. And finally, the 5th way that podcasting has influenced my growth is I've almost created 200 episodes, which means hours and hours and hours of content.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:17:59]:
This is a massive asset that is kind of timeless. Now people can search topics on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or even just Google and they stumble upon one of my episodes. I can repurpose the best ones to create blog posts or even to gather them all into a book. This is a huge valuable body of work that I've created one step at a time. I'm really proud. It's just gonna keep serving me moving forward. And serving lots of other people too. You can go back to your favorite episodes and there's lots of people that will discover the podcast in the future as well and will be able to navigate this big library of content that can contribute to improving their lives.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:18:53]:
Question number 6. I think it's gonna be our last one because I'm running out of time, so next week is just gonna have to be a longer episode. This question is one of my favorites. It's what advice would you give to someone starting out in podcasting right now? The first thing I will say is if you've been thinking about it for a while, you've waited long enough, and you're being a perfectionist. Get scrappy. All you need is a mic. You can order one today. You choose a topic, make a design using Canva, figure out how distribution works, and under a month, your first episode can be out.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:19:37]:
Everything else that gets in the way is an excuse. You don't have to do this for 4 years like I did. Just choose a a number and commit to a small number, see how you like it. And read The Practice by Seth Godin. It's a tiny book that you can read in a few hours that's going to kick you in the butt, and explain the importance of just showing up now. Don't wait until you're ready. That doesn't mean anything. Just refine as you go.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:20:10]:
The sound quality of my first episode was crap. I tell you that the only thing you need is a mic, but that's not even true. There's a mic on your phone, and that is enough to get started. The more you do it, the better you will get. You gotta be willing to kinda suck at something in order to get good at it. That is my advice. I don't wanna give you, like, tips and tricks and hacks. Number 1, because that's not my strength, and number 2, because I think it's irrelevant, and it's a way to hide when you're just getting started.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:20:45]:
You gotta practice experiencing the discomfort of being new at something without being a bitch or an asshole to yourself in the process. It's going to allow you to do really great things over time, but you've got to be willing to feel a little bit incompetent, to feel like you're not too sure what you're doing. And eventually, you'll start feeling more solid, but there's always this period at the start. It's the price to pay to doing something new. Embrace the awkwardness and surround yourself with people who are action takers as well, imperfect courageous action takers. They're my favorite people and they're going to help you trust that you belong and that it's not only right for you to pursue what lights you up, but it's also your responsibility. Okay. That's it for this week.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:21:42]:
I hope this was interesting. Please reach out on Instagram and let me know what you thought. I always love to hear from you, and, we'll continue with part 2 next week, The next 12 questions about what I learned from 4 years of podcasting. Alright. I'm sending you all a big hug, and I'll talk to you next week. Bye. If you love what you're hearing on the self growth nerds podcast and you want individual help finding a new direction for your life and developing the courage to make your dreams a reality, you have to check out how we can work together on self growth nerds.com or message me on Instagram at self growth nerds. My clients say they would have needed that support years ago.
Marie-Pier Tremblay [00:22:35]:
So if you're tired of feeling like you're wasting your life, don't wait. Get in touch now, and I cannot wait to meet you.