The Soul Excellence Podcast is now live on iTunes 🎉!
I’m two episodes in, and I’m having a ball working on this 😊. In the first episode, I share my story and my inspiration. In the second, I dig into the importance of how we transition through key changes in our lives. Cathy Heller of Don’t Keep Your Day Job fame reminded me and all of her coaching students on call this past week that 92% of podcasters quit after seven episodes, so I am determined to power through that milestone–something amazing must be on the other side!
These first two podcasts are far from perfect! I am embarrassed by the echo and my occasional non-sequitur in the first episode, but feel like I improved upon these aspects for round two – I can’t wait for episode 10! And then 100! While these first two episodes have been a solo act, I can’t wait to bring on guests starting with my invaluable mentors and coaches and progressing to other people that I have admire. Yes, I have a podcast interview dream list! And yes, Coach K, Tom Brady, and Lady Gaga are on it 😁. Seriously.
I don’t know why I am so surprised that I have started a podcast. First of all, I listen to a million of them. I love listening on the way to work, while I’m vacuuming, when I’m on a plane – wherever. My podcast tastes are always changing as my interests and passions do, but a few of my favorites are:
- The Mixxed Zone and The Equalizer women’s soccer podcasts to stay in tune with NWSL and USWNT action
- The Joe Rogan Experience when I want to listen to a long, fun interview
- The Andrew Klavan Show and The Rubin Report to get some political perspective
- Don’t Keep Your Day Job, Powerhouse Women, and Whiskey and Work to provide motivation for my current journey
My passion for communication, however, dates well before the dawn of the podcast. As a child, I would listen to AM sports radio on my Sony Walkman. Later, I would set my morning alarm to 560 WQAM Miami Sports Radio to wake me up during high school at 5:30 in the morning! I’ve always enjoyed listening to commentary and analysis. However, I haven’t just listened. I’ve also created.
In eighth grade, my daily anchor spot on the Tequesta Trace Middle School morning announcements helped me to win “Most Likely to Succeed” at the end of the year. That year, I also had the opportunity to visit a local news station studio, and I imagined what it would be like to anchor full time! In high school, I learned that it apparently wasn’t prestigious enough to be a news anchor, so while I did compete in oratory as part of the St. Thomas Aquinas Forensic club, I was never any good. My writing improved in high school, but my ability to communicate suffered under the weight of my own incurable case of people-pleasing! Someone with my intelligence had to be a doctor or a lawyer, I gathered.
Thankfully, in college, I had a new opportunity to cut my chops on the microphone. I got a work-study job in the Duke Sports Promotions department and, on my second day, I was tasked with being the Public Announcer (PA) at a field hockey game. I had never seen a field hockey game before in my life, but there I was on Duke’s East Campus, announcing the line ups, marking the goals, and reminding the audience to visit Kroger for all of their supermarket needs after the game 🤣. I still don’t know how those women bend over and run at the same time – it looked so painful!
I absolutely loved that job and continued with Sports Promo for my entire four years. My favorite games to call were the women’s volleyball games because I got to speak a lot – announcing every point after ever play – and also, the women’s lacrosse games. I loved the women’s lacrosse games because there I game myself permission to be a huge homer, meaning, when Duke scored, I would let the crowd know that the home team was on fire. “Duke goooooaaaal, number twenty-fiiiiiiiiive, Racheeeeellllllll Schaaaaack!” I would yell into the microphone. Minutes later, I would mumble, “Bosto.. College.. Goa…” Ah, memories!
I would go on to be the speaker at my college major commencement ceremony and even at my business school one, too, years later! In the first five years of my career, I would co-host webinars, deliver keynote presentations in front of hundreds, and facilitate workshops. I loved writing new intros tailored to my audience. More recently, I presented on behalf of Snapdocs at the NEXT women’s mortgage conference and even today just recorded a webinar for our Zeplin customers.
I guess I am writing all of this to remind myself that I do love speaking and presenting. But, as I’ve grown over the years, I’ve felt less inspired by the content of my message, which has been based on the content of my employer at the time. Right now I am imagining what it will be like to use my talent of communication in combination with really believing and feeling into the content of the message! How will it feel anything but exhilarating!
And so, with the humble beginnings of The Soul Excellence podcast, I return to my roots and my desires. I return to speaking and sharing and questioning and facilitating. But I do so on my own terms. On the things that I love. On the impact I want to create. And I invite you to join me and to unleash your voice along the way.