The Most Surprising Thing I Learned from 85 Podcast Episodes of TranscendingX

The most surprising thing I learned is: listen more.

My podcast started as an experiment. It continued as long as guests came on - and I enjoyed the conversations. Then, I heard from listeners around the world - they loved it! So we continued - and we keep going with more episodes coming soon!

After 85 episodes and reaching the top 1% of podcasts, I've learned that successful podcasting isn't what I used to think. For our team, the podcast is the best sandbox for research and development. For listeners, the podcast is a breath of fresh air - hearing people talk about challenges, inspirational experiences, cutting-edge research and practical tips to talk more and fear less.

I’ve learned more from the podcast than I did in grad school - developing my conversational craft, learning to appreciate how people express themselves differently, identifying what works for different people to make breakthroughs in their journey and focusing more on what matters when we face adversity.

Here are some specific lessons I learned from publishing 85 episodes:

It's About Preparation, Not Perfection

  • Successful podcasting is more about prep - less about tech. Press record and focus on the conversation, not the equipment.

  • It’s still hard to listen to myself on my episodes. But I know that’s the best way to improve my craft.

  • The harder it is to talk, the more impressive it is every time we do - it's like building our courage muscle.

Everyone Has a Story Worth Hearing

  • Everyone has a story. But we need to quiet our own mind to really listen and hear their story - for what it is! It's not always what we imagined it would be.

  • Resilience is universal, it looks different for different people.

  • Even more than the desire to eliminate life's hurdles, is the desire to get what we want on the other side of the obstacle.

  • More often than not, the obstacle holding us back on our way to growth actually becomes the way to growth.

  • The best conversations happen when I listen more.

  • Some conversations take time. Others deliver value in minutes.

Learning Beyond My Field Changed Everything - Podcasts like these…

Shifting Focus: From Disorder to People

  • Technically, my career began with a focus on stuttering - everything from the neuroscience, the anatomy and physiology, the psycho-social-emotional layers. Over time, I learned to care less about the disorder - and more about the people!

  • In the end, it's not really about stuttering. It's about people facing adversity - and finding a way to thrive and grow through it.

What It All Means

Hosting the podcast gave me an excuse to talk to more people - I learned much from them and honed my craft through conversations with them. As a result, I became a more skilled therapist, stronger coach and better person!

That's why my podcast evolved from "Transcending Stuttering" to "Transcending X." It's not all about stuttering. These conversations are powerful lessons in resilience for all of us facing challenges in speech, health, relationships, family and work.

Listen to the podcast and see all the episode show notes here.

Going forward, we want to continue to deliver the most valuable podcast content for you!

So, now we want to hear from you - so we can co-create the future of the podcast!

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Inspirational, PodcastsUri Schneider