Ep. 159 - Can You Hear Me Now? Three Years of Talking to Myself (and You)

  Sometimes the action we’re most afraid to take is exactly the one that leads to growth—not just for us, but for the people watching. In this episode, we’re talking about the fear, doubt, and overthinking that can keep us stuck—and how to push past it. Whether you’re starting something new, picking something back up, or taking the next small step, this is your reminder: you don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to begin. 

Transcript

Three years ago this month in May 2022, I launched this podcast. But before then, I spent well over six months overthinking the whole thing — learning the technology, figuring out what to buy, researching best practices, but mostly wrestling with my own nerves about launching my voice into the world.

I started with five episodes and a listener pool consisting solely of my devoted dog, Lucy. This episode is number 159. There’s no special significance to that number — but there is a deeply personal milestone in simply starting something slightly scary... and sticking with it.

My goal was to create brain snacks — smart simple ideas and insights that I could return to later. They say we teach what we most need to learn, and spending time each week diving into brain science, psychology, and habits areas, has really enabled me to be a curious student of each of those subjects.

Whether this is the first time you’re listening or you’ve been here with me before, the Bottom Line on Top of this episode is that the most important effort in any journey is finding the courage to simply start.

Someone recently commented that not many independent podcasts make it to this many episodes. So I asked my pal ChatGPT to help dig into the data.

As of 2025, there are about 4.4 million podcasts worldwide — but only around 15% are considered active, meaning they’ve published an episode in the last 90 days. That drops it down to around 436,000 active podcasts—still a lot.

But here’s something that was surprising: women make up 45% of monthly podcast listeners in the U.S., but only 29% of weekly podcast creators are women. There’s still a gap between who listens and what voices are most heard.

This statistic reminded me of a simple truth in psychology (and life): we’re more likely to take action when we see someone like us doing it. So if you’ve been waiting for a sign to start something, anything of your own — consider this a friendly nudge. You just may be the example someone else is looking for in the future. 

In the spirit of a quick share in this episode, I wanted to offer three reflections from three years of sending words out across the virtual wires.

1. Messy is part of the process
I’ve had microphones fail and break, recordings get accidentally deleted, and more stumbles and start-overs than I can even count. Psychologist Carol Dweck has research on the growth mindset and it shows that people who embrace mistakes as part of the process develop the skills needed to persist, improve, and succeed. Perfection isn’t the path — progress is.

Speaking of messy progress, I want to pause and thank my amazing podcast editor, Julien, and his team in Paris. We’ve never met (yet!), but each week they help shape the messy into something meaningful. I’m also beyond grateful for my business partner-in-nerdery, Mandi, who manages all the daily details of all the all.

2. Stats don’t measure impact
Sure, it’s fun to track downloads and see where listeners pop up on the map (hello Philippines, New Zealand, India, Germany, and Chile). Social media has conditioned us to look for the likes, but in three years, I’ve seen that impact doesn’t live on a spreadsheet. I’m always happily surprised when someone shares that they listen. I was about a year into the podcast when a lovely friend told me that he pulled over in his car when a particular part of an episode hit him. So don’t look for the numbers: if what you’re doing brings you value, even if no one else ever sees it, it’s already worth doing.

3. Consistency is an underrated superpower.
Having a weekly deadline has made me accountable in a way I know I wouldn’t have been otherwise. Episode 158 was all about the pull of procrastination — and yes, I live that big time in real time. But friction creates traction. And sometimes, resistance is exactly what gives us the momentum to move forward.

And here’s a little brain bit: Repetition and routine help strengthen our neural pathways — it’s what’s called myelination. This is a key aspect of neuroplasticity and it gets reinforced when we have consistent action and consistent sleep. The more consistent you are, the more efficient your brain becomes at doing that thing. So, consistency isn’t just discipline — it’s a literal brain upgrade.

In the spirit of consistency, my three takeaways from three years are:

• Messy is a sign of growth
• Impact is an individual metric
• Consistency shows courage

So what’s something you haven’t started yet? What are you over researching right now? Where could consistency help you rise above the resistance? And where are opportunities for impact in your life?

Finally, thank you. As I create these words on a beautiful spring day with only Lucy listening, I consider it a true honor to spend some time with you wherever and whenever these words find you.

The beautiful thing about words is that they belong to everyone, you don’t have to be an expert. And sometimes the words that feel small to you land exactly when and where someone else needs to hear them. You won’t know until you share them.

So, today, see where you can share some words of your own. You never know where they might land… or what they might bring back.