Nobody has time. Everyone you speak to is so busy – they’re busy at work, being parents, building their brand, changing the world and taking pictures of their food. The pressure is relentless. Most of us acknowledge that we have to eat right, do some exercise and keep up with the news, but how much time do you have to improve your mind?
There is a saying about how smart people read books and dumb people watch TV. I don’t agree with that, and I don’t think it’s fair. Finding time to read is harder than ever, and who watches live TV anymore? Of course, books are wonderful – they are considered works of tremendous, painstaking research, beautiful creative writing, edited and deliberate ideas – and can represent the life’s work of an individual or a record of the collective human experience. I love reading, but increasingly my time is at such a premium that reading becomes a luxury. Audiobooks can be digested far more rapidly because they fit into our lives, and I find them much easier to get through.
Podcasts are even better – because they’re raw, can draw on multiple voices and represent something much more conversational than an audiobook. For example, CliffCentral just launched a terrific series called Man-to-Man Talks (a conversation about masculinity) and we’re having conversations that South Africa desperately needs to have in that regard. You can hear people’s stories, draw on expertise and research, figure out how it relates to you and what your experience might be. For many men, this is something that has never been available to them before, certainly not in the privacy of their own headphones.
If you want to learn about the history of slavery, the philosophy of Khalil Gibran, or the latest developments in virtual reality, you’re probably going to find the best information, entertainment or inspiration in podcasts.
Podcasts are the online university lectures for adults that we’ve all been looking for – and once you start, you just can’t stop. Just last week, Elon Musk appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast – not on 60 Minutes, The View or Oprah! They just talked about chimps and AI, and smoked some weed. Tesla’s stock price reacted to the podcast. It’s now beyond question that podcasts are well into the mainstream, and even the IAB CEO said “Very few entertainment and information and news media have ever established themselves this quickly in the consciousness of the culture, this is what podcasting has done. It is absolutely clear that more and more marketers understand the value of podcasting.” Well, most do. Some are still getting their heads around it.
Let podcasting blow your mind. As we say at CliffCentral.com, the more you listen the more you learn!
