What happens when you realize your voice carries more weight than you ever imagined? Olivia pulls back the curtain on the hidden responsibility that comes with speaking into a microphone, sharing the profound moment she discovered podcasting isn't just content creation-it's stewardship. When she was laid off from Lockheed Martin at 4 PM and still showed up to record at 6 PM, everything changed about how she understood the relationship between host and listener. This isn't about perfection or having all the answers; it's about the intentional presence that separates content from genuine impact.
You'll discover why podcasting behaves differently from social media, how listeners invite you into their most private moments, and the framework Olivia uses to navigate responsibility before, during, and after the mic turns on. She reveals the uncomfortable truth about when sharing becomes oversharing, why restraint is sometimes the most ethical choice, and how presence matters more than polish. Whether you're hosting conversations or stepping into someone else's show, this episode will shift how you think about the weight your words carry and the trust you're given every time someone chooses to listen.
Want to grow your podcast, land more guest appearances, and save hours every week? The Podcast Growth Partner helps podcasters, guests, and podcast teams create stronger content, prepare smarter, and grow strategically.
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Connect with Olivia Atkin & Achieving Success:
Website: Achieving-Success.com
Facebook Community: The Podcaster’s Powerhouse Community For Business Owners
Facebook: Olivia Atkin | Achieving Success
LinkedIn: Olivia Atkin | Achieving Success
Instagram: @_achievingsuccess
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/achieving-success-with-olivia-atkin--5743662/support.
You'll discover why podcasting behaves differently from social media, how listeners invite you into their most private moments, and the framework Olivia uses to navigate responsibility before, during, and after the mic turns on. She reveals the uncomfortable truth about when sharing becomes oversharing, why restraint is sometimes the most ethical choice, and how presence matters more than polish. Whether you're hosting conversations or stepping into someone else's show, this episode will shift how you think about the weight your words carry and the trust you're given every time someone chooses to listen.
Want to grow your podcast, land more guest appearances, and save hours every week? The Podcast Growth Partner helps podcasters, guests, and podcast teams create stronger content, prepare smarter, and grow strategically.
Start your free 3-day trial: PodcastGrowthPartner.com
Want personalized podcast strategy support? Book a free clarity call: MeetwithOlivia.me
Connect with Olivia Atkin & Achieving Success:
Website: Achieving-Success.com
Facebook Community: The Podcaster’s Powerhouse Community For Business Owners
Facebook: Olivia Atkin | Achieving Success
LinkedIn: Olivia Atkin | Achieving Success
Instagram: @_achievingsuccess
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/achieving-success-with-olivia-atkin--5743662/support.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Achieving Success with Olivia Akins.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm your host, Olivia akin.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Each week we will discuss the roadmap of achieving your
personal and professional success. In the solo episodes, I pull
back the current not podcasting, entrepreneurship and personal success. You
will hear the strategies I use, the lessons I've learned,
and the honest stories that shape me so you can
build not just a successful podcast, but a business and
(00:34):
life you're proud of.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
And today's episode is different, not.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Because it's heavier, not because it's dramatic, but because it's foundation.
This is not an episode about doing more. It's an
episode about understanding what you're already doing and the way
it carries. Today we're talking about why podcasting is both
a gift and a responsibility.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
There's a quote I want to start with today.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
With words we can inspire and with words we can destroy,
Nelson Mandela.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
And the reason I'm opening with.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
This is because most people think podcasting is about having
something to say. They think it's about content, about ideas,
about finally sharing their thoughts with the world. But the
moment you speak into a microphone, whether you're hosting a
conversation or stepping into someone else's something happens. You are
(01:32):
invited into someone's time, their attention, they're thinking, often their
most private moment is and that inventation is not neutral.
Podcasting is not just a platform. It's access and access
always comes with responsibility, whether we acknowledge it or not.
(01:54):
Let's slow this down because podcasting gets talked about like
it's just another content channel, another distribution method, another growth lever.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Another marketing tool.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
But podcasting does not behave like social media. People don't
listen to podcasts the way they scroll a feed. They
don't skim, they don't have consume. They invite you in
into the car with them, into the kitchen while they're
cooking dinner after a hard day, into their headphones while
they're walking, thinking, processing, becoming, think about it.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You're listening to me right now. What are you doing
while you're listening to this episode.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Podcast listeners aren't multitasking the way social media assumes they're absorbing.
They hear your tone, not just your words. They pick
up on your certainty or your hesitation. They notice how
you frame problems, how you talk about other people, how
(02:56):
you talk about yourself, what you normalize and what you dismiss.
Podcasting doesn't just share information. It shapes perspective, and perspective
shapes decisions, often quietly, often later, often.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
In ways you'll never fully see. That's why this matters.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
If you're listening to this right now, like I said earlier,
maybe you're driving, maybe you are cleaning, maybe you're sitting
somewhere quiet, wherever you are. Notice how different this feels
from scrolling. You didn't accidentally end up here.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
You chose this.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You choose to give your time to a voice and
to me, and I appreciate that. And when someone does
that with your podcast, when you choose your voice, you're.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Not competing with content. You're becoming a presence, and presence
carries weight.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
The gift side of podcasting. Let's speak about the gift first.
Podcasting is a gift because it allows you to speak
without interruption, explore ideas fully, be nuanced, be human.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It allows long form thought in a world obsessed with
sound bites.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
It allows complexity where everything else demands simplicity. It allows
truth to breathe. That's a gift. It's also a gift
because it creates relationship, not consumption. Listeners don't just follow podcasts,
they return to them. They build familiarity, trust, a sense
(04:31):
of knowing you even if you never met. That kind
of trust is rare and it's powerful, which brings us
to the responsibility aspect, the part most people don't think about.
Here's the part most people don't consciously consider, at least
when starting a podcast. Your voice becomes part of someone's
(04:53):
internal world. It sits besides them while they think, while
they're uncertain, while they're are hopeful, while they're afraid, while
they're deciding something.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
About their life.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
And that means your words don't just land once they ego.
This is why podcasting can't be treated casually, because even
when you forget what you said, someone else might still
be carrying it intention verse impact. One of the biggest
under misunderstandings around responsibility is people think responsibility is all
(05:31):
about intention. I didn't mean to, I wasn't trying to,
that wasn't my goal. But responsibility isn't about what you meant,
is about what lands. And that doesn't mean you have
to be perfect. No one expects you to be perfect.
I'm not even perfect, and you'll heal me fumble on
(05:54):
words in episodes.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And things like that.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
But it means you have to be intentional. And that's
the difference.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Most creators don't disrespect the mic.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
They underestimate it. They think, well, it's just my opinion.
It's just a conversation I had. It's not that serious.
But seriousness doesn't come from tone, it comes from impact.
You can be lighthearted and still be responsible. You can
be casual and still be intentional. You can be warm
(06:25):
and still be grounded. Responsibility doesn't mean heaviness.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
It means awareness. I want to pause here.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
If you're a podcaster, if you want to start a podcast,
if you guess on podcasts, ask yourself this quietly, why
do I want to be heard?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Not the polished for version, and answer.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
The real one, because whatever that.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Answer is, it shows up in your voice.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
When I launched my podcast on November one, twenty twenty two,
I didn't do it to build a second career. I
wasn't chasing virality. I wasn't trying to monetize. I wasn't
trying to be known. I was working a demanding, full
time job at Locky Morton.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
And when I say.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Demanding, our normal week, even though it's a forty hour
work week was more fifty hours plus, and I was
volunteering with multiple nonprofits and sitting on their boards, which
meant way more extra meetings and time spent.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I started the podcast because.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I believed deeply in using my voice to make an impact.
At the time, my business attorney suggested that if I
was starting a company alongside the podcast, there should be
a way for it to sustain itself financially. So my
salary wasn't funding what could easily become an expensive hobby that.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Was practical advice.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I mean, career development consulting made sense. I had a
published book, Achieving Success in Career Development that you can
find on my website. I was speaking at colleges, but
the podcast itself that felt different. It felt personal, purpose driven, human.
It felt like responsibility even then before I can name it.
(08:15):
Here's something I want to be very clear about. Podcasting
is not just about talking. It's leading, and leadership doesn't
start when people agree with you.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
It starts when people listen.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Leadership doesn't require perfection, it requires presence, and presence requires
you to know.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Why you're there.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
This episode is not meant to make you cautious. It's
meant to make you clear, clear about why you speak,
how you speak, what you protect, what you don't need,
what you don't need to perform, because responsibility isn't about silence.
It's about stewardship, and stewardship is what separates content from impact.
(09:00):
In the next part of this episode, I'm going to
share the moment when responsibility stopped being a concept for
me personally and became something real the day I found
out I was being laid off two hours before I
hit record, and what it meant to show up anyway,
because responsibility doesn't mean waiting until your story is clear.
(09:20):
Sometimes it means being present while it's still unfolding.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's where we're going next.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I want to take you to a very specific day,
not because the details matter for drama, but because the
context matters for a responsibility. Just a few months after
I launched the podcast, mass.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Layoffs swept through corporate America.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
If you were working in corporate at the time, you
remember this season very well. The uncertainty, the rumors, the
quiet fear that lived underneath business as usual. Lockeed Martin
announced company wide word auctions. We were told that if
we were impacted, we wouldn't know By the end of February.
(10:05):
February passed, March arrived, and the first week of March.
In Locking Martin's company is always performance review week. Bonuses,
salary increases, formal evaluations. On a Tuesday, at four pm,
I logged into what I thought was a routine performance
review with my manager, because I was getting my bonus
(10:28):
and salary increase that Thursday. And if you know Locked
Martin or a lot of corporate organizations and policies and procedures,
you need to have the performance review before the salary
hits your paycheck and your ink paycheck increases and all
that stuff. So it had to be that week before Thursday.
(10:49):
So I had no reason to think otherwise.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
This had had been.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Three years in a row where on that week that
my paycheck was going to end, I had.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
That performance review.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I was doing well, I was performing, I was contributing,
and instead I was told I was being laid off.
There was no warning, no explanation, just this sentence. It's
not performance based, it's not personal, it's financial.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I was told I'd remained through that end of the month,
and that was it.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I remember closing my laptop and just sitting there, not crying.
Not panicking, just still because when something ends abruptly, your
brain doesn't immediately catch up. You don't instantly know what
this means for your life, your identity, your timeline, your
sense of stability. And here's the part that makes the
(11:47):
story matter for podcasting. At six pm that same day,
two hours later, I was scheduled to record a podcast episode.
I hadn't told anyone yet, not my friends, not my
only my parents knew. I was still processing, still in shock,
still very angry, still trying to understand what had just
(12:09):
happened and transpired, like what? And yet the counter reminder
was there podcast recording.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
So I showed up. Not because I was brave, not
because I.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Was strong, but because I had made a commitment, and
because somewhere inside me, I knew something important on this
space wasn't about not being okay, it was about being present.
The episode started like any other, my guests began sharing
his personal journey. At one point, he talked about a
(12:42):
layoff he had experienced earlier in his career, how it
felt devastating at the time, how looking back it became
a turning point, and he spoke, something inside me shifted,
not because I suddenly had clarity. I did not, but
because I realized something white powerful. This conversation wasn't theoretical anymore.
(13:05):
To me at least, this was a It wasn't a polished,
lesson learned story. This was happening in real time to me,
and I was able to relate without planning it, without
scripting it.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
I shared that I'd found out just hours earlier that
I was being laid off.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I didn't dramaticize it. I didn't make it the center
of that episode. I just said the truth.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
And something interesting happened.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
That conversation didn't collapse, It didn't turn into sympathy.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
It deepened, and not because I had answers, but because
I was honest. And you can go back and check
out that episode.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
That episode is with guest Mark Troy, and you can
hear how that actually.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Transpolted in real time.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
When we finished recording, both my guest Mark and my
producer Ben, who has been with me every single episode
that I have recorded, said to me, I can't believe
you shared that already. And I understand why they said that,
because we're taught, especially in professional spaces, that you wait,
(14:14):
you process, privately, clean up the story.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
You come back with perspective. But here's what I realized
in that moment.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Responsibility doesn't mean waiting until your story is polished.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It means knowing why.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
You're sharing and who you're sharing it for. I wasn't
sharing it for reassurance. I wasn't sharing it for sympathy.
I was sharing because I was hosting conversations about truth, resilience,
and success. And that meant my role wasn't just about
asking God questions. It was to show up honestly, even
when the story was still unfolding.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That episode still reaches people today years later.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Listeners have told me helped them through their own lay offs,
not because I told them what to do, not because
I offered a five step plan, but because I was
present in the uncertainty, and presence matters more than polish.
There's a belief floating around in podcasting and in personal
branding that you should wait until you're ready, until you
(15:19):
have clarity, until you've processed, until you've learned the lesson.
But readiness isn't always the requirement. Sometimes honesty is.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Responsibility doesn't ask you to.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Have questions and ask you to bring your intention and
know that intention, let me be clear about something important.
Responsibility is not over sharing. It's not emotional dumping. It's
not using your audience as a processing space. Responsibility is discernment.
(15:52):
It's asking why am I sharing this? Who does this serve?
What does this add to the space. That's the difference
between vulnerability and exposure. Here's something I've learned from years
of listening to listeners. They don't need you to be impressive.
They don't need you to be inspirational all the time.
(16:14):
They need you to be real in a way that
feels safe. Safe doesn't mean it doesn't mean sanitized.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
It means intentional. The day changed.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
How I think about podcasting forever because I realized.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Something that most people don't need.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Then life doesn't amplifying confidence and amplifies alignment. If you're aligned,
people feel grounded. If you're performing, people feel unsettled. Even
if they can't explain why we live in a world
that rewards polish, clean stories, clean arcs, lessons wrapped in bows.
Podcasting often offers something different. It offers presence, and presence
(17:02):
is powerful precisely because it's imperfect.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Presidence says I'm here with you.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I don't have this figured out, but I'm not disappearing.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
That's leadership.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Why this matters for you, Well, if you're a host,
your responsibility is not to be impressive, it's to be anchoring.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
If you're a guest, your responsibility.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Is not to perform, it's to be coherent. And coherence
doesn't come from having answers.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
It comes from.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Knowing what belongs in the room and what doesn't. I
want to pause here and invite you to reflect. Ask yourself,
when have I waited to speak because I thought I
needed clarity first, And when my presence have been enough.
In the next part of this episode, I want to
talk about the other side of responsibility, the moment when
(17:58):
responsibility doesn't mean speaking at all, when discernment looks like restraint,
when choosing not to share is the most ethical choice
you can make, because responsibility isn't.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
About exposure, it's about stardship.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And that's where we're going next, the other side of responsibility.
So so far, we've talked about responsibility as present, about
showing up honestly, about not waiting until your story is polished,
about choosing alignment over performance. But there's another side of
responsibility that doesn't get nearly as much attention, and that's restraint,
(18:38):
because responsibility doesn't always mean speaking. Sometimes responsibility means choosing
not to. There was a moment that changed how I
think about this, specifically forever. I was recording an episode
with a guest who spoke openly about his mental health journey.
He shared deeply about depression, about feeling loss without a
(19:00):
suicide attempt he made earlier in his life. It was
one of those conversations that stays with you, and you
can go check out that episode.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
That episode is with guest Eric Rush. On the very
same day.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
We recorded that episode, I personally knew a young man,
someone close to my life that I saw quite regularly.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
He was struggling deeply.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
He had just taken the brave step of asking for help,
not after something irreversible happened, before that detail matters. As
the conversation unfolded, I felt that temptation. It would have
been easy to relate that personal story. It would have
sounded powerful, relevant, connected. It would have made the moment
(19:46):
feel emotionally full circle. But something inside me paused, because
even though the stories were connected emotionally, they were not
connected ethically. That wasn't my story to tell and sharing it,
even without names, even with good intentions, could have caused harm.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
So I didn't. That decision didn't come.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
From fear, It came from respect. It taught me something
just as important as vulnerability. Not every truth belongs on
the mic. Not every connection needs to be voiced. Not
every story is yours to carry into the public space.
Responsibility is not about silence or exposure. It's about discernment.
(20:32):
This is especially hard for people who care deeply, for
people who are intuitive, empathetic, story driven, because we feel
connections everywhere, we see patterns, we sense meaning, and podcasting
rewards storytelling. But just because a story fits doesn't mean
(20:52):
it belongs.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Here's the line I want you to remember.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Impact invites intrusion to responsibility.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Asks is this story mine? Does this serve the listeners?
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Or does it satisfy my need to make meaning out loud?
Those are uncomfortable questions, but leadership often is I want
to be very clear about this.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Choosing not to share does not mean you're hiding.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It does not mean you're being inauthentic, and it doesn't
mean you're afraid. Sometimes it means you're honoring the weight
of the space. Sometimes silence is protection Sometimes silence is care.
Sometimes silence is the most ethical form of leadership. If
your host, this matters deeply, because when you host a podcast,
(21:44):
you are not just speaking.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You are stewarding a room.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
You are responsible for the emotional tone, the safety of
the conversation, the continuity.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Of the listener's experience. Hosting is not.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Spotlight anchoring and angering means knowing what the space can
hold and what it cannot. If you've ever been a
guest on a podcast, it's easy to underestimate your role.
You're not setting the questions, you're not shaping the format,
you're not managing the flow. But you are stepping into
a space where trust already exists. Listeners don't separate the
(22:22):
host from the guests. They experience the conversation as.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
One shared moment. Being a guest doesn't make you less responsible.
It makes you trusted.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
And trust doesn't usually disappear dramatically.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
It erodes quietly.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
When big topics are handled without care, stories are shared
for effect, not intention. Conversations feel reactive instead of grounded.
The mic becomes a place for ego instead of service.
Listeners may not articulate it, but they feel it.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
And once trust is gone.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
No amount of production quality can bring it back. You
don't need to be an expert to be responsible. You
need to be intentional, intentional about why you're speaking, what
you're reinforcing, what you're normalizing, what you're.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Leaving un said.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Responsibility isn't about perfection, It's about awareness. I want to
pause here and invite you into reflection. Ask yourself, where
in my life or work am I equating vulnerability with exposure?
And where might responsibility look like restraint? Instead, let that
(23:37):
question sit. You don't need an answer right now. Here's
the paradox most people don't realize. Restraint doesn't weaken your voice.
It strengthens it because when people trust that you won't overshare,
they trust you more.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
When you do speak.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Discernment builds credibility, Silence build safety, and safety is what.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Keeps people listening.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
This is the moment where podcasting stops being content creation
and becomes stewardship. You stop asking will that perform and
start asking what belongs here?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
That shift changes everything.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
In the final part of this episode, I want to
give you a framework, something tangible you can carry with you,
a way to think about responsibility before the mic.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
On the mic and after the mike.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Because responsibility doesn't end when the recording stops, and neither
does the relationship you've stepped into. And that's where we're
going next. Responsibility doesn't end with the mic when the
mic turns off. There's something important we haven't said yet.
Responsibility doesn't end when you stop recording. It doesn't end
(24:49):
when the episode is published. It doesn't end when the
numbers come in. It doesn't end when the feedback fades,
because once someone has listened to you, truly listened, our
relationship has been formed. Relationship doesn't turn off just because
the mic does. This is where podcasting stops being content
and becomes leadership. There's a sample framework I return to
(25:13):
again and again, not because it's flashy, but because it's grounding.
Responsibility before the mic, responsibility on the mic, and responsibility
after the mic. Let's walk through each one of these together,
slowly before the mic, intention, before the mic, ever turns on.
Responsibility begins with intention, not what am I going to say?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
But why am I speaking? What do I want the
listener to.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Walk away with? Emotionally, not just intellectually? What perspective am
I reinforcing? What am I asking them?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
To carry after the episode ends.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Intention doesn't require scripting everything it requires honestly, because whatever
your intention is, consciously or subconsciously up listeners feel.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It on the mic.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Presence on the Once the mic is on, like it
is right now, responsibility becomes presence. Presence means speaking with care,
speaking with clarity, speaking like someone is actually listening because
they are. Presence doesn't mean it being perfect. It means
being grounded enough to stay with the conversation even when
(26:26):
it's uncomfortable, especially when it's uncomfortable. Presence is what turns
talking into trust after the mic stortship. This is the
part almost no one talks about. After the mic turns off.
Responsibility comes stewardship, storadorship of the relationship you've entered, the
(26:47):
trust you've.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Been given, the space you've created.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
This shows up in how you talk about the episode afterwards,
how you reference people, how you carry the conversation forward
or she's not to. Stewardship asks, do I honor the
room I.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Was invited into. Podcasting is not.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
A megaphone, Even though podcasting is often.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Treated like a megaphone.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Louder, bigger, more, But podcasting isn't amplification it's relationship, and
relationships thrive on trust. Trust is built when people know
your intentional, you're present, you're careful with what they give you.
What does this mean for you, Well, if you're a
(27:34):
podcast host, your.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Job is not to impress.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
It's to anchor, to create a space that feels steady, thoughtful,
and intentional. If you get some podcasts, your job is
not to perform. It is to contribute coherently, to bring
something aligned, honest, and respectful into a room that already
holds trust. If you're thinking about starting a podcast, this
episode is not meant to intimidate you at all, meant
(28:00):
to invite you into leadership. Responsibility is the first decision.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
But it's not the hardest one.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
The harder decision comes next once you realize your voice
carries weight your face with a deeper question, am I
willing to be seen as the person behind the voice?
Because podcasting doesn't just amplify ideas, It reveals identity, your beliefs,
your values, your confidence or lack of it, the stories
(28:28):
you tell yourself about whether you're ready, qualified, or allowed.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
To take up space.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Many people feel like responsibility, feel the responsibility of being
heard and stop there. They hesitate, They wait for permission
that never comes. You'll never get the permission. Before we close,
I want to invite you into one final moment of reflection.
Ask yourself, if someone listened to my next episode on
(28:54):
their hardest.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Day, what would I want to give them?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Where in my life or work am I underestimating the
impact of my voice? And where might responsibility look like restraint?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Right now?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
You don't need to answer all that today, but letting
yourself ask those questions changes how you show up. If
this episode resonated with you, I want to hear from you,
not just the polished version of your story, but the
honest one, your moments of uncertainty, your moments of courage,
your moments of authenticity.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Let's keep the conversation going.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
You can reach out to me by going to any
of the links that are in the description of this episode.
And if you're ready to grow your podcast, your business,
or your personal brand through real strategy and real genuine connection,
not hustle, not noise, and not performance, then I would.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Love to work together. Because when you.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Lead with connection, you don't just grow your numbers, You
grow trust, You grow.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Influence, growing pact I'm Olivia Akin and.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
This is achieving success with Olivia Akin. Until next time,
stay curious, stay human, and stay connected.
Hello everyone, and welcome to Achieving Success with Olivia Akins.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm your host, Olivia akin.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Each week we will discuss the roadmap of achieving your
personal and professional success. In the solo episodes, I pull
back the current not podcasting, entrepreneurship and personal success. You
will hear the strategies I use, the lessons I've learned,
and the honest stories that shape me so you can
build not just a successful podcast, but a business and
(00:34):
life you're proud of.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
And today's episode is different, not.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Because it's heavier, not because it's dramatic, but because it's foundation.
This is not an episode about doing more. It's an
episode about understanding what you're already doing and the way
it carries. Today we're talking about why podcasting is both
a gift and a responsibility.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
There's a quote I want to start with today.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
With words we can inspire and with words we can destroy,
Nelson Mandela.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
And the reason I'm opening with.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
This is because most people think podcasting is about having
something to say. They think it's about content, about ideas,
about finally sharing their thoughts with the world. But the
moment you speak into a microphone, whether you're hosting a
conversation or stepping into someone else's something happens. You are
(01:32):
invited into someone's time, their attention, they're thinking, often their
most private moment is and that inventation is not neutral.
Podcasting is not just a platform. It's access and access
always comes with responsibility, whether we acknowledge it or not.
(01:54):
Let's slow this down because podcasting gets talked about like
it's just another content channel, another distribution method, another growth lever.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Another marketing tool.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
But podcasting does not behave like social media. People don't
listen to podcasts the way they scroll a feed. They
don't skim, they don't have consume. They invite you in
into the car with them, into the kitchen while they're
cooking dinner after a hard day, into their headphones while
they're walking, thinking, processing, becoming, think about it.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
You're listening to me right now. What are you doing
while you're listening to this episode.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Podcast listeners aren't multitasking the way social media assumes they're absorbing.
They hear your tone, not just your words. They pick
up on your certainty or your hesitation. They notice how
you frame problems, how you talk about other people, how
(02:56):
you talk about yourself, what you normalize and what you dismiss.
Podcasting doesn't just share information. It shapes perspective, and perspective
shapes decisions, often quietly, often later, often.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
In ways you'll never fully see. That's why this matters.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
If you're listening to this right now, like I said earlier,
maybe you're driving, maybe you are cleaning, maybe you're sitting
somewhere quiet, wherever you are. Notice how different this feels
from scrolling. You didn't accidentally end up here.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
You chose this.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You choose to give your time to a voice and
to me, and I appreciate that. And when someone does
that with your podcast, when you choose your voice, you're.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Not competing with content. You're becoming a presence, and presence
carries weight.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
The gift side of podcasting. Let's speak about the gift first.
Podcasting is a gift because it allows you to speak
without interruption, explore ideas fully, be nuanced, be human.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It allows long form thought in a world obsessed with
sound bites.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
It allows complexity where everything else demands simplicity. It allows
truth to breathe. That's a gift. It's also a gift
because it creates relationship, not consumption. Listeners don't just follow podcasts,
they return to them. They build familiarity, trust, a sense
(04:31):
of knowing you even if you never met. That kind
of trust is rare and it's powerful, which brings us
to the responsibility aspect, the part most people don't think about.
Here's the part most people don't consciously consider, at least
when starting a podcast. Your voice becomes part of someone's
(04:53):
internal world. It sits besides them while they think, while
they're uncertain, while they're are hopeful, while they're afraid, while
they're deciding something.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
About their life.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
And that means your words don't just land once they ego.
This is why podcasting can't be treated casually, because even
when you forget what you said, someone else might still
be carrying it intention verse impact. One of the biggest
under misunderstandings around responsibility is people think responsibility is all
(05:31):
about intention. I didn't mean to, I wasn't trying to,
that wasn't my goal. But responsibility isn't about what you meant,
is about what lands. And that doesn't mean you have
to be perfect. No one expects you to be perfect.
I'm not even perfect, and you'll heal me fumble on
(05:54):
words in episodes.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
And things like that.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
But it means you have to be intentional. And that's
the difference.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Most creators don't disrespect the mic.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
They underestimate it. They think, well, it's just my opinion.
It's just a conversation I had. It's not that serious.
But seriousness doesn't come from tone, it comes from impact.
You can be lighthearted and still be responsible. You can
be casual and still be intentional. You can be warm
(06:25):
and still be grounded. Responsibility doesn't mean heaviness.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
It means awareness. I want to pause here.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
If you're a podcaster, if you want to start a podcast,
if you guess on podcasts, ask yourself this quietly, why
do I want to be heard?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Not the polished for version, and answer.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
The real one, because whatever that.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Answer is, it shows up in your voice.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
When I launched my podcast on November one, twenty twenty two,
I didn't do it to build a second career. I
wasn't chasing virality. I wasn't trying to monetize. I wasn't
trying to be known. I was working a demanding, full
time job at Locky Morton.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
And when I say.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Demanding, our normal week, even though it's a forty hour
work week was more fifty hours plus, and I was
volunteering with multiple nonprofits and sitting on their boards, which
meant way more extra meetings and time spent.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
I started the podcast because.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I believed deeply in using my voice to make an impact.
At the time, my business attorney suggested that if I
was starting a company alongside the podcast, there should be
a way for it to sustain itself financially. So my
salary wasn't funding what could easily become an expensive hobby that.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Was practical advice.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
I mean, career development consulting made sense. I had a
published book, Achieving Success in Career Development that you can
find on my website. I was speaking at colleges, but
the podcast itself that felt different. It felt personal, purpose driven, human.
It felt like responsibility even then before I can name it.
(08:15):
Here's something I want to be very clear about. Podcasting
is not just about talking. It's leading, and leadership doesn't
start when people agree with you.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
It starts when people listen.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Leadership doesn't require perfection, it requires presence, and presence requires
you to know.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Why you're there.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
This episode is not meant to make you cautious. It's
meant to make you clear, clear about why you speak,
how you speak, what you protect, what you don't need,
what you don't need to perform, because responsibility isn't about silence.
It's about stewardship, and stewardship is what separates content from impact.
(09:00):
In the next part of this episode, I'm going to
share the moment when responsibility stopped being a concept for
me personally and became something real the day I found
out I was being laid off two hours before I
hit record, and what it meant to show up anyway,
because responsibility doesn't mean waiting until your story is clear.
(09:20):
Sometimes it means being present while it's still unfolding.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
That's where we're going next.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I want to take you to a very specific day,
not because the details matter for drama, but because the
context matters for a responsibility. Just a few months after
I launched the podcast, mass.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Layoffs swept through corporate America.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
If you were working in corporate at the time, you
remember this season very well. The uncertainty, the rumors, the
quiet fear that lived underneath business as usual. Lockeed Martin
announced company wide word auctions. We were told that if
we were impacted, we wouldn't know By the end of February.
(10:05):
February passed, March arrived, and the first week of March.
In Locking Martin's company is always performance review week. Bonuses,
salary increases, formal evaluations. On a Tuesday, at four pm,
I logged into what I thought was a routine performance
review with my manager, because I was getting my bonus
(10:28):
and salary increase that Thursday. And if you know Locked
Martin or a lot of corporate organizations and policies and procedures,
you need to have the performance review before the salary
hits your paycheck and your ink paycheck increases and all
that stuff. So it had to be that week before Thursday.
(10:49):
So I had no reason to think otherwise.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
This had had been.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Three years in a row where on that week that
my paycheck was going to end, I had.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
That performance review.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
I was doing well, I was performing, I was contributing,
and instead I was told I was being laid off.
There was no warning, no explanation, just this sentence. It's
not performance based, it's not personal, it's financial.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
I was told I'd remained through that end of the month,
and that was it.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I remember closing my laptop and just sitting there, not crying.
Not panicking, just still because when something ends abruptly, your
brain doesn't immediately catch up. You don't instantly know what
this means for your life, your identity, your timeline, your
sense of stability. And here's the part that makes the
(11:47):
story matter for podcasting. At six pm that same day,
two hours later, I was scheduled to record a podcast episode.
I hadn't told anyone yet, not my friends, not my
only my parents knew. I was still processing, still in shock,
still very angry, still trying to understand what had just
(12:09):
happened and transpired, like what? And yet the counter reminder
was there podcast recording.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
So I showed up. Not because I was brave, not
because I.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Was strong, but because I had made a commitment, and
because somewhere inside me, I knew something important on this
space wasn't about not being okay, it was about being present.
The episode started like any other, my guests began sharing
his personal journey. At one point, he talked about a
(12:42):
layoff he had experienced earlier in his career, how it
felt devastating at the time, how looking back it became
a turning point, and he spoke, something inside me shifted,
not because I suddenly had clarity. I did not, but
because I realized something white powerful. This conversation wasn't theoretical anymore.
(13:05):
To me at least, this was a It wasn't a polished,
lesson learned story. This was happening in real time to me,
and I was able to relate without planning it, without
scripting it.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
I shared that I'd found out just hours earlier that
I was being laid off.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I didn't dramaticize it. I didn't make it the center
of that episode. I just said the truth.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
And something interesting happened.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
That conversation didn't collapse, It didn't turn into sympathy.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
It deepened, and not because I had answers, but because
I was honest. And you can go back and check
out that episode.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
That episode is with guest Mark Troy, and you can
hear how that actually.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Transpolted in real time.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
When we finished recording, both my guest Mark and my
producer Ben, who has been with me every single episode
that I have recorded, said to me, I can't believe
you shared that already. And I understand why they said that,
because we're taught, especially in professional spaces, that you wait,
(14:14):
you process, privately, clean up the story.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
You come back with perspective. But here's what I realized
in that moment.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Responsibility doesn't mean waiting until your story is polished.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
It means knowing why.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
You're sharing and who you're sharing it for. I wasn't
sharing it for reassurance. I wasn't sharing it for sympathy.
I was sharing because I was hosting conversations about truth, resilience,
and success. And that meant my role wasn't just about
asking God questions. It was to show up honestly, even
when the story was still unfolding.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That episode still reaches people today years later.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Listeners have told me helped them through their own lay offs,
not because I told them what to do, not because
I offered a five step plan, but because I was
present in the uncertainty, and presence matters more than polish.
There's a belief floating around in podcasting and in personal
branding that you should wait until you're ready, until you
(15:19):
have clarity, until you've processed, until you've learned the lesson.
But readiness isn't always the requirement. Sometimes honesty is.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Responsibility doesn't ask you to.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Have questions and ask you to bring your intention and
know that intention, let me be clear about something important.
Responsibility is not over sharing. It's not emotional dumping. It's
not using your audience as a processing space. Responsibility is discernment.
(15:52):
It's asking why am I sharing this? Who does this serve?
What does this add to the space. That's the difference
between vulnerability and exposure. Here's something I've learned from years
of listening to listeners. They don't need you to be impressive.
They don't need you to be inspirational all the time.
(16:14):
They need you to be real in a way that
feels safe. Safe doesn't mean it doesn't mean sanitized.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
It means intentional. The day changed.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
How I think about podcasting forever because I realized.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Something that most people don't need.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Then life doesn't amplifying confidence and amplifies alignment. If you're aligned,
people feel grounded. If you're performing, people feel unsettled. Even
if they can't explain why we live in a world
that rewards polish, clean stories, clean arcs, lessons wrapped in bows.
Podcasting often offers something different. It offers presence, and presence
(17:02):
is powerful precisely because it's imperfect.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Presidence says I'm here with you.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I don't have this figured out, but I'm not disappearing.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
That's leadership.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Why this matters for you, Well, if you're a host,
your responsibility is not to be impressive, it's to be anchoring.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
If you're a guest, your responsibility.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Is not to perform, it's to be coherent. And coherence
doesn't come from having answers.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
It comes from.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
Knowing what belongs in the room and what doesn't. I
want to pause here and invite you to reflect. Ask yourself,
when have I waited to speak because I thought I
needed clarity first, And when my presence have been enough.
In the next part of this episode, I want to
talk about the other side of responsibility, the moment when
(17:58):
responsibility doesn't mean speaking at all, when discernment looks like restraint,
when choosing not to share is the most ethical choice
you can make, because responsibility isn't.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
About exposure, it's about stardship.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
And that's where we're going next, the other side of responsibility.
So so far, we've talked about responsibility as present, about
showing up honestly, about not waiting until your story is polished,
about choosing alignment over performance. But there's another side of
responsibility that doesn't get nearly as much attention, and that's restraint,
(18:38):
because responsibility doesn't always mean speaking. Sometimes responsibility means choosing
not to. There was a moment that changed how I
think about this, specifically forever. I was recording an episode
with a guest who spoke openly about his mental health journey.
He shared deeply about depression, about feeling loss without a
(19:00):
suicide attempt he made earlier in his life. It was
one of those conversations that stays with you, and you
can go check out that episode.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
That episode is with guest Eric Rush. On the very
same day.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
We recorded that episode, I personally knew a young man,
someone close to my life that I saw quite regularly.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
He was struggling deeply.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
He had just taken the brave step of asking for help,
not after something irreversible happened, before that detail matters. As
the conversation unfolded, I felt that temptation. It would have
been easy to relate that personal story. It would have
sounded powerful, relevant, connected. It would have made the moment
(19:46):
feel emotionally full circle. But something inside me paused, because
even though the stories were connected emotionally, they were not
connected ethically. That wasn't my story to tell and sharing it,
even without names, even with good intentions, could have caused harm.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
So I didn't. That decision didn't come.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
From fear, It came from respect. It taught me something
just as important as vulnerability. Not every truth belongs on
the mic. Not every connection needs to be voiced. Not
every story is yours to carry into the public space.
Responsibility is not about silence or exposure. It's about discernment.
(20:32):
This is especially hard for people who care deeply, for
people who are intuitive, empathetic, story driven, because we feel
connections everywhere, we see patterns, we sense meaning, and podcasting
rewards storytelling. But just because a story fits doesn't mean
(20:52):
it belongs.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Here's the line I want you to remember.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Impact invites intrusion to responsibility.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Asks is this story mine? Does this serve the listeners?
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Or does it satisfy my need to make meaning out loud?
Those are uncomfortable questions, but leadership often is I want
to be very clear about this.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Choosing not to share does not mean you're hiding.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It does not mean you're being inauthentic, and it doesn't
mean you're afraid. Sometimes it means you're honoring the weight
of the space. Sometimes silence is protection Sometimes silence is care.
Sometimes silence is the most ethical form of leadership. If
your host, this matters deeply, because when you host a podcast,
(21:44):
you are not just speaking.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You are stewarding a room.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
You are responsible for the emotional tone, the safety of
the conversation, the continuity.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Of the listener's experience. Hosting is not.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Spotlight anchoring and angering means knowing what the space can
hold and what it cannot. If you've ever been a
guest on a podcast, it's easy to underestimate your role.
You're not setting the questions, you're not shaping the format,
you're not managing the flow. But you are stepping into
a space where trust already exists. Listeners don't separate the
(22:22):
host from the guests. They experience the conversation as.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
One shared moment. Being a guest doesn't make you less responsible.
It makes you trusted.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
And trust doesn't usually disappear dramatically.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
It erodes quietly.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
When big topics are handled without care, stories are shared
for effect, not intention. Conversations feel reactive instead of grounded.
The mic becomes a place for ego instead of service.
Listeners may not articulate it, but they feel it.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
And once trust is gone.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
No amount of production quality can bring it back. You
don't need to be an expert to be responsible. You
need to be intentional, intentional about why you're speaking, what
you're reinforcing, what you're normalizing, what you're.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Leaving un said.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Responsibility isn't about perfection, It's about awareness. I want to
pause here and invite you into reflection. Ask yourself, where
in my life or work am I equating vulnerability with exposure?
And where might responsibility look like restraint? Instead, let that
(23:37):
question sit. You don't need an answer right now. Here's
the paradox most people don't realize. Restraint doesn't weaken your voice.
It strengthens it because when people trust that you won't overshare,
they trust you more.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
When you do speak.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Discernment builds credibility, Silence build safety, and safety is what.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Keeps people listening.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
This is the moment where podcasting stops being content creation
and becomes stewardship. You stop asking will that perform and
start asking what belongs here?
Speaker 2 (24:14):
That shift changes everything.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
In the final part of this episode, I want to
give you a framework, something tangible you can carry with you,
a way to think about responsibility before the mic.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
On the mic and after the mike.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Because responsibility doesn't end when the recording stops, and neither
does the relationship you've stepped into. And that's where we're
going next. Responsibility doesn't end with the mic when the
mic turns off. There's something important we haven't said yet.
Responsibility doesn't end when you stop recording. It doesn't end
(24:49):
when the episode is published. It doesn't end when the
numbers come in. It doesn't end when the feedback fades,
because once someone has listened to you, truly listened, our
relationship has been formed. Relationship doesn't turn off just because
the mic does. This is where podcasting stops being content
and becomes leadership. There's a sample framework I return to
(25:13):
again and again, not because it's flashy, but because it's grounding.
Responsibility before the mic, responsibility on the mic, and responsibility
after the mic. Let's walk through each one of these together,
slowly before the mic, intention, before the mic, ever turns on.
Responsibility begins with intention, not what am I going to say?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
But why am I speaking? What do I want the
listener to.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Walk away with? Emotionally, not just intellectually? What perspective am
I reinforcing? What am I asking them?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
To carry after the episode ends.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Intention doesn't require scripting everything it requires honestly, because whatever
your intention is, consciously or subconsciously up listeners feel.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It on the mic.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Presence on the Once the mic is on, like it
is right now, responsibility becomes presence. Presence means speaking with care,
speaking with clarity, speaking like someone is actually listening because
they are. Presence doesn't mean it being perfect. It means
being grounded enough to stay with the conversation even when
(26:26):
it's uncomfortable, especially when it's uncomfortable. Presence is what turns
talking into trust after the mic stortship. This is the
part almost no one talks about. After the mic turns off.
Responsibility comes stewardship, storadorship of the relationship you've entered, the
(26:47):
trust you've.
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Been given, the space you've created.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
This shows up in how you talk about the episode afterwards,
how you reference people, how you carry the conversation forward
or she's not to. Stewardship asks, do I honor the
room I.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
Was invited into. Podcasting is not.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
A megaphone, Even though podcasting is often.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Treated like a megaphone.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Louder, bigger, more, But podcasting isn't amplification it's relationship, and
relationships thrive on trust. Trust is built when people know
your intentional, you're present, you're careful with what they give you.
What does this mean for you, Well, if you're a
(27:34):
podcast host, your.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
Job is not to impress.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
It's to anchor, to create a space that feels steady, thoughtful,
and intentional. If you get some podcasts, your job is
not to perform. It is to contribute coherently, to bring
something aligned, honest, and respectful into a room that already
holds trust. If you're thinking about starting a podcast, this
episode is not meant to intimidate you at all, meant
(28:00):
to invite you into leadership. Responsibility is the first decision.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
But it's not the hardest one.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
The harder decision comes next once you realize your voice
carries weight your face with a deeper question, am I
willing to be seen as the person behind the voice?
Because podcasting doesn't just amplify ideas, It reveals identity, your beliefs,
your values, your confidence or lack of it, the stories
(28:28):
you tell yourself about whether you're ready, qualified, or allowed.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
To take up space.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Many people feel like responsibility, feel the responsibility of being
heard and stop there. They hesitate, They wait for permission
that never comes. You'll never get the permission. Before we close,
I want to invite you into one final moment of reflection.
Ask yourself, if someone listened to my next episode on
(28:54):
their hardest.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Day, what would I want to give them?
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Where in my life or work am I underestimating the
impact of my voice? And where might responsibility look like restraint?
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Right now?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
You don't need to answer all that today, but letting
yourself ask those questions changes how you show up. If
this episode resonated with you, I want to hear from you,
not just the polished version of your story, but the
honest one, your moments of uncertainty, your moments of courage,
your moments of authenticity.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Let's keep the conversation going.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
You can reach out to me by going to any
of the links that are in the description of this episode.
And if you're ready to grow your podcast, your business,
or your personal brand through real strategy and real genuine connection,
not hustle, not noise, and not performance, then I would.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Love to work together. Because when you.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Lead with connection, you don't just grow your numbers, You
grow trust, You grow.
Speaker 2 (29:59):
Influence, growing pact I'm Olivia Akin and.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
This is achieving success with Olivia Akin. Until next time,
stay curious, stay human, and stay connected.
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