Well folks, the Motivation Superhero couldn’t let this one go.  So I came home from work with the script from a past presentation and I recorded 10 episodes on Anchor tonight, in 2-5 minute segments.  I feel too passionate about the topic to put this off for “later” – whenever that will be.  I’m happy with the recordings and I would feel okay sharing them with colleagues.  Ultimately, this will be a great lead-in to my website and (eventually) an eCourse on this topic.

Anchor station = Healthcaring at https://anchor.fm/healthcaring

I still have to script the live presentation I’ll be giving one month from today, but at least I finished something!  I feel like my world is back on its axis and rotating again.

It was remarkably easy, though I’m not sure what happens to the material after 24 hours.  The site says the episodes are archived but I’m worried they might explode or disappear forever.  I’d like to hang on to them and make a podcast.  I see I can upload it directly, but someone mentioned it’s better to download to my computer first and then upload to podcasts.  My brain is on technical overload right now so someone just tell me what to do and I’ll do it!

@saramccann – Thanks for your feedback.  I’m trying to decide if I want to monetize my YouTube channel.  From what I understand, posting a cover song on YouTube gives the site permission to put advertisements on the page or even on the video itself.  I’m not sure that applies if you don’t monetize the video.  I resent advertisements and would rather generate income nearly any other way (she says with empty pockets).

Anyway, it seems as though the majority of recording artists have contracts with the major recording companies who are now part of that YouTube contract so it’s generally accepted.  I’m not sure that the musicians themselves make very much off the deal at all – but for me it’s much easier to record a song that’s already written than actually create something myself from scratch (on top of all the other from-scratch creations I seem to have on my plate).  This is only true on YouTube though, and not (for instance) on Facebook or any of the audio sites from what I’ve heard.  Also, there’s a difference between posting the WHOLE song and using just a portion – surprisingly it’s easier legally to post the whole song.  Also, as background music for a video I will steer clear of cover songs; much easier to find something without all the possible legal implications.

Okay, I’ll try to upload these episodes as a podcast or something before midnight.  Not sure how that’s going to go.  The good news is I have a virtually nonexistent audience at the moment so if I crash and burn it’s not a big deal to anyone but me 🙂

I know that I didn’t complete this challenge as intended, slow and steady, but I did learn some great lessons even though I recorded and posted the audio for all 10 episodes in one day. First of all, the audio on Anchor is super easy.  Not intimidating, not time-consuming or hard to use.  On top of that, I think the broadcasts are capped at 5 minutes (I think it cut me off once) so that shrinks the time commitment also.  I’m sure I rant at coworkers for longer than 5 minutes many days I’m at work about topics pertinent for this channel.

So, moving forward, I’d like to set a goal of doing a Healthcaring recording at least a few days each week.  I’d like to shoot for all weekdays (for habit building purposes) but I’ll be happy with whatever gets done.  Since I’m usually working through an idea in my brain or exposed to a new idea listening to audiobooks during my commute, there’s a good chance I can use that as the topic for a Healthcaring broadcast.  It’s intimidating to think about coming up with all those topics, but on a day-to-day basis I usually have some topic front of mind.

That being said, many of the topics could also apply on a broader “Motivation Superhero” level, so if I really want to push things I could do a similar broadcast for a separate channel geared to a more general audience – not healthcare professionals, but maybe 40-something women striving for more meaning and joy in their lives.  I’ll have to see how the “free speak” goes – see how much I can pull off without writing a complete script.  Another experiment that may succeed or end up being discontinued down the line.

So, like I said, maybe not completed as intended BUT certainly helpful that I went through the motions, recorded multiple episodes, and now have more expertise under my belt.

This course idea is becoming multimedia, multi topic, multi people.  Pretty crazy!!!

So my Healthcaring podcast went live on Apple Podcasts earlier today.  I took my first recordings, created episodes that were added to my station, and when Anchor asked if I would like to make it into a Podcast I paused for a few seconds, thought, “What the heck?!?” and pressed YES.  It was pretty much a no-brainer to do what was right there in front of me.  I’m relieved to see that I can actually delete episodes and change titles and descriptions and photos after the fact (It’s pretty much a mess in there right now and I’m thinking about re-recording the initial shows now that I see how it all fits together, and then I can better package the content I’ve created.)  But now I don’t have to worry about the launch and go live anymore.  It’s already out there and I can continue to work and refine as I go along – and I’ll have something useful to share with anyone who wants to learn more.  Woohoo!!!

@davidj – I know you missed out on the September challenge, but I dare you to try using Anchor!  It would literally take a few minutes to make your first recording and create an episode, and then repurpose that into a podcast.  Your voice would translate great into the audio world, and it would be a great avenue to get more people on board for your course.  You can repurpose material you’ve already created for your episode, or you could even use each recording as an opportunity to share a story about someone you’ve worked with and teach an important lesson.  Really – I think you would be amazed if you just tried it.

@bradleytmorris – If the Motivation Superhero can’t push through and bust things out at the end, then what am I doing here?

Here’s a read for you, maybe a link for one of your upcoming BTBs – The Do Something Principle.  I read this after writing the tagline for my own website, but completely aligns with my own “dare to do something different” philosophy and hashes it out in a way that makes sense.  I just finished reading the author’s book “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” and I am quite sure that you would embrace so many of his ideas, very sensible yet disestablishmentarian at the same time if that makes any sense.  Get it on audiobook.  Now.  You will not regret it.