SuccessQuest Podcast

Jacob has an insightful conversation with Brian Ford, the host of the Self Improvement Daily Podcast. They talk about not getting discouraged, podcasting best practices, being an “expert,” balancing responsibilities and more.

Don’t get discouraged when growing something

• It’s not about the numbers. Quality is better than quantity. 
• Paul Brunson - Matchmaker. Started a youtube channel. Didn’t get a lot of views, but ended up getting in touch with Oprah. 
• You never know who’s listening.
• Jordan Paris
• Mark Metry
• At the beginning, things grow slowly. You need to get through the first hurdle and then things explode. 
• Reach a critical mass.

Brian’s Story

• He didn’t think he’d ever have a podcast. 
• He thought: “Who has the authority to put a microphone next to their lips and talk for an hour and think that that’s worth listening to?”
• He realized that podcasts are a connection and education resource.
• Decided to do voice because it was on the cutting edge of marketing. 
• Brian chose personal development so that it would be a benefit to himself
• Self Improvement Daily
• Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing
• Understand the Flash Briefing Skill API
• Steps to Create a Flash Briefing Skill

Podcasting Best Practices

• Do something unique! Something that sets you apart.
• The title of your podcast is important. People will be searching in podcast apps. SEO is important for podcasts. 
• 6 ways to grow your podcast audience with SEO
• Frequency of content. The more content the better!
• In Brian’s case, the short bite-sized podcast has helped because people listen to the entirety of the episode and often listen more than once. 

Do you need to be an expert?

• Doing the podcast has had a big impact on Brian. He has been incorporating his own tips.
• He doesn’t consider himself a self improvement expert, but doing the podcast has helped him become better. 
• It’s important to be transparent and intentional about letting people know you’re on a journey with them.
• Having a podcast helps you become credible and create authority. 
• Consistency is huge! The podcast has taught Brian the importance of consistency.

Coming up with content for the podcast

• Be curious! 
• Every day experiences can create opportunities to create content. 

Balancing multiple responsibilities

• The medical device start-up is Brian’s full-time job. 
• The podcast is his passion project.

It’s not about the money

• Brian is very intentional about the purpose of the podcast. 
• The podcast fulfills him.
• You can be fulfilled by something even if it doesn’t make money. 
• You can receive other benefits from something.
• Identity. What you do creates your identity. Do things that you like and that you’re proud of. 
• Unfortunately, money is a big focus of industries. 

Look at the bigger picture

• Just because you can’t see value of something doesn’t mean it’s not providing value. 
• Just because it seems like it’s not paying off doesn’t mean it’s not paying off. 
• Look at the bigger picture. 
• When it comes to dreams and passions and being fulfilled, it’s a long-term game. 

Follow Brian

• Website
• Instagram
• Linkedin
• We didn’t talk about this in the interview, but Brian has given a TEDx Talk! See it here: Do it for the story | Brian Ford

Follow Jacob:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter: @jacob_m_harmon

Follow Kalob:

• LinkedIn
  

Follow SuccessQuest:

• Website
• Blog
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter: @MySuccessQuest

Listen & Subscribe

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Overcast
• Spotify

We’d love to hear from you!

Have some feedback about the show? Feel free to reach out to us at podcast@MySuccessQuest.com. You can also rate us in Apple Podcasts or your favorite app to help more people discover the show!

Jacob Harmon  0:11  
Hello, and welcome to another episode of success quest. I'm Jacob Harmon. And today we have a real treat for you. And I'm just going to jump right into it. I didn't interview this week. And I think it was an amazing interview. And I learned so much. So I'm excited to share this with you guys. All right, well, today, I have Brian Ford with me. And I'm actually really excited to have him on the show today, because I've been listening to his podcast, and he also does a podcast. And I've been incredibly impressed with everything that he's doing. So I'm happy to have you on Brian, how you doing today?

Brian Ford  0:52  
I'm doing great. And I appreciate you giving me a listen. It's always nice to get some feedback from a fellow podcaster.

Jacob Harmon  0:58  
For sure. Sometimes you never know who's listening, right? You just kind of throw it out there and hope that someone catches on to it.

Brian Ford  1:06  
Oh, yeah, it only takes one I actually just a quick little story. So I recently reached out to a mentor, who's going to be on board and help me with some stuff super excited about him. I'm gonna have him on my podcast too. But he told this story of where he created. He's a matchmaker. His name is Paul Brunson. And he he created this YouTube show way before he was credible or qualified and making a YouTube show. And he decided that he just going to put something out there to see what happened. And for the first couple of months, he was getting eight views, 20 views, 11 views, you know, nothing huge. But then after those first couple of months, he was in touch with Oprah. Because Oprah was one of those 1128 views, you know, and it just, it just goes to show you that it's not always about quantity, like you got to really look into the quality of it. So you and I, you know, you never know who's listening. And that's the beauty of it, because it's just about putting yourself out there. And whoever receives it and whatever they want to do with it. That's kind of out of your hands, but your responsibility to provide it for others. So that's a quick little anecdote to get it started.

Jacob Harmon  2:10  
Yeah, that's awesome. I, I mean, I really needed to hear that today, actually, because we've been putting this out for a few months. Now. I think this is Episode 19. And our numbers are okay, they've been growing. But they, they aren't crazy. I mean, it's not like we have thousands of listeners every week. And it's something that I had to motivate myself to keep going. Because I know that this is a good movement. I'm excited about what we're doing with success quest. But sometimes it grows a little slower than you want it to. So it's a good reminder to remember that it's about quality, not quantity.

Brian Ford  2:51  
Sure, and I think that coming from anyone who started small and has grown a podcast, you know, like, Jordan, Paris, like Mark Demetri, like my myself, you need to kind of be able to dissociate that original metric and just being like, oh, man, it's not catching fire, like I expect it to because that's just the nature of it. Like there's this natural germination period for a podcast, we're just kind of need to get your feet wet, get rooted, kind of get settled. And then it will accelerate kind of at random. But it's all about kind of getting through that first hurdle of the two months, six months, you know what, and whatever it ends up being, because then kind of you get some benefits with the algorithm. And you have enough content out there that people start bingeing and sharing, you know, so just like, there's this critical mass almost of that you have to reach as a podcaster, with no audience to end up getting that acclaim. So just, I encourage you to stick at it, because the breakthroughs are soon the commies need to trust that?

Jacob Harmon  3:45  
Yeah, absolutely. And that's kind of what we've been doing. We've been trying to be consistent. I mean, we've come out with an episode every single Thursday, for the past two months. And I know that eventually, people are going to find us and people are going to really get excited about what we're talking about. But I mean, this isn't about us. This is about you today, Ryan. So

Brian Ford  4:09  
I'm just always curious.

Jacob Harmon  4:11  
I mean, what's your story? Yeah. How did you get where you're at? You're currently had a gut amazing podcast with the self improvement podcast. What got you to that point? And how did you decide to start a podcast? Hmm,

Brian Ford  4:24  
yeah, that's a loaded question. I never thought I was going to be the person to even have a podcast for a long time. And this was probably six years ago, you know, I was like, who, who has the authority to put a microphone next to their lips and talk for an hour and think that that's worth listening to like you what you have to say is so important that others are going to tune in and spend their time listening to you, I always had that weird approach to podcasting. And then I realized, like, no, it's this isn't a self promotion resource. This is more an education in a in a connecting resource. And once I kind of shifted my mentality on that, I became more okay with it, I started consuming them more, and I started really, you know, taking it seriously about, oh, what is my personal brand going to look like? And how can I accelerate that growth and start reaching the frontiers I'm looking for in my career. But but the origin of the podcast, it actually started as an Amazon Alexa flash briefing, because I was entering the field of marketing. I was in medical device sales previously, and then I, I'm still working for a startup. And I'm kind of the marketing business development strategy, rolling it. And since I was entering that new space, I figured, okay, what is the cutting edge space that I can just really own and be the expert in, because I don't have the experience of the other people running the drop shipping businesses and the digital ads and the branding, you know, like, I'm obviously going to learn that stuff that's gonna be important for my role, but what can I really own and like, be an expert in and I was like, well, audio and marketing, and it's still kind of new, let me see if I can do that. So that's when I started doing the research into Amazon Alexa. And, you know, really, I built the podcast just as a reason to test my entrepreneurial spirit to see if I could actually identify a marketing problem and kind of grow business on a smart home technology, you know, so that's kind of where it started. And I guess there are other parts to it. So that's the reason why I chose voice as my medium, then I chose personal development, because if I'm going to spend my time doing something, might as well do something that's gonna benefit me. So personal development is the perfect example of that. And kind of with you, you know, on success quest, you're hearing all these great stories of people that have become successful. And just as much as you're providing this for other people, you're listening, and you're learning, you know, so you've made a very intentional and positive choice also. And then last, which kind of goes into the marketing side is being an entrepreneur, just seeing if you can really identify a problem or avoid in the current landscape and provide a solution that people adopt. And fortunately for me, I feel like I've found a cool little niche in the personal development community. And I'm very grateful that other people agree.

Jacob Harmon  6:47  
Yeah, that's awesome. So I'm really into technology. And just on the technology side of it, with the Amazon flash briefing with Amazon, Alexa, is that really easy to turn that into a podcast into a flash briefing? Is it basically just an mp3 file?

Brian Ford  7:03  
Yeah, so it's an RSS feed. So you can talk about the actual specifics of it, it's your RSS, all you have to do is create an account on Amazon developer calm, and then your RSS pushes to that you need to just create a profile that like literally, it only takes five minutes to get it set up. Like it sounds like such a difficult process of like, oh, like, Man, that's such a, that's such a complex technology on my POS being to do that. And it's like, it's just as easy as creating a podcast. And I think people don't realize that. But in terms of actually translating a podcast into an Amazon Alexa flash briefing, I think the resistance isn't in the technology adoption, I think the resistance is the form of the content. So flash briefing, it's kind of like your first in the morning, stretching my arms, stretching my legs, what am I gonna listen to for two minutes, five minutes, you know, something brief. And a lot of podcasts are those half hour, 45 minute long episodes, and people aren't going to spend that time in bed as they're doing their morning routine. But that quick hitter that two minute that five minute, that's what people are gonna kind of opt into. And that's why the format of my podcast self improvement daily, or Two Minute Tips, because it's every single day, it still is available on Amazon Alexa as a flash briefing, but the growth occurred as a podcast, which is awesome. I didn't expect that. But but it's because, yeah, I mean, in terms of the translation, like you need to have that content type really honed into the platform that you're on, I got lucky that I worked on podcast, but I designed it for that smart home technology, kind of like that quick tidbit. That's what it's for.

Jacob Harmon  8:30  
Yeah. And one of the things that I've really enjoyed about your podcast is the fact that it is those bite size segments, it's something that's really easy to listen to. And I think that it gives you a competitive advantage. Because so many podcasts are long, it gives you something unique, that a lot of people latch on to. And I think if you're, if any of our listeners are thinking about starting a podcast, or a blog, or some sort of business, that's a really important thing to look for something that sets you apart something that's different. And I think that you've done that, which is pretty awesome.

Brian Ford  9:07  
Yeah, and I mean, if we're talking about best practices, if someone did want to start a podcast, something that I've completely benefited from, these are actually kind of industry secrets that I haven't really shared by so this is this is a little Yeah, a little tip for you guys,

Jacob Harmon  9:20  
the exclusive.

Brian Ford  9:22  
ya no, this is the exclusive I've only recently come upon it too, which is why I probably haven't shared it as much. But so there there are a few things that have really contributed at least to my podcast growth. The first is the title self improvement daily, if that were a blog, that has a very obvious search term, and you know, keyword match in terms of search engine. So self improvement daily on Apple podcasts owns the self improvement search term. So I got really lucky, just from a SEO play, you know, search engine optimization play, you think of Apple podcast, that is also a search engine, people type in something and they want to find something. And since my title is self improvement daily, when people type in self improvement, which is a very common, you know, phrase, then I end up being what they choose. And since it's self improvement daily, it matches exactly what they're looking for, like, Oh, I just want some self improvement tips like, well, this is obvious, this is what you're doing. This is what you're providing. So I just benefited from that with having a name that is designed for search engine optimization, that's the first thing that I would encourage for anyone making a podcast. That's the that's the biggest one, I think. And then the second one is frequency of content. So since I'm posting every single day, and since it's shortened only two minutes, people go through multiple episodes. So my play counts are are elevated based on the same listeners listening multiple times. And what the the algorithm for Apple podcast hasn't figured that out being like, oh, since it's shorter, you know, I should treat this any differently. They just treat plays as plays. So since I have all of these players coming through, they're like, oh, man, people must really like this podcast, because there's so many people listening to it completely. So I'm benefiting from the algorithm supporting me because they see that people are finishing my episodes. So I'd say those are the two you're factors that I've bought from blind luck really benefited from in growing this podcast. And if anyone's starting today, those are two things I would be really intentional about designing into the, the topic, or the the real framework of your podcast.

Jacob Harmon  11:15  
That's really cool. I know, just anecdotally, I have listened to multiple of your episodes more than once. I listened to it. And sometimes I get distracted. I might be doing the dishes or doing something else. And then I'm like, wait, I just missed that whole podcast. Let me go listen to it again.

Brian Ford  11:36  
Yeah, so it gets you coming back. And that's the thing is, like, if a new one were to come on to, then you'd be like, Oh, well, it's only two minutes. Like, I'll just finish this one, you know, if you're 30 seconds into it, or something. So it like it really does not only optimize our psychology in the way that we prefer to consume content content, which is completely, but also the algorithm and just the frequency of plays and the frequency of content helps to reach really promote this, this fast growing kind of podcast, it's definitely something I'd suggest.

Jacob Harmon  12:05  
Yeah. And I've also noticed that it's one of the first ones I play, because I know that it's short, it'll get off my list real quick, because I have a really long list of podcasts. And I'm trying to get through them. And I'm like, oh, self improvement daily, that one will be over too quick. So I listened to yours. And then I'll go on to some of the more long ones. So that's NG I love it. Awesome.

Brian Ford  12:24  
Yeah, you just warming up with me. That's all it is. I know I hear that all the time is like, especially since it's two minutes like it can be it can be easily incorporated into someone's routine. So I hear people go on like, yes, the first thing I listened to when I wake up, you're actually my alarm clock. I'm like, Whoa, that's creepy. I'll take it. And then someone else is like, yeah, right after I meditate, I play you and then someone else is like Yeah, when I'm first thing I do when I get in the car, just like you first thing I do want to get in the car, before I play my full list of podcasts. I listen to yours, because I know I'll get through it. And you know, and I kind of have a cheerful energy and it's just kind of like an optimistic positive start to the day because I always kind of deliver enthusiasm. So it is almost Prime's the rest of the content in this positive light. So no, I, I do get people kind of telling me that that feedback. And now I'll take it, you know, whatever way it comes. It's just I'm honored that that many people listened to me, you know, it's just it really is special.

Jacob Harmon  13:14  
Yeah. And I want to touch on something that you mentioned, when you were first introducing yourself. You talked about how you wanted to kind of start something and then you also wanted to do it in the self improvement field because you wanted to benefit yourself. And something that me and my partner have talked about a lot with success quest is that we don't feel like success experts. We feel like we're learners. And I think that by producing this content every week and working on it every day, we're becoming more successful, and we're becoming experts in success. Do you feel like it's been the same way with self improvement? Has the podcast had a positive influence in your life as the creator?

Brian Ford  14:01  
Oh, absolutely. I think I think the podcast is had more of an influence on myself than anyone that's listened to it. Because I mean, that's such a great part. I mean, because yeah, when I was talking about the creation of the podcast, I chose personal development. And what it did was it, it held me accountable to educating myself about personal development, if I if I need to create a new self improvement tip every day, best to be sure that I am reading, I am listening, I am observing, I am very in tune with the things going on around me. And and so as a response, and especially to if I'm, if I come up with a new tip that, you know, either I source it from YouTube, or someone kind of offhand mentions it to me. Great example is cold showers. You know, someone said, like, hey, do you take cold showers? Like No, I don't let me do some research, I made a tip about it. Then the next morning after I posted it, I was in the shower, and I was like, dang it, I need to take a cold shower, like shoot. And that's I mean, that's what it does is like it's it's helped me so accountable to all these different things. And now I have a gratitude journal. And now I have goal sheets. I mean, I obviously was doing a lot of this stuff beforehand, because it didn't just come from nothing. You know, I was practicing what I preached for a while, but but it's encouraged me to incorporate all of these new things in my life that are so welcome. And so you know, such positive contributors to kind of the state of life that I'm in right now. So I'm know I'm super grateful for that accountability. But in terms of authority, in terms of feeling like an expert, I still don't think I'm an expert. I see myself as an educator, and I've been very intentional in positioning the content that I share in a way that if I disagree with it, I say like, hey, this didn't work for me. But this is what other people do. You know, it's I don't have any cookie cutter tried and true. Like, oh, this is the morning routine that works for everyone. Like I mean, first off with personal development, that's absurd to say that anything works for everyone. But but just to even speak on like, oh, like meditation, like you really need to do meditation with gratitude. Like, that's something that totally opened my eyes, I had some amazing moments when doing gravitation attitude, or sorry, gratitude meditation, I was going backwards, they're going too fast. But once I, you know, once I had that moment, I was talking to other people about they're like, yeah, you know, like, I prefer gratitude in this form. And then it's just like, okay, sure, that's fair. Like, I'd like it's not my way or the highway, like, it's very okay for you to find your own rhyme and own rhythm with the stuff that you're doing. So and yeah, in terms of being an authority, it has been a slow crescendo up to feeling more confident. But I still don't feel like I'm in that place, even though a lot of people would argue I am because I, you know, I have built an audience and I have gotten to that place where I, I'm credible. And and I think that just goes, I think that all came from just being self aware of the fact that I don't know everything. So kind of really being transparent with the audience saying, like, Hey, this is me, I tried this, like, I'm watching a tip next week, that's about keeping your phone away from your bed, you know, which is your reduced blue light. And you know, the first thing that you do in the morning is no longer touching yourself. The last thing you do before you go to bed is no longer looking at a Facebook or Instagram feed, you know, there's all these benefits that come from it. I incorporated that like a month or two before I wrote the tip. And I say that being like, Hey, this is something I'm still trying that works for me. So it kind of really does present the material in this kind of experimental way that I think people resonate with and kind of think of like, Okay, this is this is something I can try. And if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. So I think that kind of is a nice bridge between just providing ideas, and also providing authority is just really positioning it in a certain way. Right?

Jacob Harmon  17:37  
Well, I think we're living in a world where people want authentic voices. And sometimes I like finding people that aren't necessarily experts, but are kind of on the journey with me. And so I know that, at least for me, I appreciate that I appreciate someone who's transparent and authentic and says, Hey, I'm, I'm an expert, I don't know everything. But I'm willing to figure things out and research and work on things with you. I appreciate that, personally,

Brian Ford  18:08  
yeah. And what we find ourselves in is, you know, there's so much work that goes on behind the scenes as a podcast host, and just the education and the work and the preparation, you know, like yada, yada, there's so much that goes into it, that I don't think people it's not that they don't appreciate it, I just don't think they're aware of it, you know, and how I do try and read a book every two weeks just to get those new ideas. And I do try to meditate on different subjects to see how it works, you know, so it's like, they're there, there's this responsibility that we find ourselves in this accountability, because we're producing this content, and because we're serving as an educator, that then converts into us accelerating our growth in that department, because we're just trying to get better at it, you know, I mean, so much, it's so much of growth, and especially talking about self improvement, you know, self improvement daily, so much of growth, and in by growth, you know, leads to success. It's just consistency. And that's what a podcast is really done for me is it's forced me to be consistent. Every single day tracking, you know, tracking the data of my podcast, you know, tracking how much I meditate, did I do my three goals for the day did I that I reach out to one person in my network, you know, just like all of these things that I know are good for me. The fact that I find myself as an authority really holds me accountable to being Oh, I got to practice what I preach. And it's like, and that is just further compounded into me separating myself on a path and an acceleration that otherwise wouldn't have happened without the podcast. That makes perfect sense. Cool.

Jacob Harmon  19:37  
So because your podcast is a daily podcast, do you ever find yourself overwhelmed trying to figure out topics? Or how do you brainstorm and organize all the topics?

Brian Ford  19:48  
Yeah, surprisingly, no. And I don't know why. I think I think honestly, I'm just really curious, like, I prefer to observe and I prefer, I think, a second layer a third layer deeper on some of the things that are in front of me, you know, a great example of this was there was one time that I was in the car, and I was singing to the radio, and I was having a good time, I was done with work. And I looked over to my left, and I saw the person in the car next to me looking at me, like dumbfounded, like, what are you doing? Like, you look like an idiot? And I had a moment of reflection being like, yeah, I think I do look like an idiot. And then I thought deeper. Why? Why do I care? If I look like an idiot? And then I realized, Oh, I don't care that I look like an idiot. Because what is that person's perspective of me really matter? Like, they're gone? They're turning left, I'm going straight. See you later sign are, you know, like, there's no way. So then I went home, and I just kind of had that moment of reflection talking about like, okay, like sitting in the car, why is that a good thing to do. And I talked about one side, which was the, what I just explained the mentality of it, of, you know, just kind of live in your own world, don't do things because others might judge the way that you're doing it, you know, just like really be your own person, be unique, but obviously have respect for others. That was no harm to anyone else. And then I thought on the more the physiological and the scientific side of it, like, Okay, why is singing Good for you. And as I learned, I didn't know that at the time, but as I learned is that when you sing, you have very quick inhalation and very long exhales that's what singing is. And that's a form of yoga breathing. So boom, now you're doing yoga while you're singing, you know? So it's like, and that's kind of what I try and do with my tips is I'm like, all right, how can I take this example or this thing that I learned, package it in a new light that other people might not have thought of, and then just deliver that extremely, concisely, extremely effectively, with a call to action at the end being okay, and this is how you can do it today for yourself, or this is how you can think about it in a new way, for yourself. And it's, it's something that, I guess I just see enough in my environment that I don't think twice about it. Like today, I was driving to work. And I I wrote down two things and a little note on my phone because I like oh, have I thought about this? I don't think there's a tip yet. All right, done. And then another, you know, just it kind of happens just when you're observing.

Jacob Harmon  22:02  
That's awesome. And another thing that I'd like to ask you is you mentioned that you're working in the medical device field and is self improvement daily, your side hustle is how do you juggle those two different jobs and two different responsibilities? How does all that work in your life?

Brian Ford  22:26  
Yeah, I mean, especially with the demands of self improvement daily, like, I need a new audio, you know, piece of content every single day. So yeah, I mean, the distinction is, the company I work for the medical device startup is my full time job, that is my salary, that is probably where my business potential is, you know, that's where my career is going is, you know, because it's a really exciting, you know, about to pop kind of thing that I'm really excited to write it, you know, it's, it's something I'm passionate about. And then and then my passion project is the way that I describe it, project is the podcast, and it's at the level now where I could monetize it, I could try to go full time, I could try to, really, I don't know, just start shooting my shot with it. But that kind of takes away from the intent of what I'm trying to create. You know, so like, at with self improvement daily, I, I've become very intentional about what I'm using it for, I'm not trying to monetize it. I'm not trying to, I'm not trying to get more speaking engagements, or like really bolster my acclaim, like, what it's become, for me, is a vehicle to network, and accountability to my personal development. So when I'm when I'm making decisions, I'm like, okay, is this a good way to spend my time? on the podcast? It comes down to those two things. Is this, is this broadening my network? Or is this helping me learn about myself and something that I can incorporate? And, you know, oftentimes, you can spin things where Yes, it is both, you know, and that's, and that's kind of the beautiful part of it. And kind of also, the second that I feel like I start asking my audience for something, you know, if I start monetizing it, there's an advertisement that runs and I start kind of, you know, talking about Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook with Gary Vee, the second I start asking and hooking, then that just kind of starts sullying your reputation and your brand just because people know like, okay, like, there's something else going on behind the scenes. And I think something that is a huge proponent of something that really separates me is my authenticity. And, you know, I come off extremely genuine and just very, like I said, very transparent about where I'm at, and what I'm sharing. And I think if I were to try and monetize it, it would take from that, and that that goes against what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to create a resource that others really value, and that I'm just, you know, I want to offer value, because it comes back so much in those two ways of personal development and networking, it just comes back. So, so full, that I don't even need to think about trying to get more out of it, you know, it's it's, it couldn't ROI more, or, you know, from what I'm doing for it. It's just, it's amazing when you just kind of put out quality content with no expectation from others.

Jacob Harmon  25:11  
Hmm, that's really awesome. And reminds me of my wife, actually, she loves making bows. And we have a little daughter. And while she was pregnant with that, with that little girl, she was making bows that entire time. And she makes really good bows. And so I told her, Hey, you should start an Etsy shop. And she looked at me and she said, Hey, if this turns into a business, I won't like it anymore. And I think there's a lot to that. Sometimes you just need something that's a passion project, something that you do for fun, and you do because you love it. Not necessarily because you're expecting it to make money. So that's really cool.

Brian Ford  25:49  
Yeah, and there's so I'm really glad you brought that up. Because what at the core of all of that is identity, you know, like you identify with the things that you do. So with self improvement daily, since I'm not making money from it, I have to identify in a different way. And that's what I've come to internalize is identify as I do it, you know, like, I have to explain to myself why I'm doing it or else you know, cognitive dissonance is a no defense mechanism that we have I, I do this? Well, I must enjoy it. You know, like, what, what other reason? Do I have to do it, right? So it's like, and I then I think I enjoy it more because I identify as Oh, this is my Meantime, this is something I like doing this is something I'm proud of. And having that identity piece is huge. And I mean, that kind of comes back to just the core of self improvement, personal development is just identity with what you're trying to create or improve upon, or insight is a really, I mean, that's a foundational part to any kind of habit formation process. And I think identity plays an underrated role in a lot of the things that we do and motivates us in ways that we're often unaware of. But tap into it, it's really powerful.

Jacob Harmon  26:57  
Yeah, and it's about lot more than money. I think, think being fulfilled, and being successful in life isn't just being rich. And we've talked about that over and over again on this podcast. But if you're feeling fulfilled emotionally, that is all you need sometimes. And so I think that's really awesome. In fact, that's really inspiring, because I know, in the podcast field, monetization is a big thing. And that's what a lot of people talk about. And I've been to multiple podcast, podcast conferences, and I've been trying to learn as much as I can about podcasting. And everyone's talking monetization, monetization monetization. And so it's actually really cool to see the other side of that.

Brian Ford  27:41  
Right? Well, I mean, the reason they talk about it is because it, it's only an industry because you can make money through it, you know, I mean, at the end of the day, everything's created because money is the currency that we live off of, you know, so, if we have, if we were, if we were trading good vibes with people to, you know, transact in world in this world, and, you know, I think we'd have a lot different kinds of professions across the board. But yeah, the reality is, is that you need money to get things done. And, you know, fortunately for us, you know, people are building that framework and creating this resource where it's a sustainable industry, that we can kind of benefit from it and find our own path in it, you know, even kind of convert the value in different ways. And that's, that's a beautiful thing. Yeah.

Jacob Harmon  28:21  
I wish good vibes were a currency. That'd be a lot better place. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Well, is there anything else that we haven't talked about that you'd like to, to bring up or mentioned to the success quest? Audience?

Brian Ford  28:39  
I yeah. I mean, I think just going back to the very beginning, where you're like, Man, you know, growing a podcast, it's going slow. Like, sometimes I get discouraged, but then you know, just like, I don't know, it's just because you can't see the value of something in the moment doesn't mean it's providing value. And just because you aren't measured, just because the way that you're measuring something doesn't seem like it's paying off right now does not mean, it's not paying off, you know, so I think that we kind of get, we lose sight of the larger picture and the things that we're building the objectives we're trying to accomplish, like, Sure, you can kind of think of your key performance indicators mean like, all right, every month, I want to grow by 10%. So that by x month, I'm going to have this audience and whatever like, yeah, like in business, sure, that makes sense. And podcast, if it is a business, that makes sense. But when it comes to your dreams, your passions and feeling fulfilled in the way that you spend your energy, it's a long tail game, like it is not, it's not about the quick fix the life hacks, it's hypocritical for me to say that because self improvement daily is a quick, quick fix and a life hack. But But that all I guess, no, it makes sense. Because that all comes together as one component that points to the larger life you're trying to create. And again, it's that consistency of those small things, that ends up getting you to that larger objective, that you know, kind of golden seat down the road that we're all looking for. But just don't, don't lose sight of, I don't know, I say this a lot. You know, just give yourself credit. That's what I always tell that to people just kind of give yourself credit for what you've done what you're doing. Because, you know, the fact that you're putting yourself out there and you're thinking about it means that you're farther than other people are and just kind of pat yourself on the back and trust the process.

Jacob Harmon  30:24  
Thank you. That was awesome. And I just second that, as long as you're trying and as long as you're getting better. That's what's important. And sometimes we measure ourselves with the wrong metrics. So thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Absolutely.

Brian Ford  30:39  
Yeah, I say it also for myself, though, you know, I mean, being able to share that reminds me of like, yeah, this, this is what I'm in anymore, you know, so I don't get me to don't give me too much credit, because, you know, they're selfish reasons to

Jacob Harmon  30:54  
All right. Well, of course, everyone can find your podcast. I mean, they're listening to us in a podcast right now. So I would invite everyone go and search for self improvement daily. But where else? Can people connect with you? Or or find you online?

Brian Ford  31:10  
Yeah, yeah, no, I and I encourage everyone to reach out. I mean, I, I talked about building an audience, but it's not that big, like, I respond to every single person that reaches out, you know, and I would love to hear from anyone. So the Instagram account for self improvement daily is just at self dot improvement daily. And then on LinkedIn, if you type in Brian Ford, and then I think UC Davis, which is where I went to college, I'll be the first hit. So reach out, you know, say that you heard me or learned about me on success quest, and I'll be sure to make some time and kind of listen and see how we can work together or, you know, make this world a better place. That's what it's all about.

Jacob Harmon  31:45  
Awesome. Thank you so much, Brian, and thanks for being on the show. I know that our audience is gonna really love what you've talked about today. And I think that it's an important thing to understand what success really is that it's not just about money, but finding what fulfills you. So thank you so much.

Brian Ford  32:03  
No, I appreciate you, Jacob. Thanks for having me on. And best of luck to everyone who's listening to this, go make it happen.

Jacob Harmon  32:11  
I hope you guys all enjoyed that interview. It was an amazing interview. And Brian did a wonderful job and gave some really great insights. If you want to learn about anything that we talked about. I'm going to put all the links and all the information in the show notes. So feel free to check that out. In your podcast app of choice, the show notes will be right there or you can also find them at our website www.my success quest.com. And thank you all for listening. I I know we say this a lot but we really do appreciate it. We appreciate that people out there are actually listening to our message and we hope that we can actually make a difference in someone's life. If this episode helped you in any way, feel free to subscribe and share it with someone and definitely leave us a review that day does help helps us get a little more exposure. So feel free to give us a review your podcast app of choice. And thank you for listening and have a successful day.