The Daily Meaning
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One Bite at a Time
In November 2008, on the heels of just finding out we would soon be forced to move to a new state because of my job situation, my new fiancee (of three days) and I were sitting with $236,000 of debt and a whole lot of stress. To clarify, she had $0 of debt and I had $236,000. Beautiful, I know. Thus began a journey that would forever change our lives.
Because That's What We Do
Yesterday's episode was our 245th installment of the Meaning Over Money podcast (Spotify / Apple). With an average run time of 17 minutes per episode, that equates to nearly 70 hours of free content. Not only is it free, but it's evergreen content that can be consumed by people for years and decades to come. Yesterday's episode was somewhat unique, though. It's completely raw and unedited. No intro/outro, no sound-improving filters, no balancing out the dips and peaks, no cutting my f-bombs (just kidding....or am I?). It's just me, my microphone, and some ideas.
Comfort or Impact
For nearly two years, Cole has been prodding me to record a specific episode I desperately fought against. His idea was simple: He would join me on the mics, and we would each detail our family's monthly budget...bit by bit. Yes, one of the things I try to focus on when creating content is vulnerability and transparency. Honesty always wins. However, the episode Cole was proposing was about seven steps further than I was comfortable going. I've discussed all sorts of personal financial and non-financial topics on the podcast and blog. However, this idea was something completely different. It was beyond my level of comfort.
The World Keeps Getting Smaller
Last week, I had the pleasure of guesting on an Australian podcast, It's Never About Money. I had the most wonderful time with their host, Joe Stephan. If this show sounds like something up my alley, it is! In fact, my Media Director introduced the idea of me appearing on their show by saying, "Travis, we just found the Australian Meaning Over Money!" She knew that would quickly get my attention
Rick Rubin on Creativity
“The goal of making art is not to show you just what everybody else sees. It’s to see what’s possible. And what’s possible is radical. It’s like we’ve built a very small world for ourselves with our reason…..We’ve learned what’s possible and what’s impossible. And if we accept what’s possible and what’s impossible, we can’t go beyond. If the Wright brothers accepted it was impossible for man to fly, we still wouldn’t be flying. All of the great revolutions that have happened, have happened because someone believed in something that everyone thought was impossible.”
Excuses or Impact
Yesterday, we published episode 227 of the Meaning Over Money Podcast. Just typing that number feels absurd. Based on available data, 90% of podcasts don’t make it past the third episode. Of the ones that do, 90% don’t make it past episode 20. Knowing this, 227 feels wild. According to Listen Notes, we are in the top 3% of podcasts in the world.
You Just Never Know
Nearly a decade ago, I met a couple at church…..good people. I got to know them over a period of time, and they started to know me as someone who helps people with finances. At one point, the wife said, “Travis, you need to help my son…..he’s a mess!!” Her son was in college and recently engaged. She was correct, he was indeed a mess (with money). He was a good dude, though, and his fiancé was pretty awesome, too. They were a top-notch young couple. I was blessed with the opportunity to serve them over the course of a few years, and during that time, I watched them transform their life.
The Relentless Pursuit of Better
My guy Alex Prins was just featured on the Creatives POV podcast. As a general rule of thumb, if someone I know is on a podcast, I’m listening. Having been in that world for some time now, I know there’s something about that particular medium that brings a bit extra out of people. Perhaps it’s the intimacy of a podcast setting, or the storytelling nature of the format, but people usually share some interesting tidbits about their life that I didn’t already know. Alex’s episode was no different.
Even Robots Know My Weaknesses
There’s nothing quite like the pain of having to listen to your own voice or watch yourself on video. Every word, motion, tone, and nuance gets put under a microscope. And not just any microscope, but an unfair, distorted, and brutally critical microscope. Can we all just admit it sucks to watch and listen to ourselves?
We Can't Just Skip to the Good Part
A while back, I was talking to my Meaning Over Money business partner, Cole Netten. We were talking about the podcast and how much traction we’ve gained with it. In that chat, I made a comment about how, in some ways, I wish we would have just started our business with the podcast instead of some of the other less-successful endeavors. I quickly realized how naive this comment was. Truth is, the podcast couldn’t have existed had we not been through all the other things.
Done is Better Than Perfect
Per our normal rhythm, I record Meaning Over Money podcast episodes by myself, then let Cole know the episode is ready for his editing magic. We also tend to be 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule, with 4-6 episodes in the can at any given time. That changed recently during the holiday season. Between our crazy schedules, travel, and celebrations, we simply took our eye off the ball. It all culminated on New Year’s weekend when I let Cole know Monday’s episode was ready for him to edit. He quickly informed me he would be completely tied up all weekend and wouldn’t be in a position to produce it in time for Monday’s launch.
Looking Down the Mountain
We just recorded our 107th and final Meaning Over Money podcast episode of the year. That’s two episodes per week plus three bonus episodes. After typing that number, even I second-guessed whether that’s true. 107? Wow! That’s more than 30 hours of finished product content. Did that really happen? How did that happen?!?
The Power of Not Stopping
My business partner recently confessed he hates our podcast cover art. Shocked at his statement, I responded, “what do you mean you hate it? You made it!!!” I thought I had him! He’s going to insult his own baby? His response to my response was, “I didn’t think we’d make it past 20 episodes, so I just threw something together quickly.” Wow…..!!!! How dare he!