#can’t stress enough that every podcast after number 2; i have maybe listened to like 4 episodes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

victoriareyloficlists · 4 years

Text

18/11/2020 Additions to Reylo Fluff

These fics have been added to the Fluff list located here.

Sweet Home by Violetwilson (AO3 2018 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Honestly, she only came to Waffle House at two AM to pick up Finn and Poe and maybe order some pancakes. Maybe. But what was she supposed to do when she found a hot businessman with a broken car in the parking lot? Not invite him to sleep over at her place until the town's only mechanic sobered up?) A Child and a Mortgage by AverageEpaulet (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: It was bring your child to work day. Whoever came up with that bright idea had a special place reserved in hell for all Ben Solo cared. He loved his daughter, more than anything, but that didn't mean he liked flaunting her around like a trophy with ”Got laid at least once” engraved on it.) I Still Do by merrymercy (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: 'Remember when you had a huuuge crush on me?That was so embarrassing for you.'' Drunk Rey greets her husband.) We'll tell our kids we met at Starbucks by M1ssJess (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey goes on a date with Poe but ends up spending a much more enjoyable night with his roommate Ben.) Clumsily Yours by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is injured at work. She is shocked when her boss Ben Solo carries her to his car and takes her to hospital much to her embarrassment. He is over-bearing and over-protective of her during her stay and Rey doesn’t understand...although it is sort of sweet in a way...could it be that the big bad executive Ben Solo actually likes her?) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 46 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey's familiar, Kira, usually hates other people but keeps escaping to go visit her neighbor Ben, could he have his own secret?) Goodnight Moon by LittleAndikin (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben's 3 year old daughter Lily won't go to sleep without listening to the library's podcast reading of Goodnight Moon. When she's in the elevator with her father & a neighbour, she recognises Rey from her voice as the person who reads to her every night.) Where's my wife? by AverageEpaulet (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey dresses up as Ben's favourite TV character while he's out for drinks. But she's underestimated drunk Ben's loyalty.) Crisis: Girlfriend by perperuna (AO3 2018 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben had been in love with Rey for over a year when he asked her to go with him to his ex’s wedding as his date and ‘girlfriend’.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 11 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben asks his father for help with the classmate that has been frustrating him. ) Pining and Puzzles by greywilde (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey finds scraps of paper in the washer as she's doing her laundry, and her roommate Ben is acting strange about them.) Threads by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is a cantankerous boss known for throwing away any gift his underlings give him. When newbie Rey decides to knit everyone a scarf for the start of fall, she's warned that Solo will not appreciate it. Everyone is surprised when he shows up the next day wearing it.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 35 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben is always suspicious about his mother's matchmaking. This is how he fell for it again.) About You by LadyBrettAshley (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: An eight-month dry spell drives Rey to create a Tinder account. Already stressed about work, she finds herself exceptionally discouraged after her first date is a flop, and her neighbor, Ben, won't stop harassing her for being on Tinder in the first place. That is, until Ben makes her an offer she can't refuse...) In Bloom by Celia_and (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The flowers that bedeck her skin don’t lie. Ballet dancer Rey is in love with her partner, Ben. But the years go by and his skin stays resolutely, devastatingly blank. He doesn’t love her. But when his hands are on her body, she can pretend.) How Not to Break Up by LadyBrettAshley (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Nothing means more to Leia than her Annual Pumpkin Carving extravaganza. That’s why Ben asks Rey to keep their recent breakup a secret until after the party. After a carving-related accident, Ben comes to her aid and it turns out... they may not have to tell anyone they broke up at all.) Only Make-Believe by Hartmannclan (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is in a car accident, so best friend Ben races to the hospital to be with her. What happens when she wakes up with amnesia and believes they are married?) would you be so kind? by youcarrymeaway (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: An au where Ben accidentally hits Rey with his car, and also falls in love with her a little.) urgent caring by blessedreylo (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: ben meets rey on a visit to the local urgent care, and somehow keeps finding ways to see the cute girl behind the front desk (hopefully not losing an appendage in the process). ) What if I want to kiss you tomorrow? by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben needs to share Rey's bed for the night, but does he want to share more than a bed with her? ) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 45 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: From childhood to adulthood, Ben is practiced at catching a clumsy Rey.) Close Enough to Kiss by Somewhere_overthe_Reylo (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey's daughter comes with her to take a final exam. Dr.Solo ends up being soft for babies.) a tale of baseball and broken elevators by Zoa (AO3 2019 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey has sprained her knee. The elevator in her building is broken. She lives on the sixth floor. Her neighbor, Ben Solo, has arrived in the nick of time to help, but there's one problem: she hates him.) Lizzy Solo by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Its bring your kids to work day and little Lizzy Solo meets Rey for the first time. "Are you the same Rey that my dad told Uncle Hux he was half in love with?") a night under the stars by blessedreylo (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Grandma Padme's retired life mostly takes place at the local senior center. When it comes time for senior prom, she asks Ben to go with her. Padme introduces him to senior center employee Rey, for whom this is the first prom she's ever experienced.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 5 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben reluctantly helps his friend Kaydel pick up lingerie. In the dressing room, he runs into his intern Rey as she's trying out some items.) Wrong Number, Right Guy by greywilde (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Grandma Padmé texts Ben to invite him for dinner and reminds him he can bring his apple pie but she's mistyped his number and texts a stranger. Rey texts back to let her know she has the wrong number but Padmé invites Rey to join them anyway.) Anything You Need by SuchaPrettyPoison (AO3 2020 Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben knows women don’t come to him for his lacking social skills and awkward nature; they want to see if he's big all over. He figures why not finally use his assets to his advantage and (try to) flirt with and impress trainer Rey by working out in only biking shorts?) say it with a braid by reylo_mo (writermo) (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: An AU where hairdresser Ben loves to style actress Rey’s hair in braids for events. There’s even a particular type he always goes for.One day Leia texts to ask him why he hasn’t brought his fiancée over for dinner. Thing is... he’s been giving Rey Alderaanian wedding braids.) I'm going to teach you (all about love) by Trish47 (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rey's imposing roommate lands a position teaching kindergarten, she spends the year celebrating his victories and cheering him up in equal measure. It just so happens that Rey discovers her favorite method for doing so: kissing him.) You Make Me Weak by Hellyjellybean (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey decides to faint to get her boss's attention.) to climb steep hills by galvanator (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: No one really talks to the new girl who sits in the back of the class. She’s been here a month but kids are afraid of her and teachers are too overworked to be able to solve a problem like Rey. No one really talks to the new girl - except for Ben. A childhood to adulthood love story.) When Love is Like Pulling Teeth by CaliforniaQueen (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Han sends Rey his favorite mechanic to pick up his son Ben after a dental operation. High on meds, normally arrogant and cold Ben becomes quite the chatterbox.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 30 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ex-military Ben doesn't expect anyone to wait for him in the airport. And yet...) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 2 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey constantly needs librarian Ben to help her get books from the top shelf.) Rey is Tired by mcloveproductions (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey Niima is tired. Tired of college. Of her shitty interning job at Plutt's garage. Ben is also tired of the job he just quit. When he meets and pretends to be Rey's boyfriend, maybe that'll be the answer to their problems.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 30 Sequel by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is attracted to morons. Ben assumes she doesn't like him and tries to apologize for his feelings.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 18 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey asked for something to keep her warm for her birthday. Poe decides the best present he could get is Ben.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 24 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben is absolutely terrified of the dentist. Luckily, Rey is by his side.) The Prince of Alderaan & Me by lalaitskelcey (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey’s daughter steals popcorn from the prince of Alderaan, and a clip of it goes viral, much to Rey’s dismay.) Go And Catch A Falling Star Chapter 20 by Ayearandaday (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Meddly Mama Leia only wants her son to find his love and give her pretty grandkids to spoil. That's not too much to ask, right?) By Hand by Celia_and (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Socially anxious Ben visits the same cafe every morning, and he’s fallen for sweet waitress, Rey. Every day he writes down a lovely thought about her, folds into a boat, and leaves it behind to be swept into the trash. He doesn't know that Rey has kept every single one.) I Don't Wanna Live Forever by MotherofScavengers (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Love goddess Rey has been tasked with finding love for Kylo, her friend and god of death. After centuries refusing any of the suitors she suggests, Kylo finally names the only person he would ever be willing to marry: Rey herself) Find Something You Like by ekayla (AO3 2020 Rated G Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is playing hide and seek in IKEA with Rose and Finn. She hides in a wardrobe. Ben is in need of new furniture. He finds a lot more than ample suit space when a freckley brunette nearly gives him a heart attack jumping out of one of the shop floor examples.) i found love where it wasn’t supposed to be, right in front of me by Lutrosis (AO3 2020 Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben’s the sweetheart nanny to Rey’s twin daughters. When her new boyfriend is frustrated that he’s lower on her list of priorities than her children, he dumps her. Rey texts Ben and comes home early to find her kids tucked in, and Ben, ready with ice cream.) An Open Invitation by monsterleadmehome (AO3 2019 Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey has a crush on her boss's son, Ben Solo. Ben is head over heels for Rey. They hang out all the time--he cooks her dinner, they cuddle on the couch. But he can't work up the courage to ask her on a real date. Rey thinks they're already dating and wonders why Ben won't kiss her.) Rocky Mountain High by reyloanne (AO3 2019 Rated M Complete, 11 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Pro tennis player Ben Solo suffers a season-ending injury in the finals of the US Open, prompting a personal crisis that leads him back home to Colorado. He just may find more than he was searching for along the way in the form of a pretty park ranger named Rey.) that's where you take me by blessedreylo (AO3 2020 Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Single dad Ben asks his daughters nanny Rey to live with them during quarantine so she can help take care of her while he works remote. Lots of domestic proximity and mutual pining ensues.)

#reylo #reylo fanfic

12 notes · View notes

mynachopaper · 4 years

Note

Heyo...I’d like you to answer all of the weird questions that say a lot please...😇🖤

That’s very naughty of you. I expect payment when I’m done...

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Wine glasses. I love their shape

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

Chocolate

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

Bubble gum, I like the oral fixation

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

Wierd, creepy, creative. “He needs to find an outlet or have a beating”- My arabic teacher

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

Glass bottles

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

Tomboy

7. earbuds or headphones?

Headphones

8. movies or tv shows?

Both

9. favorite smell in the summer?

river in the cedar forest

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

Fencing

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

Nothing (sometimes fruit if I need to)

12. name of your favorite playlist?

SHmood

13. lanyard or key ring?

key ring

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

Turkish delights

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

Simon versus the Homosapien agenda

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Legs to my chest on a chair

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

My trainers

18. ideal weather?

Thunder and rain

19. sleeping position?

Curled up on my side

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Notebook but laptops are great for convenience

21. obsession from childhood?

Horror stories and or occult (Yes I cringe too)

22. role model?

Don’t have one

23. strange habits?

I like to practice voices and movements (mostly for DnD) anywhere. Shopping, cooking, with the cat. normally I’m on my own but I’ve been caught a few times.

24. favorite crystal?

Obsidian

25. first song you remember hearing?

Wide, wide as the ocean- My dad sang it to me as a kid

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Swimming

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

Bonfire jumping (used to do it with the scout kids)

28. five songs to describe you?

Fall into me- Alev Lenz

Rush- I am waiting for you last summer

Smile- Nat King Cole

Limb to limb- Fatal

Kiss breakdown- Micheal Brook (Perks of being a wallflower soundtrack)

29. best way to bond with you?

Discuss your passions and your fears. Other than that, play silly games with me.

30. places that you find sacred?

Anywhere that is deemed so.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

My pajamas (honestly no idea)

32. top five favorite vines?

Don’t have favourites.

33. most used phrase in your phone?

I love you to the moon and back.

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

I have adblock so I don’t hear enough for them to get stuck. Maybe the old spice commercial.

35. average time you fall asleep?

12-1am

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

The orly owl

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

Duffel bag

38. lemonade or tea?

lemonade

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Lemon meringue pie (obviously)

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

Nothing too weird. We did have a slew of dead birds that were killed and placed in weird positions. They were claimed to be omens.

The culprit was never caught. But I did have an old journal where I kept notes on them. I lost it in the move though..

41. last person you texted?

My online friend in the uk

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

Jacket pockets

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodie, I need the soft

44. favorite scent for soap?

sandalwood

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy, DnD for life

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

Shirt and underwear

47. favorite type of cheese?

Brie

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

Orange

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

Already answered

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

When my friend and I got stuck in traffic so we listened to the John Mulaney story about the salt and pepper diner. Afterward we actually made the playlist and listened to it. We died, the song got to us and we lost our minds.

51. current stresses?

My Father being ok back home. Me not finishing uni. Breaking my promise to my friends back home of making something of myself.

52. favorite font?

Bree Serif

53. what is the current state of your hands?

Their ok, quite dexterous. My nails have grown out too

54. what did you learn from your first job?

People take production for granted. The public opinion of a show means little. The entertainment industry is weaker than everyone treats it.

55. favorite fairy tale?

The Bloody Chamber

Book by Angela Carter

56. favorite tradition?

Our family does breakfast in bed for the birthday person

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Self harm, the invasion of my country, getting out of my old life.

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

I improvise well, I remain calm in an emergency, and am often the first to act. I have good emotional skills. I will always find a way, though it often comes at great cost.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

After someone tells me I can’t do something “HAVE YOU MET ME?!”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

Probably Shonen. Love me some JoJoBA

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

Yeah, I stayed. I stayed, because every time you threw a brick at my head, or said I smelled, it *hurt*; but it could never hurt more than every day of my life just being *me*! I *stayed* because I thought, if anyone can change me, can make me... *not* me, it was you! - Kung Fu Panda

62. seven characters you relate to?

Tarzan-Stich-Quisimodo-Ginger (From Chicken run)- Po (Kung fu Panda)- Mulan (Yes really)- Charlie (Perks of being a wallflower)

63. five songs that would play in your club?

Shut up and dance with me- Walk the moon

Suzy- Caravan Palace

Rocket Fuel feat. De La Soul - DJ Shadow

Come with me now - KONGOS

Dance with me tonight - Olly Murs

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Miniclip

65. any permanent scars?

Some on my arms and a large one on my forearm

66. favorite flower(s)?

I’m a cliche, I love roses

67. good luck charms?

My Celtic ring and my pride pin

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

It was chocolate shrimp in Sanfrancisco. Fad food with an abhorrent mixture.

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

Spiders don’t kill every prey that falls into their web. Sometimes they just wrap them up and let them squirm helpessly.

70. left or right handed?

Right, unless eating

71. least favorite pattern?

Uh... not sure

72. worst subject?

Maths

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

Fries and Icecream

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

I was 5

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Baked potatoes, especially with Sour cream and garlic

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

A succulent?

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

Sushi from grocery

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

School Id (not by much though)

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Fireflies

82. pc or console?

83. writing or drawing?

Writing, though I wish I could draw

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Podcasts

84. barbie or polly pocket?

Neither

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Mythology

86. cookies or cupcakes?

87. your greatest fear?

That I had no impact on anything

88. your greatest wish?

To gain the power to change the world

89. who would you put before everyone else?

The one I love. A partner (If we had a child then it falls to them)

90. luckiest mistake?

When I had an accident at work over my selfharm wounds. Some metal staging scraped against my arm.

91. boxes or bags?

Bags

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Fairylights

93. nicknames?

Teddy, Monster, Quis

94. favorite season?

Winter

95. favorite app on your phone?

Reddit is fun

96. desktop background?

My current Pfp

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

2 My parents

98. favorite historical era?

Don’t really have a favourite

9 notes · View notes

writing-with-olive · 4 years

Text

Ways to start writing every day

I’ve been writing for a few years now, and early on, I would write for a few days at a time, and then I’d abandon my work for months at a time and not write. During the beginnings of Project Toxin, my main WIP, I went three months without writing a word. And while missing a day or two is okay, especially if you’ve got mental health stuff that day (do not ignore your mental health), at least for me, there was this guilt that would grow worse and worse when I wasn’t writing. Somehow, that made it harder to write. There was a sense of “well I’ve screwed up by not writing, and I know I should be writing, but it’s not worth it now.” Which, by the way, is flawed reasoning. Below are some tips that I’ve discovered are useful to write every day, or at least 30 days of the month.

Coming out of writers block

1) Watch videos or listen to podcasts with writing advice.

I’ve found this effective because there’s that sense of “oh, I want to try that.” You’re not actually forcing yourself to write at this exact moment, and even if that seems counterproductive, it does take some of the stress off. Think about it; writing a book is frequently described as running a literary marathon. You can’t just jump up from the couch one day and go do it. You’ve got to get into the right mindset, and you have to be ready to do it. Seeking out inspiration is one of those steps to get you back into it.

2) Open up your writing document/notebook and read the last chapter

You don’t have to write, but open up your WIP and just read the stuff at the end, or if you’ve got the time/willpower for it, read the whole thing. A lot of times, procrastination - and writer’s block - is the fear or aversion to starting. It’s that first step that’s hard. So make it easier on yourself. Make the first step as approachable as you can. It might feel like you need to be strict with yourself, but going back to writing after writer’s block is all about easing back into it.

3) Do a writing sprint about your story

Set a timer for however long you like: five minutes, seven, ten, fifteen, twenty. Then during that time, write about your story. Things you like, don’t like. Why you haven’t been writing. Don’t stop. Don’t filter yourself. A lot of times, writer’s block is filled with a distructive sense of guilt - a distructive sense of “I need to be writing but I can’t so I won’t.” Getting all of these feelings on paper can help you distance yourself from those thoughts and put things into better perspective. The writing about your story itself can also give you new ideas about where you want to go, and where you feel like you’ve been. If you don’t have a WIP, then you can write about stories that you want to write. Or ideas that you think are cool.

Sticking with writing

1) Set up a reward/negative outcome system for writing

People tend to fall into one of two catagories: people who are motivated by reward, and people who are motivated by punishment. For me personally, I’m easily motivated by reward, but punishment never really makes that big of an impact. I also know people who are the other way around. Think about your past life experience, and think about what’s more motivating to you.

If you’re a reward motivated person, come up with rewards that you get for doing certain amounts of writing. Maybe you get to watch an extra episode of your favorite show if you get your daily wordcount. Maybe achievement in a day is cumulative; for every x number of words, you get another ten minutes of your favorite video game. If you don’t think that you’re going to be able to follow through (ie you think that yo’re going to be prone to grabbing the reward anyway regardless of your writing), let a friend or partner or sibling know what’s going on; maybe have them take away whatever thing it is until you’ve completed your goal. Make the thing a legitimate reward.

If you’re a punishment motivated person, think about things that you enjoy. Those things are now going to be taken away if you don’t write enough. Maybe you enjoy it when your partner gives you a shoulder massage. If you don’t write, you don’t get a shoulder massage. Make sure that whatever thing is on the line is not going to negatively affect your mental health. Don’t take away things like food in general (though taking away a specific type is fine), water, sleep or physical activity. If you don’t write enough and you don’t let yourself have these things, it’s only going to keep you from writing more.

2) Celebrate your wins and successes

If you’ve passed a writing milestone, celebrate. It can be big, but it doesn’t have to be. Acknowleging that you’ve completed something can be enough. It shows that you’re getting somewhere, and sometimes progress itself can be good inspiration.

3) Make sure you’ve got a setup that works for you

Some people need to write at the same time every day. Other people just need a certain location and a cup of tea. Others need certain sounds or levels of organization. Figure out what works for you, and set that up. This might also include what processer you prefer writing with. Make sure you’ve got the setup that helps you write the most successfully, and that puts you into a positive mindset.

4) Seek out inspiration

Inspiration is great for writers, but it’s not always reliable when it will hit you. So seek it out. Are there specific types of videos or images that get you into your story? Are there places where you like to stop and hang out? Books or shows that get your gears turning? Many people also say they have their best ideas on their commutes or in their shower, and this is because you’re most creative when you’re relaxed. When you’re commuting or taking a shower, you’re more relaxed in general, allowing this sort of inspiration to appear seemingly out of nowhere.

+++++++

So what might this look like?

For me, I’m a person who’s not in the middle of writer’s block, so I would skip to the second section. I’ve discovered that I’m more reward oriented, so I focus on setting up things to work toward, rather than things to work away from. I use a site called 4thewords.com, which is a site that gamifies writing, where the goal is to defeat monsters by writing words. The reward I get is the satisfaction that comes from defeating monsters and finishing quests. I celebrate a lot of my successes by talking to my family about them (they’re supportive), posting about it here on tumblr, and letting myself play extra rounds of video games. The setup that works for me is whenever I get a chance, I grab my laptop, turn on some music, and write on 4thewords. For inspiration I look for how-to videos and I do things that let my mind wander. Overall, I haven’t missed more than two days in the last four or five months.

note: if you want to join 4thewords, you can use this referral (my username is quinn-erto): S2XSR15522

#writing #writing on tumblr #writeblr #writing tips #writing advice #writers block #how to combat writer's block #how to keep writing every day #writing every day #overcoming writer's block #olive's writing vibes

20 notes · View notes

yourmandevine · 4 years

Text

Some stuff that made me happy in 2020, in no particular order

God send you no greater loss. It’s something my grandmother said a lot — a bit of highly Irish Catholic wisdom intended to remind you, warmly but sharply, that whatever you’re currently suffering through isn’t all that bad compared to what lots of other people are dealing with. That it probably isn’t too much to complain about, in the grand scheme of things. That you should, instead, be grateful for what you’ve got, big and small and everything in between.

God sent a great many people a great many unfathomable losses this year, and as hard as it felt at times, our family wasn’t among them; we’re lucky, in the big picture. In the past, people have recommended I try writing those reasons down, to give myself a list of stuff to be thankful for, for the times it’s tough to summon up the gratitude. I figured the end of the year was as good a time as any to make that list, to highlight the stuff that helped me get through this year — the reasons big, small, and in between.

So: here goes.

Peanut butter and jelly

I haven’t counted how many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I’ve eaten since March 11, which is good, because that would be an absurd thing to do, and a sure sign that I have succumbed to a very specific kind of madness. It’s also good, though, because I would undoubtedly be ashamed by the number; the figure would be titanic, like the unsinkable ship of same name, or the iceberg that sunk it.

Or, at least, I would be ashamed under normal circumstances. This fuckin’ year required whatever flotation device you could find, and you know what I found in the fridge and cupboard? A couple of slices of bread, some strawberry jam, and some goddamn Skippy.

Need a weird mid-morning “brunch” after not having breakfast because you went right from waking up to remote school with the 6-year-old? Crank up a PB&J with that third cup of coffee. Need to pack something in the diaper bag to feed everyone while you’re out at the playground for the afternoon? Stack ‘em up, son. Need a late snack after working the overnight shift filing weird bubble playoff columns? Three letters, one ampersand, one love.

I need to eat better in 2021. But I kind of needed to eat sort of like shit to get through 2020, and time and again, when your man needed it most, PB&J was there.

Sunday night Zoom sessions with college friends

I know that most of us started something like this back in March; I’m not sure how many have stuck with it. I hope the answer is “a lot,” because honestly, knowing that I’m going to end the week by seeing a few friends — some here in Brooklyn but mostly beyond our reach for safety’s sake, some who’ve moved away — has felt like a stabilizing agent on more than a few occasions. It’s important, and no small blessing, to have people in your life who really know you, weird messy ugly bits and all, and in front of whom you can let everything go.

That gallery view’s provided a place to vent, to seethe, to laugh, to cry, and to try to find some semblance of center before heading back into another week. I’m grateful for it, and for the people in those little boxes. Except for the time they reminded me that, when I was 18, I was pretty sure I was a Pacey, and they were all extremely confident I was a Dawson. They were right, but still: a bitter pill to swallow, then and now.

Olivia calling herself “Dr. Bloody”

She took out her little toy doctor kit and just turned into a cackling villain.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dan Devine (@yourmandevine)

Deeply disconcerting, yes, but also adorable.

All Fantasy Everything

What got me in the door was the conceit: three very funny stand-up comedians (Ian Karmel, David Gborie, Sean Jordan), often with a very funny guest but sometimes without, pick some topic or another and engage in a fantasy draft of their favorite aspects or representations of that topic. (It is, crucially, a serpentine draft. Now what is that? That’s a great question.) Some favorite examples: Mikes; Words That You Think Make You Sound Smart, vols. 1 and 2; Things You Yell After You Dunk on Someone; Fictional Athletes; Crimes We’d Like to Commit. Yeah. It’s that kind of podcast.

What kept me around was the friendship. Listen to an episode and it becomes really clear really quickly just how much the three hosts love each other, how much fun they have being around each other and making one another laugh. The warmth radiates, just pours out of the speakers; in a year where I sorely needed some good vibes, I appreciated my regular check-ins with the Good Vibes Gang to just ... unclench for an hour and a half or so.

Drinking beer

OK, I’ll admit: This doesn’t sound great for me. It’s true, though. I really like beer. (We brewed one in our kitchen, which I realize is something of a “bearded guy in Brooklyn” cliche, but here we are. It was exciting to complete a project, and it tasted OK-ish.) At some points this year, it didn’t feel like there wasn’t much to look forward to, and sometimes drinking some High Lifes or Narragansett tall boys — with my wife in our living room, with friends on the computer, whatever — helped take the edge off a shitty day/week/month/year. I look forward to being able to do that outside with people again.

The Good Place

I am sure some very smart cultural critics and political thinkers and social revolutionaries have forwarded compelling arguments for why this show is Bad, Actually, because that seems to be more or less true about most things, whether because said thing is Actually Bad or because the economics of the attention economy on the internet functionally necessitate the composition and publication of pretty much every position on pretty much every issue, and especially ones that present a counterargument for why you shouldn’t like the thing you like, and might be kind of a piece of shit for liking it. But I liked this half-hour comedy about the way the universe might be put together, why we should try to take better care of each other, and how doing so might be a pretty great way to take better care of ourselves.

Andrew let me write about it a little bit for a big project we did before the series finale aired, which was really nice of him. I found myself thinking about this part a lot this year:

I also thought a lot about Peeps Chili, but that happens every year.

Taking pictures of my dog

Check out this flumpy goddamn champion:

“Lugar is a good boy” is the main takeaway here. They don’t all have to be complicated.

Schitt’s Creek

I know we’re not alone in this, but we inhaled this show this year. A half-hour comedy about people being laid low, learning how to deal with who they actually are, and finding some grace and community and opportunities for growth kind of hit the spot, I guess.

One of the most wholesale enjoyable ensemble comedy casts I can remember; Catherine O’Hara was already in Cooperstown, but what she made with Moira Rose only polishes her plaque. I’ll never be able to describe with any specificity the thing Chris Elliott does, but I know it has made me laugh since I was a child too young to understand the Letterman bits or see Cabin Boy in the theater, and it’s probably going to make me laugh until I am dead.

I love that people who, for years, never got to see themselves or people like them on screen got to see David Rose on screen and maybe recognize themselves a little bit. The idea that seeing the David/Patrick relationship might make them maybe feel a little more at home, a little safer and more whole, makes me happy. Sad, about the before, but happy, about the now and the what comes next.

Past that, I just love how what was ostensibly a family-and-friends production for a Canadian channel just got absolutely everything right—the tone, the look, the sound, the theme song, the cast, the jokes, my goodness, the jokes—and before long, the rest of the world just got it. Like catching a fastball square on the barrel. Something the show clearly knew a little bit about.

Finding new outdoor places it was safe to go

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the need to give the kids a place to be that wasn’t unnecessarily dangerous but also wasn’t inside our two-bedroom apartment led us to do more exploring than we had before. Shirley Chisholm State Park is great. Canarsie Pier was a fun place to spend a Sunday morning; so’s Canarsie Playground. If we got there early enough or made our peace with some rain, the beaches at Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden were pretty rad this summer. I lived in Staten Island from ages 8 through 18, and during breaks throughout college, and don’t think I ever hiked in High Rock Park — that’s dumb, because it was nice!

Even if all those little excursions did was kill a little time and reduce the overall stress level of the four humans stuck in our four walls, that’s not nothing. Some days this year, it was everything.

Cobra Kai

I know I’m late here; I didn’t rush to seek it out because I don’t consider myself a huge fan of The Karate Kid, or at least not a big enough fan to sign up for YouTube’s premium service. I checked it out when it came to Netflix, though, and I honestly can’t believe how much I enjoyed this show. Give me “dumb, but with heart” every day of the week.

I believe in Miguel Diaz; I believe in Johnny Lawrence; I believe I will be firing up Season 3 next month, and perhaps drinking some Coors Banquets in its honor. (I cannot, however, believe how the “get him a body bag” thing came back around, but that’s neither here nor there.)

Closing unread tabs

I’m a serial hoarder of links, and I am bad at finishing all of them. I’ve tried to get into Pocket and Instapaper, but I’ve never been able to turn that sort of workflow — open link, save to third-party service, go back to third-party service later to read, then delete from there — into something that felt instinctual, natural, or habitual. So: lots of tabs. Like, lots of tabs.

This was a dicier proposition than usual in 2020, because cutting my work week in half to be able to more effectively coparent two kids who didn’t have school or day care for most of the year meant less time to read things.

I tried to do my best to keep up with the important stuff for work, and to read at least some stuff about how other parents were dealing with their anxiety/anger/depression/frustration at having to be on 24/7 and work, and to stay abreast of (at least some of) what was happening in the world. Sometimes, though, I would wake up and realize I’d been holding onto blog posts about Really Interesting Rotation Decisions on the 11th-Seeded Team in the East or whatever for literally nine months, and I would go against my nature and just hit the eject button on a 25-deep window, and something amazing would happen: I wouldn’t get fired for being shitty at my job. I would move on with my day, and I would feel about 10 pounds lighter.

I still keep too much stuff open. (As we speak, I’ve got three different Chrome windows open on two different laptops. I choose not to count the total tabs.) But I do so knowing that, if it gets too heavy, I can experience the momentary joy of surrendering to the inevitability that I can’t catch everything. In that moment, I feel OK with my decay.

Reading writers I wasn’t familiar with before

Two in particular stand out in my mind: Nekias Duncan, now of BasketballNews.com, who does excellent film breakdowns and statistical analysis, and Katie Heindl, who writes basketball stuff of all types all over the place, and strings sentences together in a way that scratches an itch inside my brain. I’m grateful I got more chances to read them this year, I look forward to bigger and better things for both of them, and I’m hopeful that, if things calm down and our schedules go back to something approximating normalcy, I’ll have more bandwidth to hunt out more new voices in the year ahead.

The time I ambushed my wife as she was trying to break down and put away the girls’ space tent

Pretty good.

Siobhan learning to ride a bicycle (with training wheels, but still)

The moment passed pretty quickly; Not Exactly A Mechanic over here can’t get the training wheels to reliably work right without either loosening them too much or tightening them so much that she can’t pedal it. In that first moment, though, and for as long as it lasted, it was really great to see her get excited about doing something new, big kid shit, for the first time.

youtube

She was proud. I was proud of her. And then we went to a playground for a few hours. Pretty good day.

Tyler Tynes roasting me

Tyler did some incredible work this year — The Cam Chronicles is getting deserved praise as one of 2020′s best podcasts, and his reporting on the Movement for Black Lives was exemplary. It’s hard to top this, though:

You know what the messed up part is? I was excited to tell him what I was doing, just because I knew the reaction would be so violent. Like a body rejecting a transplant. So lucky to have such a dear, dear friend.

PUP

I’m late on everything, so I didn’t start listening to PUP until the spring of 2019, but I haven’t really stopped since. This year has been too sedentary too often; this band is too kinetic to allow me to stay there.

youtube

“Bloody Mary Kate and Ashley Kate” is never more than about 20 minutes away from returning to the front of my mind. I would fucking love for it to be safe enough to watch these guys live at some point, and I am absolutely going to take Steve up on his offer.

Someone sending me a shirt based on a joke I tweeted

First:

youtube

Then:

I’m not sure you should be rewarding my behavior, SnoCoPrintShop, but I appreciate it all the same.

Which reminds me:

Family dinner/family movie night

My wife works in Manhattan and commutes back on the train, and we've tried to prioritize getting the girls to bed early since they were little, so that doesn’t leave much of a window between when she gets home and they go in the tub for us all to connect; before everything shut down, we almost never really ate together. We’re still not great about it, but for a while now we’ve carved out Saturday as family dinner night, where we sit down to eat and talk about our “up” from the day — something that happened that made us feel good or happy, or something we’re looking forward to. (We used to talk about our “down,” too, but that kind of seemed like overkill. Why try to focus on more bad shit right now, you know?)

Then we settle in for a movie, with who gets to pick rotating each week. It’s mostly been Pixar, which has been great but also has its drawbacks; after she caught me crying during one of them (maybe the Bing-Bong scene in Inside Out? or Miguel singing to Grandma Coco?), Siobhan straight up told me, “You need to get yourself together, man.” We just watched My Neighbor Totoro, too, which they loved, so we’re probably going to try some more Miyazaki soon. It’s a really simple thing, but it’s one we rarely made time for before, and it’s been really nice to manufacture something positive that we can share and look forward to together.

Sometimes looking like a shiftless drifter

No shade to anyone who felt strongly about getting a lineup or whatever, but I haven’t really felt like going to the barbershop was worth the risk, and I continue to refuse to believe that my wife can actually pull off the fade she’s long wanted to give me. (It is also possible that she just means she’s intending to run my fade, and that I will before long wind up cold-cocked and slumped by my bride of nine years.) So I’ve just kind of been growing out my hair like it was when I was single, and sometimes been letting my beard get kind of out of control too, and, well, I sort of like looking a little bit like a Wildling, it turns out.

I have since trimmed things up a little. It didn’t go over well with my youngest. Oh, well. I’ll try to do better next time.

My wife and daughter singing the Pixies

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dan Devine (@yourmandevine)

We don’t know all the words to too many lullabies, so we sing the ones we do know the words to. This will probably come back to bite us in the years ahead. For now, though: Pretty good.

Doughboys’ Tournament of Chompions: Munch Madness: Mac Attack

I can’t believe how invested I became in Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell’s quest to determine the best menu item at McDonald’s in a 64-seed tournament that spawned hours and hours of delightfully funny audio featuring all-time home-run guests like Jon Gabrus and Nicole Byer, who gleefully feed into the often warm, sometimes antagonistic, always entertaining chemistry between the two hosts. I have also never found myself wanting to go to McDonald’s more in my entire life. I have hit the drive-thru a couple of times since, and the boys are right: The McDonald’s fountain Coke does just hit different.

Sound Only

I’ve lost track of whether or not a 38-year-old is considered a millennial, but I’m quite confident that I’m not exactly plugged into “the millennial lifestyle” as my teammates Justin Charity and Micah Peters discuss it on their podcast, which relaunched this summer. Doesn’t matter, though, because I love hearing Charity and Micah talk to each other even if I don’t know what they’re talking about.

Their conversation about Dave Chappelle was great. After listening to their Travis Scott episode, I felt like I kind of understood who he is and why he occupies the space he does in pop culture now. I had no idea how they were going to get me to give a shit about set photos from The Batman, but this they not only got me there, but wended their way toward blaming 50 Cent for needing to know who Groot is to have a conversation on the internet, which is something for which Abraham Lincoln did not die. The show is good, it's getting better, it’s fun to hear them talk their shit, and Charity’s regular bellowing of “I, TOO, AM AMERICA” has made me smile for four straight months.

Siobhan’s letters and notes

She’s in first grade now, and she’s taken to communicating her feelings through the written word. A lot.

I won’t pretend that I loved all of these in the moment. I can only get so upset, though, when she’s already writing with such a clear voice. (And trying to use proper punctuation. (And drawing little cartoons to drive the point home.)

Palm Springs

I’m having a hard time remembering too many specifics about it right now, which probably means it’d be a good thing to rewatch over the holidays. But, as I’m sure many people noted many months before we got around to watching it, a comedy about living the same day over and over again, and about trying to figure out how to make your life mean something when everything seems meaningless, scratched a pretty particular, and particularly important, itch this year. It could’ve been twice as long, and I would’ve eaten up every second of Andy Samberg and Cristin Miloti together.

I’m pretty sure I cried, although this year, that doesn’t necessarily mean much. Also, put Conner O’Malley in more things.

Joining our union’s bargaining committee

I won’t say too much about this, but I will say that becoming an active participant in the process of a labor union negotiating its first contract with management has been an extremely educational experience. It’s pushed me to have conversations, sometimes difficult ones, about our priorities as a staff and a company. It's helped me get closer with the other past and present members of the BC, and has led me to start developing relationships with members of our staff that I otherwise might not have had much of an opportunity to get to know.

The organizing work takes time, effort, and energy, but trying to do what I can to help take better care of my colleagues has been well worth all of that. Here’s hoping that in 2021 we can reach a deal that helps make our workplace even better, stronger, and more equitable for all of us.

Publishing a story about Stevie Nicks’ Fajita Roundup

I swear this is true: After I accepted my offer to work at The Ringer, but before I started, I told a friend that one thing I was excited about was that you had the chance to work on offbeat stuff here, in both the “kind of weird” and “not about the NBA” senses. That, I thought, might maybe open the door to me getting to write a story about a Saturday Night Live sketch I saw when I was a teenager about Stevie Nicks from Fleetwod Mac running a cheap Tex-Mex restaurant in Sedona, Arizona — a sketch that I wasn’t sure anyone else remembered, but that was stuck in my head forever.

That story ran on May 26.

A lot of people seemed to like it.

Accomplishing this goal was, as dumb as this might sound, a highlight of my year, and, honestly, a highlight of my career. I’d like to do some more stuff like this next year, time permitting; we’ll see. Whether or not I do, I got to do this. I’ll always have that.

3 notes · View notes

screechthemighty · 7 years

Text

Hey, hey, hey, ready for me to be pissed off as fuck about something? Well, too bad, because it’s happening. I was listening to the Black Tapes again so I’d be caught up in time for the season 3 premiere, and I hit the fifth episode. I was immediately reminded of why my enjoyment of this podcast is undercut by a strong sense of weariness and exhaustion, because whoooo boy, does this podcast not understand how Christianity works. At all. Not even a little.

I had a whole rant planned out breaking down the wrong shit, but as I was listening, this one quote stuck out that really summed it up. So I’m going to address it first and then put everything else under a cut because this is really all you need to know about my issues with how the Black Tapes (and, by extension, sister show TANIS) treats religion. After breaking down statistics and history of exorcism specifically in Catholicism, host Alex sits down with a priest and talks exorcisms with him. While discussing the links between possession and religion as a whole, Alex says this:

“It’s Christianity that has built an entire industry devoted to the practice of exorcism. Private exorcists for hire, working outside the bounds of the Church have become millionaires.”

This quote, right here, emphasis mine, sums up the entire problem with the way the Black Tapes treats Christianity. You can’t start a point by saying Christianity and then clarify the Church later on. There is no such thing as a Church of Christianity. Christianity is a belief system composed of many, many branches, especially in the United States. While some of these branches treat exorcism similarly, none of them are the same. The fact that they spent 1-2 minutes talking specifically about Catholic exorcism stuff leads me to believe that when they say “the Church” they mean “Catholicism.” If this is the case, you know what else happens outside the bounds of the Church? Everything that goes on in every other branch of Christianity. Everything. E v e r y t h i n g.

This presents two possibilities. One, the podcast is trying to say that Catholicism represents all of Christianity. This is demonstrably false, and I’m sure that anyone in a non-Catholic branch of Christianity would be offended to hear you say that. Two, the podcast is trying to say that the teachings and behavior of every branch of Christianity are in Catholicism, which is also demonstrably false, and I, a Catholic, am offended to hear you say that.

If you want to go deeper down the rabbit hole, here’s a breakdown of some other ways the Black Tapes gets exorcism, Catholicism, and exorcism in Catholicism Completely Wrong. Fair warning, this is fairly lengthy and angry, so sorry about that.

They assert early on in this excerpt that there were, in the Catholic faith, 1,118 cases of demonic possession in 2014. I can’t find any official numbers on that, though granted I didn’t go digging very deep. This doesn’t seem like something the Catholic Church would go around talking about publicly anyway, in an effort to preserve the privacy of the possessed. What I did find was a 2017 article from the National Catholic Register with a quote from an actual Catholic exorcist who said that actual cases of demonic possession were extremely rare, and that he had only seen three (3) in the past three (3) years. He also said that there are about fifty exorcists in the US that he knows of, so unless you want to tell me that either a) the other forty-nine exorcists each saw about twenty-three genuine cases of (VERY RARE) demonic possession, which is at a rate of about two a month, then I REALLY don’t buy that number. This one I’d be able to brush aside as a part of the world building of this universe and not indicative of real life, except the numbers are so messed up that I can’t ignore it. I just can’t. It’s not reflective of real life, and it’s implausible even in a world where there’s an apocalyptic symphony going on.

“In 1999, they established the Exorcist Society of America.” As far as I can tell, this is not a thing. There’s an International Association of Exorcists, which has a lot of members and is Catholic, and an American Association of Exorcists, but that’s a CHRISTIAN organization NOT a Catholic one. Again, this could be an exclusively in-universe thing, but it bugs me.

I will say their assessment of there being a rise in specifically-trained priests-as-exorcists in America does seem to be accurate based on my research--there were 13 in 2005 and 50 or more in 2017*, so I don’t have any reason to doubt them saying that there were only 3 in the US before 1999 and that number bumped up to 32 by 2014. But I also can’t find anything to back up how many exorcists in the US there were before 1999.** I should also note that this statement about there being 32 exorcists in the US in 2014 makes their figure of 1,118 cases of possession even more ridiculous because that means the other 31 exorcists would have about thirty-six exorcisms each, but whatever.

Again, to pick on their world building, they talk to a Father Kelly from St. Thomas Church in Bellevue, which doesn’t exist AS A CATHOLIC CHURCH. It does exist...as an Episcopal church. Episcopalians are a thing, some do wear the collar, but they are not Catholic. It’s possible they just made a church up for the sake of their podcast, but it bugs me that there’s a church by the same name in the same area that they seem to be citing as a Catholic Catholic (through the nature of them discussing “the church” and never clarifying that this is an Episcopal priest they’re talking to not a Catholic one) when it’s not. If the church hadn’t existed at ALL I’d feel better about this. As it is, it feels like another symptom of their generalizing Christianity, as mentioned above the cut. Like the producers were driving through Bellevue and went “OH THAT’S A CHURCH” and used it in their podcast without research.

I will note that Wikipedia informs me that there were Catholic priests who performed exorcisms outside of the boundaries of canon law, so Alex’s point in the quote at the beginning of the post about priests operating outside of the Church has SOME basis in Catholicism. However, I highly doubt that any of them were made millionaires by this. Priests, in general, only make enough money to live their lives, and if there was a Catholic priest who was making bank on exorcising people, it would’ve been in the news. I could be wrong about this, but my gut is calling bullshit. There are plenty of non-Catholic Christian exorcists for hire, I’m sure, and maybe some of them got filthy rich off it, but again, THIS IS NOT CATHOLICISM but they’re lumping it in with it anyway.

While discussing why there weren’t more possessions performed in the 70s, Father Kelly says, “That’s when psychology began to gain legitimacy as a science. Many victims of possessions were mistakenly sent to asylums.” DING DONG, YOU’RE WRONG. This one actually really pisses me off because every single modern exorcism horror story does this and it’s wrong. Again citing that wikipedia article, but Catholicism required medical and psychological screening as far back as the 70s (this is part of the reason the aforementioned clandestine exorcisms were clandestine--no screenings). The USCCB also stresses this: “Only after a thorough examination including medical, psychological, and psychiatric testing might the person be referred to the exorcist for a final determination regarding demonic possession”. This has always been a thing, because we don’t want to go around giving credit to Satan where none is due. It’s bad mojo. The podcast does lend lip service to this by having the priest say they do it, but they also have him keep acting like every single mentally ill person is possessed (when, again, in Catholicism possession is seen as EXTREMELY rare) and say they can’t find a single psychiatrist who has authorized a possession. So whatever effort they made to put that in their show is weak at best.

I think this got in there on the grounds of it being part of the whole “religion and science are enemies” trope, but that is the worst trope, especially in relation to Catholicism because THE FATHER OF MODERN GENETICS WAS A PRIEST, YOU HEATHENS. The fact that they immediately follow it up with an interview with a psychologist who thinks Christianity (sorry “the Church”) is anti-psychology and all suffering from “demonomania” supports this. I hate it. I hate it so bad.

And all of this is in the first ten minutes of the fifth episode. I might add more to this rant, but I also probably won’t because this rant alone took me an hour to write and I need to keep my blood pressure low for the sake of my health. Just keep in mind that the Black Tapes might be entertaining, but they don’t know shit about religion, especially not Catholicism.

*I should note the above linked article also says they don’t keep official numbers on this kind of thing so who even knows.

**If you’re wondering, “Screech, who was performing the exorcists before 1999 if this was true??” I’m pretty sure the answer is bishops. Part of the problem with the exorcist shortage, according to the above linked article, is that bishops don’t really have training in exorcisms even though they are the “chief exorcist” of their dioceses. And again, keep in mind that demonic possession is extremely rare, so maybe those three were enough to get the job done. Or maybe there were more that we don’t know about because again, no one was keeping numbers.

#long post #wank for ts #this has been a post #screech's catholic tag #ANYWAYS! I'm a salt mine and this trope comes up in all horror shit all the time and I hate it #do some research you damn heathens

1 note · View note

olivereliott · 4 years

Text

17 Training Myths, Addressed By A Running Coach

Ever wondered about something running-related and looked for an answer on the internet? It can be very confusing: questionable advice, mansplaining, conspiracy theories, products that could either change your life or permanently maim you by accident, flimsy anecdotal evidence, amateur medical diagnoses, and other bullshit. It can be hard to wade through. I wanted some real answers to some of the stuff I’ve seen out there, so I reached out to a successful running coach: David Roche, who along with Megan Roche, coaches runners through Some Work All Play, co-authored the book The Happy Runner, and hosts the Some Work, All Play Podcast. David was a good sport and provided some great insight.

MYTH #1:

Training should be painful.

David: The goal of running training is to make faster, more efficient movement take less energy with time. As an athlete’s running economy improves, most training should feel easy, and even workouts should only be harder in small doses, primarily involving supercompensation stimuli (like races and extra intense workouts every few weeks). An athlete that pushes to pain will aerobically regress even with consistent training, as their base foundation erodes away. And that’s if they somehow manage to avoid nasty outcomes of choosing to do something that is actively painful. Examples of such outcomes include stress fractures, overtraining syndrome, or waking up one morning and realizing that running sucks and should be reserved as punishment for our most violent criminals.

MYTH #2:

If you want to run fast on race day, you have to run as fast as you can every day you train.

David: Runners are not the bus from the movie Speed, set to detonate if they go below a certain pace. Sometimes that’s hard to remember, especially early in a running journey. As an athlete starts out, there are enough low-hanging aerobic fruit that consistently faster running may be rewarded. You’ll often see that in college teams, where easy days can turn into low-hanging-fruit-measurement contests. But later on, those same patterns that may be rewarded at first start to be punished. The aerobic system can even regress, as musculoskeletal output and biomechanical efficiency goes down with it. That truth leads to what all athletes learn (if they are lucky enough not to blow up first). Long-term progression is about making easy running easy, fast running purposeful, and avoiding too much of the grey area where injuries and stagnation await.

MYTH #3:

What works for the fastest runners in the world should work for everyone.

David: Interpolation from outliers is a dangerous game because what makes someone a gold medalist also makes them respond to stimuli differently. Background genetic realities are overlaid with environmental influences to create superhumans. Hard work matters, sure. But often part of what we’re seeing is the genetic talent to respond to hard work in a non-linear, anomalous way. Throw the same hard work at someone that responds a bit more slowly, or just a bit differently, and their physiology could rebel from the cellular level on up.

The body doesn’t know miles, it knows stress. If an athlete does the same types of miles as a gold medalist, there’s a good chance the stress could turn their body and spirit into a pile of smoldering rubble.

MYTH #4:

Stretching before you run, every time you run, will cause you to become weak, sad, and to develop new food allergies.

David: Numerous studies show that pre-exercise stretching can reduce subsequent power output from muscles, and it has no protective effect against injuries. However, go to a professional running race, and you may see some of the best athletes in the world doing some light stretching before and after their events. And stretching/yoga could have long-term benefits that are difficult to measure in a single-variable study. The moral of the story is that different things work for everyone. Find what works for you and don’t be too swayed by what the pros do or how I characterize exercise physiology studies if your experience varies. Actually, I take that back. Listen to everything I say. On a related note, numerous studies show you should get a dog. It’s science.

MYTH #5:

You should always eat pasta the night before a race, and the night before a long training run, and the night before a short training run, and the night before a rest day. Pasta, pasta, pasta, yay, pasta!

David: There is some truth to the pasta legend. Glycogen availability is important for athletes, with even moderate depletion reducing performance in studies. In addition, long-term low energy availability can hurt hormone balance and contribute to amenorrhea. Some fascinating new science is finding that even controlling for daily energy intake, higher amounts of within-day deficits can cause increases in cortisol, along with sex hormone disturbances. So yes, one way of interpreting that information is that pasta (and other foods) are important for sexual health. The fact that I am not sponsored by Noodles & Company is a travesty.

Underfueling can have long-term, disastrous health consequences that go far beyond the race course. But avoiding underfueling does not require pasta. A well-balanced diet can keep an athlete with plenty of glycogen availability to perform their best at running and life. That can include some pasta, but make sure it includes whatever else you enjoy too, with one underlying rule to fuel an athletic life: Eat enough, always. Eat too much, sometimes. Eat too little, never.

MYTH #6:

It’s not a legitimate trail run until everyone participating is completely soaked in blood.

David: A general medical rule is that it’s optimal to avoid having your insides on the outside, or your outsides on the inside. A spattering of blood is likely OK–think a drizzle of olive oil on your baguette. A “soaking” like a piece of battered French toast may require medical attention.

MYTH #7:

Vegetables are good for you.

David: Fiber is important and connected to heart and colon health. Like most rules, though, that applies in moderation. I have seen athletes who get MRIs and the report describes entirely full colons, like it’s a pre-Covid line for Space Mountain. Subsequent visits to specialists revealed that the findings were products of the high-calorie eating required of athletes and the high-volume eating required of high-fiber diets. It’s all about balance. Some vegetables = likely good. Lots of vegetables = possibly good. All vegetables = that moment when the kids in the Space Mountain line are screaming and smell bad, but permeating your whole existence.

MYTH #8:

You should never, ever miss a workout, under any circumstances.

David: Running training is about consistency. Workouts may get those sexy Strava kudos, but at the cellular level, the body is interpreting that workout as one of many stress signals that can spur a number of different responses. If you’re healthy and ready, the response may be adaptation. If you’re tired or dealing with a potential injury, the response to the very same workout may be a blow-up that derails the coming weeks or months of training. Lots of athletes can do workouts. Show me an athlete with the courage to miss a workout when something is off, and I’ll show you an athlete that can nail the long-term consistency needed to get close to their ultimate potential.

MYTH #9:

If you have to smoke while running, you should vape.

David: While vaping may be slightly less harmful than smoking, it is still not safe, with significant cardiovascular and addiction risks. Plus, if you started smoking or vaping due to tobacco industry propaganda saying it’s cool, the joke is on you two times over. One, it’s not healthy or cool. Two, even if it was cool, you’re a runner, so that cancels out any background coolness.

MYTH #10:

If you sweat a lot, that means the training is working.

David: Sweat rates are highly dependent on conditions and individual physiology. Some athletes glisten, while others seem like broken fire hydrants that were granted their wish of becoming a real live boy (that’s me). Sweat is a normal physiological response that isn’t a verdict on you or your training. But it may be a verdict on whether you can get by wearing one of those all-natural deodorants.

MYTH #11:

Stride length is the No. 1 determining factor of successful runners. As such, you should work on increasing the length of each stride to 9 to 12 feet.

David: Stride mechanics are highly individual. The main requirements are to keep your center of mass over your landing zone and to avoid leaning back. To do that, the general rule is that quicker, softer strides are better than long, loping strides. Average stride length at fast efforts will increase as an athlete gets fitter, but only as a proxy variable for power output per stride, rather than a specific focus on long strides.

MYTH #12:

Pheidippides, who ran the first-ever marathon, died upon completing it in 490 BC. Thanks to the development of training methods, modern-day marathons have a fatality rate of only 50 percent.

David: Estimates put the number of deaths per 100,000 marathon runners at around 2, or 0.002 percent. Meanwhile, 1 in 3,000 people are struck by lightning in their lifetimes, or 0.03 percent. Also, a bar of chocolate can have up to 60 insect parts and be deemed safe for consumption. What I’m saying is that there’s a lot that we can’t control in life, and Pheidippides probably had an underlying heart condition.

MYTH #13:

Running in winter temperatures below 32 degrees will give you hemorrhoids.

David: Cold weather running will not give you hemorrhoids. But I suspect that whoever wrote this myth already had hemorrhoids, and maybe it gave them a convenient excuse. So…yes…cold weather running causes hemorrhoids. You’re safe here.

MYTH #14:

Chemtrails.

David: I am just now learning that some people on the internet think that chemtrails are a mind-control agent used for nefarious purposes. Remember that context the next time a random person leaves a mean comment on one of your posts.

MYTH #15:

Chuck Norris was offered the role of John McClane in Die Hard, but turned it down.

David: What type of movie is Die Hard? A Christmas movie. If Chuck Norris were John McClane, what type of movie would it be? A bad movie.

MYTH #16:

Coronavirus is caused by 5G towers.

David: Actually, 5G towers cause chlamydia.

MYTH #17:

Kendrick Lamar’s new album is dropping soon.

David: Oh damn, really? We need to end this article right now. THE BOPS AWAIT.

—

Thanks for reading. These posts are able to continue thanks to the handful of wonderful people who back Semi-Rad on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. If you’d like to join them, click here for more info—you’ll also get access to the Patreon-only posts I write, as well as discounts to my shop and other free stuff.

—Brendan

The post 17 Training Myths, Addressed By A Running Coach appeared first on semi-rad.com.

0 notes

thejustinmarshall · 4 years

Text

17 Training Myths, Addressed By A Running Coach

MYTH #1:

Training should be painful.

MYTH #2:

If you want to run fast on race day, you have to run as fast as you can every day you train.

MYTH #3:

What works for the fastest runners in the world should work for everyone.

MYTH #4:

Stretching before you run, every time you run, will cause you to become weak, sad, and to develop new food allergies.

MYTH #5:

MYTH #6:

It’s not a legitimate trail run until everyone participating is completely soaked in blood.

MYTH #7:

Vegetables are good for you.

MYTH #8:

You should never, ever miss a workout, under any circumstances.

MYTH #9:

If you have to smoke while running, you should vape.

MYTH #10:

If you sweat a lot, that means the training is working.

MYTH #11:

Stride length is the No. 1 determining factor of successful runners. As such, you should work on increasing the length of each stride to 9 to 12 feet.

MYTH #12:

Pheidippides, who ran the first-ever marathon, died upon completing it in 490 BC. Thanks to the development of training methods, modern-day marathons have a fatality rate of only 50 percent.

MYTH #13:

Running in winter temperatures below 32 degrees will give you hemorrhoids.

MYTH #14:

Chemtrails.

MYTH #15:

Chuck Norris was offered the role of John McClane in Die Hard, but turned it down.

David: What type of movie is Die Hard? A Christmas movie. If Chuck Norris were John McClane, what type of movie would it be? A bad movie.

MYTH #16:

Coronavirus is caused by 5G towers.

David: Actually, 5G towers cause chlamydia.

MYTH #17:

Kendrick Lamar’s new album is dropping soon.

David: Oh damn, really? We need to end this article right now. THE BOPS AWAIT.

—

—Brendan

The post 17 Training Myths, Addressed By A Running Coach appeared first on semi-rad.com.

from Explore https://semi-rad.com/2020/08/17-training-myths-addressed-by-a-running-coach/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

a425app · 5 years

Text

Interview 07

Interview Questions

How are you?

Pretty good! It’s been a nice morning so far. Woke up at my leisure, had some coffee, conducted an interview with my father-in-law, and now I’m here

What is your name?

Cory Timmons

What is your age?

What gender do you identify as?

Female. I’m a transwoman, and I make that distinction. I can’t deny that I lived as a man for most of my life, although, that’s not how I felt inside. Many transwoman do not like to make the distinction between being a woman and being a transwoman, but I think it’s the most accurate way to describe me. I’m still very early in my transition, and expect to change a lot in the next 2-5 years.

What are the things that have been on your mind today?

Getting my interviews done is really stressing me out. I’m very nervous that I don’t know enough people to properly conduct the required number of interviews.

What's been the most enjoyable part of you of your day so far?

My coffee and chat with my husband this morning. I love him so much.

Is there something your looking forward too?

I’m looking forward to checking some things off my list today so I can reduce my stress. I know what I have to do, I took some time before bed to make a list of things for the weekend, so now I just have to GSD- get shit done!

What is the most important thing that matters to you at the moment?

Completing my degree.

Do you work? If so how many hours a week and what sort of job is it? / do you work on site or at home (or alternate location)

Yes. It varies. I work between 5 and 20 hours a week. I make posters for the music department, and occasionally do administrative work for an occupation/physical therapy company who helps kids with special needs in SF. I work at home for both jobs.

What are some things you like to do on the weekends?

Lately, working on homework. My husband and I like to have morning dates.. so we go out thrift shopping and have a nice lunch together. I like to just be cozy, so I immediately put my pjs on after we get home. If I have time, I clean the house, organize/work on little projects to make the house a little easier to live in. Every few weeks, we get brunch with my mom. If I perform in drag, I usually do so on the weekends.

What is your living situation like?

We live in a spacious house surrounded by trees with our pets. We’re very near a park, and near to amenities in town. I’m very very lucky.

is your living space organized to help you accomplish your tasks or goals, whatever they may be?

I think so. I have a dressing room/private lounge that’s just for me. It’s my own little haven in the house. We also have a nice art studio that’s set up for physical and digital arts. The rest of the house has a great flow, lots of pocket doors and things so we can close off parts as we need to. I love this house. It’s very well-designed.

What kinds of chores did you do during childhood/adolescents?

Very few. Basically just cleaning my room to the point it wasn’t a fire hazard, but even then, my parents were incredibly lenient about my chores. My mom did all of it, and I still feel immense guilt about it. That’s probably the most “male” part of my up-bringing—I was waited on hand-and-foot by my mom. I ultimately suffered for it. I had none of these skills, yet I was often in the position of being asked to do those tasks because of the dynamics of my relationships. I basically taught myself housekeeping from martha stewart, and then tried to come back down to earth to a more practical style of keeping house.

Would you say you actively seek out new things to try?

Oh totally

What are some of your goals for your daily life?

I’d like to walk the dog more consistently. I’d like to get in the habit of writing for thirty minutes every single day. I would like to be better about my makeup removal/getting ready for bed routine.

What are some of your goals in general?

I want to make Salem more comfortable fore queer/trans folks. Our city can be very hostile and cruel toward people with deviant genders and sexualities, and we don’t really have a ton of resources considering our city’s size. So that’s a big focus of my life. In fact, I’d say it’s what I’d identify as my purpose for the time. Besides that, more short term, I want to graduate and get a good job making a difference in the world. I’d like to work for a non-profit or some other kind of business/entity that improves peoples lives. I want to keep my art-making practice outside of school—it’s changed my life for the better and I don’t want to lose this power and passion I’ve developed.

What are some things that make you feel proud of yourself?

When I complete an art work that accomplishes my content and formal goals I feel very proud of myself. I feel proud of myself when I survive harsh and cruel situations and still keep my head up. I feel proud of myself when I speak my truth, not fearing the reprisal or consequences.

What activities give you the most satisfaction?

At home, DIY projects and gardening are probably the most satisfying. I get to see it change from A to B and it lasts—something that I can continue to witness over time.

What kinds of things do you to relieve stress?

I listen to guided imagery. I find it helps immensely with my anxiety and PTSD symptoms. I used to self medicate much more with alcohol and marijuana, but I’ve cut back a lot on both of those things, but still use. Not the best way to relieve stress, so I’m trying to be more mindful about it and use healthier options. Meh. No one’s perfect.

What is something you wish you had more time to do?

Making art, particularly digital art. I dream of making a video game. Some kind of RPG, like Final Fantasy or even action-adventure like Zelda. I’d love to have more time to devote to that.

What kinds of things take up most of your time?

Homework right now, and miscellaneous administrative tasks. Honestly, my schedule is so tight right now that it’s all kind of a blur.

How do you feel after you have completed a task.

Great!

How do you reward yourself?

This is a step a rarely do. I only really reward myself for BIG things. When I quit smoking cigarettes, I saved the money I had been spending on that and bought myself a game console.

How much time do you take just for yourself?

I spend a good hour and a half each morning waking up, drinking coffee, listening to podcasts and doing my shower/makeup/dressing routine. At night, I spend about an hour listening to music/podcasts, playing video games, or reading.

What are the most frustrating aspects of your daily activities/ day?

Driving. I love it and hate it. I like the ability to drive, but I hate commuting. So it’s a a weird dynamic! I would love to have the ability to ride a bus or trolley or something to work so I don’t have to think about it. But I’d still want a car because I enjoy driving. Weird, huh? I guess it just feels like I’m losing about an hour of productive time each day.

What time of day do you tend to do your work/chores/ homework

Any time I have, I spend it on that. So, usually 4-9 MWF, 12-9 T/R. All day on the weekend.

Do you feel like you have a good balance between work and personal life?

Not at all, but this period of my life is not about that at all. I’m doing all this work so I can have a personal life again. I absolutely do not intend to keep this pace. It will destroy me and my marriage if I do. I intend to be a more normal “adult” when I’m done with school.

How consistent is your schedule?

Parts are very consistent, other parts are variable. School obviously doesn’t change, but I have counseling/therapy appointments at various times of the week/alternating weeks, evening events, etc.

Can you describe a typical day for you from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed?

7:15 wake up, glass of water, take pills

7:30 coffee, read news, listen to podcasts, homework if needed

8:30 Shower

9:00 Makeup/dress

9:25 Leave for school

9:30 McDonalds

9:55 Arrive at school

10-4 classes

4:00 leave for home

4:25 get home. Drink water, take dogs out

4:45 use the bathroom

5:00 start dinner

5:30 hug mike when he gets home (our main ritual), then feed the dogs

6:00 eat dinner

6:30 dishes

6:45 watch tv/chit chat catch up with mike

8:00 Homework

9:00 alone time in my lounge: video games, music podcasts, drawing, etc.

9:30 remove contacts/makeup, night cream, take night pills

9:45 alone time again

10:15 – 10:45 slip into bed. Read in bed until I pass out.

What time of day do you feel the most alert/happy

Mid-day, 2-6

What do you think having a routine means?

Doing stuff without really thinking about it.

Do you have a daily/weekly routine(s) If so, What are some of your daily/weekly routines?

My days are pretty routine in the way I describe it. Not a lot deviates from that. The main consistent routine centers around school and caring for my dogs.

What tools do you use to plan or remind yourself of activities or a routine if any?

I have a family calendar mike and I share to keep aware of our day-to-day. We have a chore chart for those kinds of things. Other than that, not realy.

Do you think having a daily routine would/does benefit you? Why or why not?

I think some of the things that’d be good for my skin/body would definitely benefit me. I’m pretty inconsistent about makeup removal, and I’d like to be better about caring for my skin in that way.

Have you done any research / read articles about having a routine?

No.

How often would you say you search for things involving lifestyle: blogs, articles, magazines etc.

Rarely.

Would you be interesting in learning how to best establish and stick to a routine?

What would that look like to you?

Yes. I think it would be positively encouraging and would try to keep me going if I fuck up. I think a lot of times it feels like “all is lost” if I miss a day or don’t do something quite right. So I’d want something to hold me accountable but still keep my interest? Maybe some funny content, connections with others. Tricks on how to get your brain to re-wire.

Do you use technology for planning and/or reminders? If so, what are your favorite tools/programs.

Why are those your favorite?

Yes. I use the apple calendar, and mike and I share it. It’s pretty intuitive, it’s native on the phone, and I can share with hubby.

What are some of your favorite apps to use? Why those? How do you use them? How often do you use them?

I don’t use a ton of apps, but I like the adobe apps for iPad a lot. I think they have the right amount of features for me to draw or do whatever. It’s like JUST what I need… no bloat. It doesn’t feel hard to learn. You just kind of open it and it’s obvious what to do. I use them to make vector drawing sketches that I pull into illustrator and refine. I use adobe capture a ton to make cool shapes and illustrations, too. I use these almost daily.

If you could make a app for keeping track of a routine what would be some of the features you would want?

I would want to sync up with others doing it too. Social really helps for me. I’d want it to keep track of what I’m doing, maybe remind me of the benefits of what I’m doing. That was something that really helped me when I quit smoking… your lungs are x better and your risk of x is x or whatever really helped me to see the benefit of continuing something that was fucking sooooo hard I wanted to quit a million times day. Six years later it’s hard to imagine that, like it really worked for me. So, I guess getting through the shittiness of starting and then reinforcing after I’ve picked up the habit.

Have you ever failed to stick to a routine? If so, why do you think that was?

Yeah, I can’t tell you how many diet and exercise routines I used to try. I think I always wanted to go whole hog instead of just accepting that a little bit at a time over time is better than a quick burst all at once. I think it has to be something that will fit into my normal life..,. I shouldn’t have to plan my whole fucking day around a routine just to stick to it. I don’t do well with anything regimented or with negative punshiment. Fuck that. So it has to feel good, be easy, and feel positive.

Do you have any medical conditions that you think might affect your ability to stick to a regular schedule or routine?

Not really. Allergies maybe.

Do you think your profession has an impact on your routine?

Yes. I think being a student puts me in a position of forcing myself into a certain structure of time. In my old job, I had a very consistent schedule and no work to take home. My husbands job is not like that. We have different routines. SO I dunno, maybe it’s profession, maybe it’s the level of job, maybe it’s personality.

To what degree do you think other people impact your routine?

A lot routines and things need support, and I think if someone else is against the change, it can make the change very hard to deal with. I think everyone in a household kind of has to be on board.

Would you be more likely to do something if someone else was holding you accountable?

Maybe, but not in like an authoritarian sense. Like not like a directive, but more collaborative, like we’re in it together. Like… my bestie and I like to walk, so we often encourage each other in that way, but the same is true… she’s my bestie so it’s just as easy to say “fuck it” because we know neither of us REALLY wants to do it, ya know?? So maybe it’d need to be someone I was less close to so the social pressure to maintain the habit was a little higher.

If we came back in [x number of] years to have this conversation again, what would you like to be different?

I think I will have a pretty routinized daily life that is hitting all the boxes of things I want to work on and accomplish. Ithink I will have built more “down time” into my schedule because right now I’m working way too fucking hard and I know I can’t keep this up.

Is there anything I’ve missed?

Maybe what inspires a change. So I want to walk more for the main reason of my health: I’m very sedentary and I’m worried that as I get older I will miss my “easy” chance at starting to exercise and incorporate something health related into my lifestyle. To be honest, my disconnection from my body is not surprising. It never felt like home to me. It felt inhospitable and like someone else’s body. Now that I’m on the path of having the body I want (through hormone replacement) I’m feeling a much deeper connection to my body and the way that it cares and provides for me. So, in many ways I regret the apathy and neglect I demonstrated toward my body during my youth. It’s hard to know that I did so much damage to my body in my younger years and that I can’t take that time back. So maybe some motivation for wanting to change. I’m starting a new life, and I need to think about what the life means and what I want out of it, if that makes sense. And the health of my body is central to my ability to live the life I want. So that’s why I want a better routine.

Is there anything you want to tell me?

Thank you for being a good friend. : )

Any questions?

0 notes

theprimaldesire · 7 years

Text

Life is short. Sometimes we need to fight, and sometimes we need to run. So what does that all have to do with #BCwildfires, How to Watch Game of Thrones, & GoT Pork Pie Recipe? Read on…

My Family and the #BCwildfires

Last week a large forest fire began which is threatening my hometown. After a few days of erratic and violent winds to help the fire pick up and spread, the community in the Interior of BC was evacuated. Thankfully my parents are fine, and they were already prepared for evacuation, which is good because with it came time to evacuate the town, residents were given under 30 minutes to pack and go!

It was a stressful weekend, and while that was going on my sister (Devi), bro-in-law (Sam), and nephews were visiting. They too needed to navigate their way around multiple closed highways in order to return to their home, north of the fires. Devi, Sam, and myself enjoy apocalyptic/natural disaster stories and movies, and like to play the “What would you do if…?” game. Most often this is in the form of a zombie apocalypse scenario, but you get the idea.

In fact, recently I listened to a couple podcasts that had me re-evaluating the places that I would want to be during different events. Fault Lines is about survival of an earthquake, “the Big One” which is supposed to destroy the West Coast, not just during the quake, but hours, days, weeks, and months after the quake. 2050: Degrees of Change is about what life could look like in 2050 due to climate change. Both podcasts delve into aspects that other similar features do not. They make you realize how ill prepared you are, and force you to look at aspects of life that you might just chalk up to “future-me’s problems”.

So it goes without saying that there was a lot of discussion about strategies, where to go, when to go, what to bring, what dangers or frustrations may popup (such as power outages, vehicle gas-shortages, grocery shortages, and other drivers making scary decisions or putting other people in danger around them during the evacuation), how to get help, how long will people be affected, what happens if the roads to the east are closed as well (now that fire has closed the highways to the north and south of them), the flow of information and those who rely on social media for their “facts” (“Why isn’t the news saying anything about the road closure at Little Fort?”), and everything else. You get the picture.

Days leading up to the evacuation we were trying to convince Mom & Dad to head to friends in Vancouver, well out of the fire areas. I still don’t know why they didn’t go there, or why they waited so long to leave.

Well, they are all safe at my sister’s place at the moment. But it makes me wonder, do you have an escape plan? Do you know what you would take? What would you take?? Would you be ready to go within 20-30 minutes of being told that you have to leave, maybe never to see your stuff again? Obviously some of these answers are going to be different if you’re facing a zombie apocalypse vs. a British Columbia wildfire, where you are when things go south, what season you’re in, etc. But have you prepared at all? Camping supplies in your car with an emergency kit? Solar battery for your phone/light/radio? Food and water?

Game of Thrones – Season 7

The seventh season of the TV series Game of Thrones is set to premiere on HBO on July 16, 2017, and conclude six weeks later. This is one of the few series that I like to watch as it airs. Remember? Like when we were kids, waiting each week for the next episode. Not like most of my marathon sessions of shows where I knock out a season in a day or two. The other series, of course, is the Walking Dead (I told you I like apocalyptic shows!).

The problem is of course that not everyone has HBO! Grrrrrrrr!!!!

The solution?

How to Watch Game of Thrones – 5 Ways

1) You find someone who has HBO and is a fan, befriend them, and get the all-important invitation to come over for dinner and a show for the next 7 Sundays (thanks for the last few years Andrew!).

2) You avoid everyone who has watched the show long enough to download some pirated version, watch it as soon as possible, and then return to circulation now that you’re safe from spoilers.

3) You spend the money to upgrade your cable package for the next couple months. This option allows you to then find some poor sap who will then suck up to you and cook you dinner every Sunday for the next couple months (you’re welcome Andrew!).

4) Pretend that you have better things to do with your life and that you can wait a few years for the series to come out in box sets of some technology that you hopefully have. There are obvious problems with this solution: everyone knows that you actually didn’t have better things to do, nobody will be around to share in the moments with you, and, depending on the social circle you’re in, you are now culturally irrelevant (don’t worry, it’s not the worst thing to not know some cultural references. Unless you’re one of those people who have never seen the original Star Wars movies. Seriously. You can’t trust those people. It’s like they’re not even part of the same reality as the rest of us…).

5) This may actually be the best option. And strangely, I just discovered it. You can watch the new season of Game of Thrones with HBO on Amazon Channels!!! (Bad news: This is not available in Canada, so please look at the previous options.)

The opening to the Game of Thrones Season 7 trailer makes me think of the forest fires surrounding my parents….

GoT Pork Pie Recipe

Since it starts this weekend, and since I have a Night King mask, it seemed only fitting to make a GoT Pork Pie recipe. There are a number of websites about Game of Thrones food, btw. A lot of which is quite paleo/primal (check out the Basic Foodstuffs on this GoT Wiki).

The Inn at the Crossroads has a number of recipe based on George RR Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice books (GoT). They even have a recipe book (print and ebook). My GoT Pork Pie recipe is inspired by their “Lord Manderly’s Pie”, though with the crust of our own Beef Thai Pie, and our own seasoning.

I can’t wait for Game of Thrones season 7 this Sunday! It’s gonna be epic! I’ll be honest, while preparing the GoT Pork Pie recipe, I got through all of season 6 again (yeah, writing this one took a while!).

[simple-recipe]

#BCwildfires, How to Watch Game of Thrones, & GoT Pork Pie - educating, entertaining & delicious! wp.me/p4Aygm-2BK Life is short. Sometimes we need to fight, and sometimes we need to run. So what does that all have to do with #BCwildfires, How to Watch Game of Thrones, & GoT Pork Pie Recipe?

#BCwildfires #arrowroot #beer #cinnamon #Game of Thrones #GoT Pork Pie recipe #mushroom #nutmeg #onion #parsnip #pork #pork chops #pork hock #sage #thyme #turnip

0 notes

williamjharwick · 7 years

Text

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform

There’s a story I like to tell here at Smart Passive Income. I tell this story again and again because it’s a core part of who I am, and it’s an integral part of my journey to becoming an entrepreneur and the “crash test dummy of online business.” The story I am referring to is the time, back in 2008, when I was laid off from my architecture job.

If you’ve been here awhile, you’ve probably heard that story. What you may not be as familiar with, however, is the specific moment within that story that made all the difference in the world for me, and made where I’m at today—in my personal life and my business—possible. That’s what I am going to get into today.

But before I do, if you’re interested in the whole story, I wrote about it in my first book, Let Go.

I was still a couple of months away from being laid off from my full-time job at the architecture firm. I was seated on a train, watching as the Southern California landscape zipped by me, stressed about the failing U.S. economy. I felt lost, uncertain of what the future would hold.

But it was during this train ride when everything changed, all because of a podcast I was listening to.

That podcast is Internet Business Mastery.

Led by Jeremy Frandsen and Jason Van Orden, Internet Business Mastery opened my eyes to what could be possible in online business. It’s what inspired me to create Green Exam Academy, my first experiment in creating passive income. It’s what formed the foundation for what would eventually become Smart Passive Income.

Not only was a podcast the inspiration for SPI, but podcasts are, I believe, the number one content platform—for me and for you.

Remember, you can start anywhere. I was on a train about to get laid off from an industry that was struggling due to a massive economic downturn when I found direction in a podcast. Through that podcast, Internet Business Mastery, I felt a renewed sense of hope. I felt like I had made friends in Jeremy and Jason. I felt like I had mentors. I learned so much. And, eventually, I was motivated and trusted them enough to subscribe monthly to their Internet Business Mastery academy.

At the time, I honestly didn’t know if I could afford it, because I knew that my termination date from the architecture job was closing in. But I had a strong sense that it would be worth it. I had, after all, consumed dozens of hours of their podcast content. I knew, because of them, that this was a world—the online business world—I needed to be a part of.

After I went through the Internet Business Mastery course, and after I got a little experience under my belt with Green Exam Academy, I started the Smart Passive Income blog. I didn’t start a podcast right away because I just wasn’t comfortable with putting my voice out there. Even in December 2008, after announcing that I was going to start a podcast, it still took me a year and a half to finally launch my first episode.

In July 2010, I released the first episode of the Smart Passive Income podcast. Nearly eight years later, it’s the best thing I could’ve done for my business, and led me to the opinion that podcasting is, without a doubt, the number one content platform.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is The Number One Content Platform

1. Podcasting Fits Into People’s Lives

Podcasting is the only online content platform that allows for passive, or indirect consumption. In other words, people can actively listen and learn from a podcast while also doing something else (i.e., working out at the gym or driving to work) at the same time. If you tried to read a blog post while driving (don’t do that please!) or working out at the gym (one-handed push-ups only?), it’s not going to be a great experience.

As a podcast listener, you don’t have to keep your eyes on a video, or on a screen to read a blog post. You can consume content as a listener without disrupting your day-to-day life. It can be, if you want it to, a seamless part of your routine. That’s goals for a podcast creator.

Think about this: the average commute time in the United States is 25.4 minutes according to the US Census Bureau. That’s 25.4 minutes of podcast audio your audience can be listening to! You’re giving people an opportunity to learn more about you and your brand in an environment where the other content platforms can’t really go.

2. People Consume Podcasts for Longer Periods of Time

Someone might spend ten to fifteen minutes reading this blog post, or maybe even a shorter amount of time if skimming is involved. Videos are consumed at various lengths of time, depending on the length of the video. Some videos are really short (like a half minute or a couple of minutes). Some are longer. According to MiniMatters, the average length of a video on YouTube is 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

People consume podcasts differently. When they listen to podcasts, if they are listening to something that is worthwhile, and they have subscribed to a show, they could be listening for up to an hour or longer. The Joe Rogan Experience, as an example, is a podcast in which most of the episodes are more than two hours. The Smart Passive Income podcast varies in length, from between 30 minutes to sometimes as long as an hour and a half.

Again, because you can fit podcasts into your day seamlessly, binge consumption is far more common than it is with blog posts or video. Plus, I think podcasting is just one of the most engaging forms of content delivery, which translates into more listening time!

Lastly, you’re going to listen to a podcast longer simply because it’s not as easy, or there’s less of an incentive, to exit out of that content platform. As a podcast consumer, you’re not being distracted by what’s happening on the other (millions of) tabs in your browser, and while there are advertisements in podcasts, they are far less intrusive and distracting than what’s in video and blogging sites.

That means your brand, your message, your voice, you, are in front of an audience for much, much longer than with other content platforms. That’s valuable.

3. There’s Less Competition in Podcasting

Podcasts are a growing content platform. There’s no denying that. But there are still far fewer podcasts than blogs and YouTube channels. The statistics speak for themselves.

Podcasts vs. Blogs vs. Videos

200,000 active podcasts / 19 million active blogs / 1 billion YouTube users

98 million people listening to podcasts / 409 million people view more than 23.7 billion pages each month (WordPress.com only) / 4.95 billion videos watched on YouTube every single day

Podcast Growth

23% podcast listenership growth between 2015 and 2016

75% monthly podcast listening increased since 2013

36% of the worldwide population is listening to podcasts

Sources: HubSpot State of Inbound 2016; WordPress.com/activity; StatisticBrain.com/youtube-statistics

Podcasting, in my experience, allows you to compete with the big guns, creating a more even playing field. For example, I’ve consistently outranked The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review in the realm of podcasting. In a traditional media setting, I wouldn’t even be seen. But in podcasting, I have the edge.

4. Podcasting Is the Best Way to Scale Intimacy

Podcasting allows you to build a stronger relationship with your audience, faster. When you think about it, when a person is listening to you, your voice is in their ear (literally if they are listening with earbuds). It’s intimate. They can pick up on your intonation, the emotion in your voice. I find, as a podcast listener myself, that it’s easier to empathize with a story if I’m able to listen to the storyteller. If done right, they can transport listeners to a particular moment in time that may be relatable to you in some way. Finding common ground with your listeners is an amazing way to build relationships.

When I speak at events and meet listeners of the podcast for the first time, we usually start conversing as though we’ve been friends for years. Because of the podcast, there’s this intimate connection they’ve created with me. At first, those interactions caught me off guard. For example, if the listener recounts a thing I said on an older episode of the podcast, or mention a personal detail about me that I forget even discussing, that was a little jarring at the beginning. I felt like, “Huh? Who are you?” But then, of course, I look silly because it’s an amazing listener trying to connect with me.

After a while I got used to that. I eventually realized just how powerful that was. I am, through a microphone in my home office, able to build massive amounts of real friendships with my audience using the power of my voice, and no other platform allows you to do it better and faster. It’s the best.

Podcasting allows you to build a stronger relationship with your audience, faster.

5. You Can Connect with Influencers

In addition to connecting with your audience, podcasting is an amazing platform for you to connect with influencers—people who you may look up to, other thought leaders and authorities in your industry. If you were to go and ask a person who you look up to if you could spend thirty minutes to an hour speaking with you, they might say no. Or they might say yes and charge you for the privilege. But the moment you have a podcast, it shows them immediately that you have something to offer. You have a stage to give them. An audience. An opportunity to speak about themselves and show off their service or product to an entirely new group of people.

And, conversely, you get a chance to gain more listeners of the show and more exposure to your brand from their audience. By connecting with these influencers, as I mentioned in reason number four, you are also building a relationship with them; you’re getting to know them better and you’re providing value to them. In return, they’ll likely be able to provide value right back.

6. When You Have a Podcast, You Have Your Own Scalable Stage

I love speaking on stage. It’s one of my favorite things to do, but I love the podcasting stage even more because, in order to speak to my audience, I don’t have to fly anywhere. I don’t have to travel. I don’t even have to leave my home. In order to get my audience together, I don’t have to create an event and have them fly out. I don’t have to worry about renting a venue, or paying for catering, or making sure there’s enough coffee in the back of the room for everybody. I can simply, using my voice, record a podcast episode and share it with the podcast subscribers who get it automatically pushed to their devices.

It makes it seem like every time I come out with an episode—now that my podcast is getting over 100,000 downloads per episode—it’s like I’m walking into Neyland Stadium at The University of Tennessee, full of people waiting for me to share something with them to help them on their online business journey. Imagine what it would be like to actually be on a stage like that. It’s totally possible, and it blows my mind.

But it’s not going to start that way. When people come up to me and say, “Pat, I only have 100 subscribers on my podcast, or 100 downloads per episode on my show. I’m getting discouraged.” You know what I say? I say, “What would happen if you had 100 people in a room, and you were up on that stage in front, and everybody was there listening to you? How would you feel?” Most people say they would feel nervous, but also feel like they’d have to deliver. They wouldn’t want to let those people down. They feel compelled to press on.

It really puts it all into perspective. That’s what you have with a podcast. You have a stage. And that stage is an incredible way to grow your brand, and build a raving fanbase who then become a built-in community of brand ambassadors for you, which only helps you grow even more. It’s an amazing asset to have.

7. Testimonials Galore

One of my favorite strategies is utilizing the podcast to feature members of my audience who have taken action. I love sharing success stories, and sharing interviews with A-listers like Gary Vaynerchuk and Tim Ferriss. But, some of my most popular podcast episodes are with people my audience haven’t even heard of before.

Shane and Jocelyn Sams come to mind. Two teachers from Kentucky, Shane and Jocelyn heard the SPI podcast one day, and were inspired to take action for themselves. The result? They built an incredible business empire in the librarian and football coaching industries.

Featuring these type of stories says a few things to your audience. First of all, you inspire a lot of people. Sometimes your audience needs more than just the A-listers. Tim Ferriss and Gary Vaynerchuk rock. They provide a ton of value, and I like having them on the podcast, but not everyone can relate to that level of notoriety. But Shane and Jocelyn Sams are relatable because they are newer to the game, perhaps like you.

Second, when you feature audience members on your podcast who’ve taken action because of your content, it shows that you love your audience (I definitely do!). It shows that you’re giving your audience a platform to speak, that you are listening to them, and that you care about their success.

Third, you don’t have to talk about how great your stuff is, because the guests you feature from your audience will naturally do that for you. It’s a more genuine way to do it. It becomes an amazing testimonial that doesn’t even feel like a testimonial because it’s a true story you just happen to be a part of.

Even though I was deathly afraid of speaking in public, the podcasting experience definitely helped me prepare for it.

8. You Learn to Become a Better Communicator

If you have trouble speaking on stage or communicating with others in a public setting, starting a podcast is an amazing tool to help you get better at it. Eventually, over time, if you do it consistently, you’ll realize how much better of a speaker you can become. It took me a year and a half to realize that myself. That’s when I finally had the courage and experience to speak on stage in public.

Even though I was deathly afraid of speaking in public, the podcasting experience definitely helped me prepare for it. Now, I can’t get off the stage. I love speaking on stage now, and podcasting was definitely a major part of that.

Even in my day-to-day conversations, I realize I am better at clarifying my thoughts and thinking through processes out loud. The “ummm” to clarified thought ratio has improved greatly! And, more than anything, I’ve become a confident communicator and conversationalist. I learn more about my friends in conversation because I know the questions to ask, and I know how to listen. I think being a great communicator is an amazing skill to have in life, and starting a podcast is a fantastic way to get there.

9. Opportunities Open Up That You’ve Never Dreamed About

I’ve had some incredible opportunities open up for me because of the podcast. Once, the podcast helped me get noticed by publishers, who then expressed interest in working with me on various book-related projects. Another time, a listener reached out to me because he liked the show, and asked if I would come on as a marketing and social media manager for an independent movie production. In Hollywood! That was cool.

All of that experience led to the production of my Back to the Future short that I created as a lead-in to my New Media Expo presentation in 2015—the one where I came onto stage in a Delorean!

youtube

You may be thinking that these things may be out of your grasp, but they’re not. The opportunities will come your way. People will reach out to you. But you have to put yourself out there to make it happen.

10. Monetization Possibilities

You don’t have to monetize your podcast, but there are many ways you can, and many ways monetization can benefit your podcast and business. Even if you don’t directly monetize from your podcast, you will indirectly benefit from it in many different ways, some of which I’ve mentioned already. But there are ways to directly generate an income through your podcast.

First, advertising is probably the most popular way to monetize your podcast. This is how it works: you get a company to pay you to give exposure to their brand on your podcast, whether in the pre-roll (before the main content of the podcast), mid-roll (middle of the show), or post-roll (at the end of the show). But, with that said, it’s not one that I would recommend sticking with for the long run. There are other possibilities that can benefit both you and your audience. I’ll talk about those in a second.

Typically, advertisers will pay a certain dollar amount, anywhere between $15 and $40 CPM (cost per thousand) downloads. Since the advertisers only pay for every thousand downloads, it can be for fairly cheap, compared to paying a flat fee for something.

Affiliate marketing is another way you can monetize your podcast. If you don’t have your own products, or even if you do, you can recommend products that make sense for your audience to use, such as services, tools, and apps. If you have an affiliate relationship with those companies, you can earn a commission if your audience purchases a service or product through your affiliate link.

Note: If you do have affiliate relationships, and you earn a commission on those affiliate links, it’s very important that you mention they are affiliate links on your podcast. You can get in trouble if you don’t. Plus, it’s just about being open and honest with your audience, which they’ll appreciate.

Affiliate marketing can be very profitable. I’m the first to tell you that. I’ve been doing affiliate marketing since 2010 on Smart Passive Income, and I feel it’s still one of the most underutilized forms of monetization out there.

And guess what? You can start affiliate marketing today. Find a company that you’ve used, that you work with, that you trust. Make sure it’s one that you’ve used, so that you don’t potentially tarnish that trust that you’ve grown with your audience. Create an affiliate relationship with that company, and you can start generating affiliate income. What’s nice about the podcast is, if the content is evergreen (which it should be, for the most part), you’ll continue making affiliate commission from those podcast episodes.

Hot Affiliate Marketing Tip:

If you want to boost your affiliate earnings for a particular product that you know has been proven to be helpful for your audience, and you know is working for you, invite the CEO or founder onto your show to talk about the story behind the product and things that are happening. What that does is it allows the audience to build a relationship with the product and that product owner and it will make them more likely to actually follow through on a purchase going through your link.

Another way to monetize your podcast is to sell your own products. It’s a lot more difficult to do it directly on your show, but there are workarounds to that. One of the workarounds is to build your email list from your podcast. I see a lot of people doing this. You build your email list by giving away freebies or incentives to bring people onto an email list, which is essentially the beginning of a funnel. A number of emails down the road, after a certain amount of time, you promote a product that is related to that freebie or the episode that person subscribed from.

Finally, there’s another monetization mode you should be aware of: the “paid for by viewers like you” model. There is a tool called Patreon that allows your fans to pledge a certain dollar amount per episode or per month on an ongoing basis. If you have a podcast on Patreon, you create the pricing tiers, which can be as low as high as you want.

Imagine if you had 1,000 listeners, your 1,000 true fans, who pledged at the $1 per episode tier. That’s $1,000 per episode right there! If you come out with four episodes per month, four dollars per person, you’re going to make $4,000 a month. I had the founder of Patreon on the SPI podcast if you’re interested to learn more about that monetization option.

Bonus Reason Why Podcasting Is the Number One Content Platform

It’s fun! A podcast becomes your own show, and you can do whatever you want with it. You make it you. Obviously, you have to stay within the rules of the FTC, and there’s intellectual property and trademark rules that you have to follow, but it’s your show. Yours to make magical. You can structure it any way you want. It can become your own, and it becomes an extension of you and your voice and your brand. It’s an amazing way to start to reach new people, better serve them, and build better relationships with those who already follow you on whatever platform that you’ve already started with, or even if you’re just starting from scratch.

I mean it when I say that podcasting has changed my life. It can change yours too. You just got to start. And guess what? You don’t have to start alone. I can help!

Power-Up Podcasting Launches July 17!

Those of you who want to start a podcast of your own, I actually have an in-depth, fully validated, step-by-step online course to help you achieve that.

It’s called Power-Up Podcasting, and it will be opening up to the public for the first time on July 17, 2017 for one week only. You can sign up for the waitlist today at PowerUpPodcasting.com!

Power-Up Podcasting was beta tested with 167 students, many whom have already launched their own podcast with episodes to listen to on iTunes. They’ve been eager for me to share this with you because they want other people who they know to start podcasts as well!

So, if you’d like to have your podcast up and running in iTunes in just a few weeks, sign up for the waitlist to be ready for the Power-Up Podcasting launch on July 17. The online course not only covers how to set up, but also how to market your podcast, automate the podcasting process, and have it become a big leverage point for you and your brand. You’ll also get direct access to me during scheduled office hour calls, and you’ll be a part of the student center, a community of alumni and new students who help hold each other accountable through the entire process.

See you there!

Pat

P.S. If you want to get a head start on your new show here’s a cheat sheet you can use to start planning out your podcast and setting yourself up for success.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform shared from David Homer’s Blog

0 notes

andrewmrudd79 · 7 years

Text

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform

But before I do, if you’re interested in the whole story, I wrote about it in my first book, Let Go.

But it was during this train ride when everything changed, all because of a podcast I was listening to.

That podcast is Internet Business Mastery.

Not only was a podcast the inspiration for SPI, but podcasts are, I believe, the number one content platform—for me and for you.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is The Number One Content Platform

1. Podcasting Fits Into People’s Lives

2. People Consume Podcasts for Longer Periods of Time

That means your brand, your message, your voice, you, are in front of an audience for much, much longer than with other content platforms. That’s valuable.

3. There’s Less Competition in Podcasting

Podcasts are a growing content platform. There’s no denying that. But there are still far fewer podcasts than blogs and YouTube channels. The statistics speak for themselves.

Podcasts vs. Blogs vs. Videos

200,000 active podcasts / 19 million active blogs / 1 billion YouTube users

98 million people listening to podcasts / 409 million people view more than 23.7 billion pages each month (WordPress.com only) / 4.95 billion videos watched on YouTube every single day

Podcast Growth

23% podcast listenership growth between 2015 and 2016

75% monthly podcast listening increased since 2013

36% of the worldwide population is listening to podcasts

Sources: HubSpot State of Inbound 2016; WordPress.com/activity; StatisticBrain.com/youtube-statistics

4. Podcasting Is the Best Way to Scale Intimacy

Podcasting allows you to build a stronger relationship with your audience, faster.

5. You Can Connect with Influencers

6. When You Have a Podcast, You Have Your Own Scalable Stage

7. Testimonials Galore

Even though I was deathly afraid of speaking in public, the podcasting experience definitely helped me prepare for it.

8. You Learn to Become a Better Communicator

9. Opportunities Open Up That You’ve Never Dreamed About

All of that experience led to the production of my Back to the Future short that I created as a lead-in to my New Media Expo presentation in 2015—the one where I came onto stage in a Delorean!

youtube

10. Monetization Possibilities

Hot Affiliate Marketing Tip:

Bonus Reason Why Podcasting Is the Number One Content Platform

I mean it when I say that podcasting has changed my life. It can change yours too. You just got to start. And guess what? You don’t have to start alone. I can help!

Power-Up Podcasting Launches July 17!

Those of you who want to start a podcast of your own, I actually have an in-depth, fully validated, step-by-step online course to help you achieve that.

It’s called Power-Up Podcasting, and it will be opening up to the public for the first time on July 17, 2017 for one week only. You can sign up for the waitlist today at PowerUpPodcasting.com!

See you there!

Pat

P.S. If you want to get a head start on your new show here’s a cheat sheet you can use to start planning out your podcast and setting yourself up for success.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform originally posted at Homer’s Blog

0 notes

judithghernandez87 · 7 years

Text

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform

But before I do, if you’re interested in the whole story, I wrote about it in my first book, Let Go.

But it was during this train ride when everything changed, all because of a podcast I was listening to.

That podcast is Internet Business Mastery.

Not only was a podcast the inspiration for SPI, but podcasts are, I believe, the number one content platform—for me and for you.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is The Number One Content Platform

1. Podcasting Fits Into People’s Lives

2. People Consume Podcasts for Longer Periods of Time

That means your brand, your message, your voice, you, are in front of an audience for much, much longer than with other content platforms. That’s valuable.

3. There’s Less Competition in Podcasting

Podcasts are a growing content platform. There’s no denying that. But there are still far fewer podcasts than blogs and YouTube channels. The statistics speak for themselves.

Podcasts vs. Blogs vs. Videos

200,000 active podcasts / 19 million active blogs / 1 billion YouTube users

98 million people listening to podcasts / 409 million people view more than 23.7 billion pages each month (WordPress.com only) / 4.95 billion videos watched on YouTube every single day

Podcast Growth

23% podcast listenership growth between 2015 and 2016

75% monthly podcast listening increased since 2013

36% of the worldwide population is listening to podcasts

Sources: HubSpot State of Inbound 2016; WordPress.com/activity; StatisticBrain.com/youtube-statistics

4. Podcasting Is the Best Way to Scale Intimacy

Podcasting allows you to build a stronger relationship with your audience, faster.

5. You Can Connect with Influencers

6. When You Have a Podcast, You Have Your Own Scalable Stage

7. Testimonials Galore

Even though I was deathly afraid of speaking in public, the podcasting experience definitely helped me prepare for it.

8. You Learn to Become a Better Communicator

9. Opportunities Open Up That You’ve Never Dreamed About

All of that experience led to the production of my Back to the Future short that I created as a lead-in to my New Media Expo presentation in 2015—the one where I came onto stage in a Delorean!

youtube

10. Monetization Possibilities

Hot Affiliate Marketing Tip:

Bonus Reason Why Podcasting Is the Number One Content Platform

I mean it when I say that podcasting has changed my life. It can change yours too. You just got to start. And guess what? You don’t have to start alone. I can help!

Power-Up Podcasting Launches July 17!

Those of you who want to start a podcast of your own, I actually have an in-depth, fully validated, step-by-step online course to help you achieve that.

It’s called Power-Up Podcasting, and it will be opening up to the public for the first time on July 17, 2017 for one week only. You can sign up for the waitlist today at PowerUpPodcasting.com!

See you there!

Pat

P.S. If you want to get a head start on your new show here’s a cheat sheet you can use to start planning out your podcast and setting yourself up for success.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform originally posted at Dave’s Blog

0 notes

davidmhomerjr · 7 years

Text

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is the #1 Content Platform

But before I do, if you’re interested in the whole story, I wrote about it in my first book, Let Go.

But it was during this train ride when everything changed, all because of a podcast I was listening to.

That podcast is Internet Business Mastery.

Not only was a podcast the inspiration for SPI, but podcasts are, I believe, the number one content platform—for me and for you.

10 Reasons Why Podcasting Is The Number One Content Platform

1. Podcasting Fits Into People’s Lives

2. People Consume Podcasts for Longer Periods of Time

That means your brand, your message, your voice, you, are in front of an audience for much, much longer than with other content platforms. That’s valuable.

3. There’s Less Competition in Podcasting

Podcasts are a growing content platform. There’s no denying that. But there are still far fewer podcasts than blogs and YouTube channels. The statistics speak for themselves.

Podcasts vs. Blogs vs. Videos

200,000 active podcasts / 19 million active blogs / 1 billion YouTube users

98 million people listening to podcasts / 409 million people view more than 23.7 billion pages each month (WordPress.com only) / 4.95 billion videos watched on YouTube every single day

Podcast Growth

23% podcast listenership growth between 2015 and 2016

75% monthly podcast listening increased since 2013

36% of the worldwide population is listening to podcasts

Sources: HubSpot State of Inbound 2016; WordPress.com/activity; StatisticBrain.com/youtube-statistics

4. Podcasting Is the Best Way to Scale Intimacy

Podcasting allows you to build a stronger relationship with your audience, faster.

5. You Can Connect with Influencers

6. When You Have a Podcast, You Have Your Own Scalable Stage

7. Testimonials Galore

Even though I was deathly afraid of speaking in public, the podcasting experience definitely helped me prepare for it.

8. You Learn to Become a Better Communicator

9. Opportunities Open Up That You’ve Never Dreamed About

All of that experience led to the production of my Back to the Future short that I created as a lead-in to my New Media Expo presentation in 2015—the one where I came onto stage in a Delorean!

youtube

10. Monetization Possibilities

Hot Affiliate Marketing Tip:

Bonus Reason Why Podcasting Is the Number One Content Platform

I mean it when I say that podcasting has changed my life. It can change yours too. You just got to start. And guess what? You don’t have to start alone. I can help!

Power-Up Podcasting Launches July 17!

Those of you who want to start a podcast of your own, I actually have an in-depth, fully validated, step-by-step online course to help you achieve that.

It’s called Power-Up Podcasting, and it will be opening up to the public for the first time on July 17, 2017 for one week only. You can sign up for the waitlist today at PowerUpPodcasting.com!

See you there!

Pat

P.S. If you want to get a head start on your new show here’s a cheat sheet you can use to start planning out your podcast and setting yourself up for success.

0 notes