[powerpress]
If you have been a regular listener of our podcast then you know we have been a bit radio silent…
Show transcription:
In this episode, I give you the honest truth of why it happened and how taking part in a challenge like this helped me get started again
I should say, apologies for being away. Yes, I did go radio silent on you for some time. And I guess it was my own self-consciousness that sort of got the better of me. I intended to set out and do way more podcasts. And I did. So we have, I think five or six, listed on iTunes, under a question of gamification. And we’re back. So the reason why I stopped: I was self-conscious, I had some negative comments, and people complained about the sound. Hence we’ve invested in a new sound system. This is our first time trying it. So please be kind, I’m still learning to ropes. I had already recorded four or five different things without any sound whatsoever. It’s definitely a learning curve. But we’re back.
Now, one of the things that struck me and I suppose it’s a question beyond maybe gamification, but relevant in the gamification perspective in terms of me overcoming it with a challenge. I became a bit self-conscious, which often has to do with stepping outside of our comfort zone. And for me, podcasting or video recording doesn’t come natural. You would say, that’s a surprise. Maybe, for some of you that have seen me speak live and know that I speak on
a regular basis. It may even sound a bit bizarre. But yes, it’s the reality.
I’m actually a very private, introverted person. And, you know, putting myself out
there, is always a stretch. In fact, I’ll tell you a story. Way back when I was
very small, I think I must have been seven or eight. I was probably the superfan of a particular radio show which also shows my age a little because radio shows were still a thing. But on Sunday morning, the Belgian and then it was still the Belgian national radio in Flemish had a show. And it was called whispers out of the paper on the walls. In Flemish, it was called ‘Er komt geluid uit het behang’ which doesn’t translate very well. Anyway. Long story short.
Basically, I was their super fan, I used to write in letters, yes, snail mail, those things then did exist. Letters with suggestions on how to make the show better, I asked questions, etc. And then I was invited to the big offices of the radio, in Brussels. And I mean, as a super shy kid, I was totally out of my comfort zone. And although I was a super fan, I was probably the quietest kid in the room. And the producers actually found that really strange because they couldn’t get their heads around how could somebody be so into a show and then not be able to speak up and say stuff.
For me, podcasting is sort of overcoming that challenge. If nothing else of me wanting to rather be inside outdoors and hide behind the computer.
I mean, I would make a great developer. And you know, it’s what attracted me to games in some form as well. Because I could play without having to have, other people around me, I could just do them.
The same with reading books, which was one of my favourite
things to do as a kid. It was my private escape into fantasy land and into a fantasy world.
I’ve been blogging three times a week for the last five years. And podcasting is a relatively new medium or a new part of my life if nothing else.
It’s a medium that I’ve started to listen to on my travels I’ve listened to a lot, I’ve also taken to listening to audiobooks a lot. I see the value in it, and I see why it’s important for people to do it. But what has made me come back, because I could have happily left ‘the question of gamification’ podcast die and be overtaken by others in this space.
I am back to share more on gamification and answer more questions. I want to make this a little bit more interactive: send us your questions, and I’ll aim to answer them to the best of my ability and with my perspective on it. Other people may have different perspectives. And that’s what makes the world go round, in my view.
I entered a Marketing Challenge to up my game in a 4x marketing mastermind from mentor Rob Moore. Basically, what he is challenging all of us in his mastermind to do is to step it up and put ourselves out there more. One way of doing that is through social media. Another way of doing that is obviously through this medium of podcasting. And, yes, that’s the very reason why I’m back podcasting.
Now challenges have helped me to do many things. It’s probably the easiest form of gaming yourself to do something that you’re reluctant on doing. I’ve taken part in a 30-day challenge, I’ve taken part in 28-day challenges. It’s not an unusual thing for me to do. But it also is building a habit of doing something regularly, once a day for a number of days, to gain confidence again, now the 4x Marketing Challenge is a six-month challenge. We have just started it and it kicked it off with a first meet and greet last month.
I’ve made some changes, did some analytical things and decided that podcasting was one of the ways that I would increase the visibility around GamificationNation.
But I challenge you what area in your life, are you not stepping up enough?
I have done video challenges with people on Facebook. Some of my friends are into self-development and personal development, a lot of them are running challenges pretty much on an ongoing basis. Today, multi-day programs work really well. Why? Because it’s a blanket space of time, some people will still drop off, partly because of discipline, but those who are serious will keep going. You as the organiser of a challenge are actually the instigator, the motivator to keep people going and to keep people on track. Being part of the challenge, encouraging them is important.
How do you set up your challenge? You need a timeframe, you need a topic, and then a method of tracking. Now, that can be as simple as a daily Facebook post, like ‘Yes, I’ve done it’ or basically something that you write down in a journal, a diary, you name it, you just do it once a day. And hey, presto, happy days, there you are. So it’s not super difficult.
What you also need for a good challenge is an accountability partner. So somebody will ask you, hey, where were you? I missed you. Why didn’t you show and in the challenges I’ve done, they’ve often been set up as Facebook groups. In one case, for the video challenge, there was so much demand for the video challenge that the lady who was putting it together, set us up into small teams of people we had never met before. Our job as a team member was to keep each other accountable for showing up and to give peer feedback as to how good the video was. And then she would pop in as the expert to give us advice on how to make things better.
I’ve also been part of a 28-day money challenge, where we received one thing in our inbox every day of the person running the program It is actually a fabulous program. If you have any money mindset issues, Marilyn Devonish from Tranceformationstm.com runs a fabulous 28 day money breakthrough challenge where every day you receive tasks to do in your inbox. You do it, and you do it privately. When it can be a touchy issue to bring out in the open for people, for me, it helped get my mindset cleared on some of the things. And I still continue to talk to Marilyn on certain topics.
Challenges work. It’s a gamified process with a time set timeframe, a set objective, and it works best if you have an accountability partner and a tracking mechanism to keep you going.
So that is my announcement to say we’re back with the question of gamification. We have invested in better equipment. So for those of you that actually were complaining about sound, I hope this sounds better. For those of you that are happy that we’re back, please leave us a review to that effect in iTunes or wherever you’re listening. And if you think there’s other people that should hear this particular podcast, feel free to share it forward. We’d appreciate this.
Thank you for listening and talk to you soon.
