Podcasts provide you with a unique opportunity to actually add time to your day and give you on-demand information, education and inspiration that can literally transform your life. Here are the top 10 that transformed mine.
If you’re not already listening to podcasts, you are missing out.
Podcasts have changed the world. Ok, I may be overstating, but they have definitely changed the world of self-education and personal development.
Podcasts provide on-demand, bite-sized information in a format that allows us to listen, learn and laugh.
Many of us get less than an hour of free time a day. With so little time, reading that dusty leadership book that’s been sitting on the nightstand for weeks is the last thing we want to do.
Podcasts, however, don’t really require any extra time at all. They just fill all those slots of time that would otherwise we wasted (running errands, standing in line, waiting for the dentist, you name it, you know you gotta do it) with learning, inspiration, and humor.
Podcasts were a major driver for my career change.
They gave me the inspiration, confidence, and knowledge to set out on a new path and build b Authentic inc.
Podcasts have been around for a while, but hey, you’re busy. If you’re unfamiliar with how they work, let me give you the lowdown.
Podcasts can be accessed through any device with Internet connection, though typically people listen to them through their smartphones. iPhones have a native app for finding and listening to podcasts called “Podcasts”, or you can use iTunes. For Android phones, you can try Google Podcasts, Stitcher or RadioPublic.
As mentioned, you can also stream podcasts from your computer or tablet. Many podcasts’ websites will provide that as an option. Learn more about podcasts by clicking here.
So now for the fun – I’ve put together a list of my favorite podcasts below. Listening to these won’t just improve your career…they’ll change your life.
10. How I Built This
Guy Raz interviews the founders of some of the most well-known companies in the world. You’ll be intrigued, amazed and a tiny bit frightened by their journeys to get to where they are today. Guy is a classic interviewer, and you can never go wrong with an NPR produced show!
My favorite episode is Stonyfield Yogurt: Gary Hirshberg, a startup story full of drama, nearly devastating missteps, and even a hostile takeover. You leave this one thinking, “If they could overcome THAT, what I’m facing is small potatoes.”
9. StartUp
This is the podcast that started it all for me and it remains one of my all-time favorites. Beginning in Season 1, Alex Blumberg (former producer of This American Life on NPR) sets out to start a podcast network. You’ll fall in love with his guts, authenticity and charming imperfection – or maybe that’s just me.
I really can’t pick a favorite episode (with titles like “How Not to Pitch a Billionaire,” who could?), so I suggest you start at the beginning. And then just keep listening…
Happen to Your Career is a podcast that helps people transition into a career they love. Each episode features a guest who is working with passion and purpose in any just about any field imaginable.
For newbies, I recommend Designing Career Experiments and Testing New Careers. Lisa Lewis outlines 6 different types of career experiments and offers advice about how to choose the one that is right for you. Jumping off a cliff isn’t for everyone, and this episode provides an alternative.
7. Rise Podcast with Rachel Hollis
Rise is part business mentor, part personal cheerleader which makes sense given the fact that it is the brainchild of Rachel Hollis. Rachel is probably best known for her hit book, Girl, Wash Your Face, but before that she built her career as a super-successful lifestyle blogger. Her new book, Girl, Stop Apologizing, hit shelves earlier this year.
Listen to How to Get Past Other People’s Opinions to experience Rachel’s charm and inspiration for yourself! In this episode, recorded live at Experts Academy, the room practically hums with excitement as Rachel teaches listeners to ignore the haters and do what they were put here to do.
6. The Life Coach School Podcast
Brooke Castillo shares a bit of her badass self in this great general coaching podcast. She is so relatable, you’ll feel like you’re hanging out with a friend. Brooke delivers even basic concepts in a WOW way. This is a great podcast for those of you who feel like you need to start at the beginning as you look to grow and transform.
Check out Thinking Big for some serious motivation to think through, set, and pursue big goals.
Goop is Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand, for those uninitiated. But The Goop Podcast is about so much more than travel, food, and fashion. Each episode features GP and goop’s Chief Content Officer, Elise Loehnen, talking with leading thinkers, culture changers, and industry disruptors about shifting old paradigms and starting new conversations.
The very first episode featured none other than Oprah Winfrey herself, and so obviously it was powerful. Listen to Gwyneth x Oprah: Power, Perception, and Soul Purpose, and prepare to get verklempt as Oprah discusses the importance of finding our highest, truest selves.
4. Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations
Ahhh, it’s Oprah. Yes, she is still out there bringing inspiration to the masses. In this podcast (she has a couple) she dives deep into inspiration, spirituality and all the things that make you go “hmmm.” She, of course, gets the BEST people on and takes the conversations to unexpected places.
Don’t miss the Steven Pressfield: Unlock Your Creative Genius episode! Steven talks about resistance (he views it as a universal, real force), how it seeks to sabotage our creativity, and how we can slay this “dragon.”
My favorite quote from the episode: “Most of us have two lives – the life we live and the unloved life life within us. Between the two stands resistance.”
Amen, sister.
The Thrive Global Podcast, hosted by Adriana Huffington of HuffPo, advertises itself as the place to be inspired, informed, and recharged. Each episode features a different leader, celebrity, athlete, or influencer sharing the ways they find balance in their lives.
I love the episode Will.i.am on his Creative Journey and Breaking Down Barriers. Will.i.am, front man for The Black-Eyed Peas shares stories (and music) that illustrate how he turned his challenges into fertile ground for his creativity, and ultimately, his incredible success.
2. Transform U
NFL veteran turned entrepreneur, host Nick Murphy talks to others about how to not just settle in their career, but to transform it into one that has more purpose and fulfillment.
One of my favorite episodes is his first episode with Chris Dorris, a Mental Toughness Trainer and Personal Transformation Coach. Chris’s life’s mission is to help people close the gap between the life they have and the life they want.
I love so much about this episode. From the deep dive into where many of us start getting conditioned to think too practical, to the simple questions to ask yourself to be sure you’re living your best life.
Chris asks, “If you could make money doing anything, what would you love that to be?” I encourage you to all understand your answer. And then start taking steps towards it.
P.S. You can also check out the interview Nick did with me 🙂 Authenticity is the key to leadership.
This podcast is unlike any other. I’m not sure whether it falls under the inspirational, professional, or off-the-wall heading. What I know for sure is that it is 100% authentic – because it’s MINE.
b CAUSE with Erin & Nicole is a podcast that is determined to break the norm. Two longtime friends, who are opposites in just about everything, come together to help you contemplate and contend with the “bS” that is in work, life and everything in between.
The b CAUSE podcast will take you into Erin and Nicole’s lives – on Nicole’s couch, to the streets and everywhere in between – while they explore authenticity in work…and in play.
If you’ve ever struggled to see high-level executives as real people, if you think you’d like to rise to the top, but have a hard time imagining yourself as a buttoned-up CEO – you need to listen!
I truly hope you enjoy these podcasts and some of my all-time favorite episodes. They changed my life. They can change yours too.
Lastly, if you’re a total podcast addict, we are always sharing our favorites. Check out our b Podcasting Club on our website.
Erin Hatzikostas is a former Corporate CEO turned Career Coach, Speaker and Podcast Host. She is the Founder & CEO of b Authentic inc and is on a mission to empower more authenticity in the workplace. Take her free, fun and insightful “What Dog Are You at Work?” quiz here.