Yesterday we officially launched the Grit.org Podcast. Since Colby came on full-time with Grit.org in September, we have had the podcast at the top of our priority list. The idea of the podcast stemmed from Grit Camp where we would have athletes, coaches, and business professionals come and speak to the kids about how to Build More Grit. We discovered that the information these speakers were sharing with the kids was incredibly impactful and that there were many other people that would enjoy getting to hear their story. Additionally, it would allow us to expand our library of information that we want to have easily accessible for our Grit Camp attendees, our counselors, our Grit University interns, our Grit Club members, parents of the kids we work with, members of the Jacksonville community, and beyond.
We found a professional studio here in Jacksonville that has helped usher us through the process of having access to all of the right equipment, the guidance of a seasoned professional, and has helped us create a professional intro and outro as well as capture our videos to post on YouTube. We also discovered there are two ways to run a podcast: get a guest and run the tape and capture a conversation in its 'authentic' form OR to have a more structured and planned out product. We found that option one is great in that all you need is to find a guest and schedule a time; however, the problem with that option is that they tend to last 90-120 minutes and most listeners are deterred from committing that amount of time to listen. We chose option 2 which requires a lot more work (more back and forth with our guests, some practice run throughs that we record and listen back to, etc); however, the end product is less than an hour and has more 'meat' and less fluff. We are looking to release each new episode on the 1st of each month, and we have already recorded several of the episodes that will be released over the coming months. Each 50-60 minute episode requires about 10-20 hours of work so that we can provide our listeners with the best quality product for our listeners and for our guest (we find our guests get incredible value out of going through the process of telling their story, remembering all of the details and nuances they describe, and feeling good about an end product that they can share with their friends and family and future generations). Our goal is to create a product that takes less than an hour of your time, has well thought-through questions, and presented in a clean and G-rated format that can provide you with a few nuggets of inspiration. We truly believe that each of our guests provide several key takeaways that you can immediately apply in your life.
The first episode starts with Colby interviewing me talking about the inception of Grit.org. Episode two will be me interviewing Colby and hearing about his journey through life and Grit.org. The first two episodes really set the stage for future episodes in understanding why we do what we do and set the stage for our future guests in helping understand how their journey has helped teach them these same principles through a totally different process.
As we look to expand our Grit 'village', we hope that you will listen to each episode, and if there is something that speaks to you or could speak to someone you care about, then like it and share it. We truly believe we have a product that can help everyone that chooses to listen.
To track all episodes, go to: https://www.grit.org/podcast
On all podcast platforms, type in: Grit.org
Lastly, my family hopes you had an amazing Holiday season, and I've included our Christmas Card below as well.
Have a great week!
