I’m seriously SOOOOO excited, and I was considering keeping this a secret, but I actually want to share my process with you, keeping you in the loop as I go, even witnessing me fall on my face, if that happens, which it might. But I don’t care, because I’m too excited about this!
The sprinklings of this idea began manifesting actually back in 2013, and I have only a vague recollection of it all, but I will try to summarize.
My bestie is a very talented and incredibly gifted intuitive/psychic person, and often gives tarot card readings to his loved ones (he could honestly do it professionally and has given many incredibly well-received readings to complete strangers as well). I am lucky enough to be one of those loves ones and we actually give each other readings all of the time (I sort of have a gift, but not as strong as his).
Besties, December 1, 2018, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY
Well, back in 2013, we were barely friends and had really only just started to get to know each other. As he remembers it, he was traveling on a train and I think I was struggling with something, so I reached out to him for some guidance, and he was able to pull a few cards for me from an app on his phone. The message he received seemed to come kind of out of nowhere, but was incredibly sharp, poignant, and specific. He conveyed to me that he could see my creative success coming through in the form of my voice and some kind of radio platform. PS I 100% can’t sing, so music or singing was never implied, recognized, or even considered as a potential option.
At the time, this sounded like a nice idea, but I believe in truth I dismissed this prophecy entirely and thought he was just plain wrong. With all readings and prophecies, no matter who you receive them from, you should take them with a grain of salt, because you just never know. However, they can also be dead accurate and uncannily correct!
Still, regarding this reading, I just didn’t understand it. For one thing, I am a visual artist and have been painting, photographing, and collaging for most of my life. If I were to have any creative success, of course it was going to be from my visual art. However, the radio idea didn’t seem completely far-fetched either, since I do love to talk, I do love to remain behind a camera rather than in front of it, and I do consider myself a fairly articulate person. But, at the time, the idea just didn’t seem to line up for me.
Cards from the John Holland Psychic Tarot Oracle Deck that were pulled by my bestie during that train ride: Throat Chakra (creative expression, in this case, literally using my throat and voice), Partnerships & Alliances (self-explanatory, uncanny amazingness that aligns exactly with my goddess epiphany mentioned in my recent post CULTIVATING OUR GODDESS QUALITIES IN 2021), Rejoice in Celebration (hopefully representative of female/women/goddess joyful togetherness and unity as a result of aforementioned podcast yet to be).
Fast forward to last week, February 3-4, 2021, this voice/radio prophecy seemed to come into alignment for me within a very short and magical period of time.
As you will read about in the post that I recently released, CULTIVATING OUR GODDESS QUALITIES IN 2021 (I constructed the post on February 3, 2021), I had an epiphany as I was literally writing the post, about ALLIANCES (this word is pictured above from the tarot reading in 2013) and collaborations, specifically with other females. This epiphany moved me in many ways, and felt very relevant, since I had on that very day, also been on the receiving end of a very generous invitation to guest blog for lifewithlilred. My post was released on her site that morning, so I was already swimming in gratitude and so appreciative of our newfound goddess alliance.
The very next day, I had a work event (via Zoom) that was for all social media managers within every department of our school (I work as a coordinator in the History of Art Department at an ivy league university and manage all of our social media accounts, among other things), and the topic of the event was podcasts. The Director of Digital Communications for the entire school was giving a workshop for us on how to start a podcast within our own individual departments, if we felt so inclined.
I quickly learned that hosting a podcast within my little department would just not be possible at this time, but rather than zoning out on the call, I slowly and steadily became more and more intrigued by the idea of using this valuable information to start my own podcast (luckily, the university I work for is very encouraging and supportive of the personal and professional growth of their employees, both inside and outside of the office setting).
As I listened to the presentation, although I felt (and still feel) super intimidated by the technical aspect of starting a podcast, I knew that everything they were talking about was nothing that I ultimately couldn’t handle. They were all very supportive, so helpful, and really showing us all the ways that starting a podcast was and is super do-able, for anyone who wants to.
No, this doesn’t look technologically intimidating at all, not in the least, nope…
After that event, the idea was so unbelievably clear to me: Start a podcast to inspire and empower women to become their authentic goddess selves, unapologetically.
I immediately started keeping a running list, taking notes, and brainstorming ideas.
Luckily, I have a friend who works for the director who hosted the event, and she was also on the call. We had already scheduled a catch-up-as-friends call for the very next day, and I was now super amped to pick her brain. Once we started chatting, I mentioned to her that I was inspired by the podcast idea, and before I even got the words out, she said, “You should do a podcast for your blog!” And I said, “Yep, that’s my plan!” We touched base about a few other technical aspects, of which she is very familiar (she will be an invaluable resource when it comes to technical questions, as well as an encouraging and supportive friend), and I began to feel even more confident about this endeavor.
SOUND
The general consensus from every single person who spoke on the call, and from every other podcaster I have read about in the last few days, is that sound is of the utmost importance. I mean duh, it’s a podcast and all we have to work with is our voice. But still, I could have easily gotten started without even considering purchasing a microphone specifically for this. So, after very little deliberation, I have decided that investing in a professional mic is 100% my first step. Just picked this up (curbside) from Best Buy today…
Isn’t she a beaut!? These Blue Yeti microphones range in price from $50 all the way up to $250 (professional podcasters can also pay thousands of dollars for their sound systems!), so I figured this $99 Nano version is super professional and yet middle of the road affordable compared to other models.
Everyone also recommends a pop filter that you attach to your microphone stand, in order to diminish “plosives” (look at me, geeking out with the lingo like a true podcaster), which are the hard P and B sounds that come through a microphone if you’re talking too closely to the mic, or too emphatically (emphatic talking is kinda my jam, so I definitely, without question, need this).
These are cheap and definitely worth it.
MUSIC
To me, this feels so very important because I love music, I know every human being’s taste is different and so personal (music taste is as detailed, specific, and individual as a thumbprint), and I think it will really set the mood of the podcast. I hate to say this, and I hope this isn’t true, but I could see a lousy track making or breaking someone’s interest in even listening to the first few minutes of a podcast.
Maybe I’m putting too much pressure on the music, since it would really only be included in the first five or so seconds of the introduction portion of the podcast. But for whatever reason, I keep going in circles and haven’t found the right fit yet.
Stay tuned for more on this…
COVER ART
Cover Art, above all else, I think is the most important part of setting up this entire podcast. Even if you love podcasts and you are open to exploring new podcasts by little unknown nobodies like me, you will still have to be drawn to the cover art when you’re browsing for new podcasts to listen to. And there are thousands and thousands of podcasts with beautiful art (some of it’s not so beautiful, so that gives me an edge), and the art definitely has to draw in the listener.
I am experimenting with a few variations and haven’t quite decided yet. Either way, I think I’m close. Which one do you vote for?
If you were browsing through podcasts, would you click on The Goddess Attainable? I would! PS I’m a huge sucker for pink and gray! PSS I created the sketch on the left on November 3, 2020 as I was working on my own personal healing art project, going through each chakra and drawing out my feelings. This sketch represents the throat chakra, and wouldn’t you know, I drew a microphone situated at the throat area of this sketch (it might be hard to tell it’s a microphone at first glance) without even realizing this whole podcast project epiphany to come only a few months later!
I just Photoshopped these two panels, don’t get excited yet 🙂 It’s a great way for me to vision board something. If I can see it, and how it would look when it’s already live, this can be a good manifestation tool. It also lets me actually SEE how I compare to all of the others and to gauge whether or not I, as a listener, would actually click on my podcast. I envisioned this under the New & Noteworthy section that all podcasters aspire to be slotted into when they first hit the scene, just to really make the feeling real, and to put me up against the best of the best.
MORE TO COME…
Stay tuned for more everyone! I will keep you posted on my progress and look forward to embarking on this journey with you as my support system! Thank you in advance 🙂
xo,
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How exciting! Congratulations on this new venture❤
I am excited and happy for you. ❤️