About

Today is an update episode and I simply wanted to say hey wish you all a very happy Holiday Season. Episode Summary: So welcome to this holiday episode 152. In this episode I wanted to bring you up to speed on my journey and plans for 2019, but more importantly I really just wanted to make sure I took the time to wish each and every one of you a very merry holiday season and to wish you the best as we approach a new year. The Update: A couple of months ago I told you I was taking a hiatus from Mike Murphy Unplugged for a variety of reasons. This was not an easy decision to make and it saddened me a little to give up a piece of something that I worked extremely hard every single week for 3 years. I was and still am very proud of the consistency and hard work I put into this podcast and all of the content I make surrounding it, but I listened to my heart and took a step back. It was the right decision at the right time. I needed to get the weight off my shoulders as it was introducing negativity into my world and becoming a burden instead of something that inspired me to make. Consistency: I get asked all the time on social media how on Earth I am able to create tutorials and content on such a consistent basis. The answer is easy. I love it. I love to learn and teach. Making tutorials and quick tips is not easy in some ways, yet it’s all I want to do, so I just do it. Podcasting Break I also still very much podcasting and will publish a podcast regularly again, but as soon as the process of podcasting became something that I no longer looked forward to, the problem solver in me clicked in. I do not like when things are broken and I have the ability to fix it. It drives me nuts actually when I see people who suffer and make no attempt to right the ship. That is why I stopped. I shifted and tweaked my process of podcasting until I decided the best course of action was to put it on the shelf and re-adjust. Minimalism Do you know what really made this easy? My push to simplify and get rid of physical, digital and mental clutter. 2018 was the year of minimalism for me and that meant letting things go that caused stress or were not contributing to my happiness or well-being. To be as candid as possible, the first half of 2018, my podcast was a thorn in my side. I was pulling topics out of thin air and I was making them simply because of self-discipline. Again, problem solver Mike knew that this was a problem, and I solved it. I did not give up or quit, I gave myself permission to free up some space and figure out what needed to be done. Opportunity Knocks As soon as I put my podcast on hiatus, a door opened up for me out of the blue. And that was an opportunity to work for the podcasting technology company, Simplecast. Was this a coincidence? In my mind, no way. I manifested this opportunity by showing up every day making and publishing content. When I started I really had no idea what I wanted or what I was good at, so I just started exploring and making things and I started really wide and over time I just started narrowing down and finding my style and groove. Simplecast hired me to do exactly what I am best at and what I like to do. My job is in support and my role is to help solve problems for podcasters and create educational content in the form of tutorials and articles and to teach through webinars and eventually at conferences and workshops. If you have listened to this podcast for any length of time, you will probably realize that my role in Simplecast is exactly what I talk about all the time. If you find yourself in a position of self-doubt or uncertainty, but you know you want to improve your career or what you have going on in life, I cannot stress enough that you have to get started today and just do something. You do not need the answers to life to start. Move in the direction of something that has been a positive thing in your life. For me, I have always been drawn to creative things like photography, video, music, art, writing, tech and travel. So I just started taking more photos and learning how to make videos and started writing on Medium and shared tech tips that seemed interesting to me. I started and know that I could do some iteration of this forever. But you need money to live. I was running out of money in my tech and creative exploration. I was getting freelance gigs, but not enough. I went through all of my savings and cashed in mutual funds that I started years ago. I never panicked. I trusted myself and I knew I was headed in the right direction. Doing My Thing The Simplecast opportunity came at the perfect time. Putting my podcast on hiatus left a void and I filled it by taking a role serving podcasters. Things happen for a reason. Simplecast has been an amazing experience and I have learned a ton in the past four months about podcasting and start-up life and myself. I am busier than ever as I work full-time 5 days/week and at nights and early morning I make tutorials and my 2 days off I do my Murphy Concierge work which is helping people in my local area with tech stuff. I am making a living helping, creating, and teaching. Exactly what I set out to do when I launched this podcast. And I’m just getting started. What’s to come in 2019: Simplecast is about to launch a new 2.0 platform that we are all excited about and with the new product I will be making a ton of content and helping people figure out how to use the new product and it’s going to be fun and exciting. Taking the job with Simplecast was an easy decision because it aligned with everything I have been working for and I am very happy with how it is working out. I have the best of both worlds. There was a little internal conflict when thinking about taking a job versus making it on my own, but then I realized, I am still as independent as I have ever been and being part of a growing and innovative company that is all about working with creatives and podcasters is a dream come true. I am happy and I am proud of myself for going full steam ahead even when things were getting a little financially thin and quite honestly, I was working myself really hard. I’ll say it again. If you are unhappy or if you have a goal to make it on your own or build a brand or business online, you have to stop thinking about it and get going on something. If you own a business and it’s not working, fix it. Get rid of the weight that is holding you down and something better will fill the space. YouTube or Bust I will do a 2019 Roadmap episode, but in addition to Simplecast, my mindset is doubling down my efforts on YouTube and ramping up my writing on Medium. I love making tutorials and answering questions for people. It’s all I want to do. I am doing that now, but I want to take it up a notch and YouTube is where I can best do that. So I will. I am closing in on 2500 subscribers and just passed the Million views mark. That’s right. Over 1,000, 000 views on my YouTube channel. How cool is that? I’m not big on numbers, but I put out a goal of reaching 10,000 subscribers by the end of 2019 as a milestone I could put in front of me. I think it is doable and that is where my 2019 focus is currently at. As for writing. I will continue publishing my tutorials as written content on Medium, but I plan to write a few more beefy articles that have some girth. I am learning and growing and I simply want to put it all out there and to continue to build my brand as someone with useful knowledge to share. The long-term goal is to make it as a content creator doing what I love to do. Do Your Thing I am living proof that you can create the life you want. It is extremely hard to do and you have to make tough decisions and sacrifices, but it all comes down to how you want to live. For me, I want to live happy and simply. For the person who asked me how I am able to show up so consistently, it is because I am creating the life I want and that comes with putting in the hard work and pushing myself to get better everyday. I think it’s worth it and I hope you do too. I know today was a lot about me, but I wanted to give you an update and let you know that life is good because I refuse to have it any other way. I have no plans yet to publish a podcast on a regular schedule, but it is on my mind. Happy Everything But the most important reason I wanted to make this episode today was to wish you a very merry and happy holiday season and new year. I appreciate you and as always, if there is anything I can ever do for you, you can email me anytime at mike@mikemurphy.co or reach out on social media. If you are stuck and need a push, let me know. You have one shot to live the life you want. Make it happen. Cheers I Thank you for joining me today and I wish you a Merry Everything and happy and healthy 2019. I hope you join my one man band and together we can Learn. Create & Move Forward. Cheers, Mike. Cheers, Mike I Thank you for joining me on this milestone and turning point episode and for joining my one man band and together we can Learn. Create & Move Forward. Cheers, Mike. Questions, Comments, Feedback? mike@mikemurphy.co Complete Show Notes: https://mikemurphy.co/ep151 My Gear List: https://kit.com/mikemurphyco My Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/mikemurphyco My YouTube Channel: https://mikemurphy.co/youtube Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikeunplugged Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikemurphyco Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeunplugged