Doing What I Love

I have swung for the fences many times early on in my podcasting journey.  It is tough as a reserved person putting yourself out there, putting together pitches to guests who you feel have no business saying yes, the ups-and-downs of the constant self-criticism, self-doubt, and self-analysis.  But when you love doing something, like Red Bull, it gives you wings.

I just had the opportunity to interview Jeff Pearlman, a preeminent sports chronicler of our time.  He understands how to story-tell in the modern era, from the immediacy of twitter, to the mid-brain of blogging, to the savoriness of long-form, to the years-long labor of writing actual books (funny enough, about past eras).

When a guest joins my show, I am so happy that others will listen and - let's be honest - that I can bask a bit in the glow (or, Klout) of their celebrity.  But, I also get the most joy in the fact that I can listen to their story told to me the way my brain is wired to receive it, because the conversation is being driven by that which is flowing from my brain.

Of course, you always feel like you are not doing it right, not asking the right questions, that you sound like a jabbering fool.  And, based on the whims of opinion, all of the above could be all or partly true.

And, sometimes the simplicity of a simple validation helps satiate those thoughts (for the moment at least :) )

Of all the podcasts I've appeared on promoting Showtime, @mattmcqueeny's was probably my favorite. http://t.co/NbPlYlTgac
— jeffpearlman (@jeffpearlman) March 20, 2014