Get Outside Your Comfort Zone

For most of us, stepping outside our comfort zone is difficult and stressful. I like to be challenged and to experiment with new technology, but I am intimidated by things that are difficult for me to understand. I recently faced this dilemma and it really sent me into a tailspin.

The executive director of MLC told me earlier in the year that he would like me to start a podcast for the agency. I knew absolutely nothing about podcasts and the prospect of creating one sent me way outside my comfort zone. There is a whole lot more to podcasting than I ever imagined!

I had no idea where to begin, so I requested that MLC purchase some books on podcasting, read a lot of articles, and spent several months researching ideas. I listened to some incredibly good podcasts, a lot of average podcasts, and some exceptionally bad ones, all of which gave me concrete ideas about what would work best for MLC. I reached out to my peers across the country to see who's podcasting and I received lots of great feedback from them. (Thanks, ALA PR Talk!) I did a few test runs in the beginning that were bad... really bad. No one in their right mind would listen to my first efforts unless they needed a good nap! The biggest challenge was coming up with an interesting story line for my show.

About six weeks ago, with some additional input from colleagues, I worked out a plan that has serious potential. Once our executive director signed off, I hit the road for my first interview... then my second. I am on my way to creating an informative, interesting, and, hopefully, successful podcast for MLC and I can't wait to share it with all of you.

The moral of this story: never be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. You can accomplish anything you want with outstanding results through a little bit of research and planning.

P.S. Be on the lookout for the podcast in the coming months! More details to follow soon!