My Podcast Why for The Podcast Why

Okay, all the cards on the table. My own why as My Podcast Guy. Welcome to The Podcast Why. I'm Brett Johnson. My Podcast Guy, your trusted friend in podcasting. The show is here to help you reconnect with the real why behind your podcast so you can keep showing up with clarity and confidence. Over this first season, we've talked a lot about your why. We've looked at what a real why is and isn't, how fake whys burn you out, how your why and your listener's why interact, what to do when the metrics don't match your mission, how your format can either support or fight your why, and how to restart after a break without shame.

We've covered a lot of ground today. I want to turn that same lens on myself. You've heard me talk about your why as your engine, your compass, your North Star, your anchor when things feel wobbly. In this episode, I want to share my why, why I do this work, why I care so much about helping podcasters like you and why this show. The podcast why exists under the My Podcast Guy brand. I'm not sharing this because my story is the main attraction. I'm sharing it because I want you to hear how all the ideas we've been talking about actually play out in a real person's life and business. I want you to hear what it sounds like when someone who's been around this world for a decade sits down and gets honest about their own why and how it's changed over time.

Let me take you back a bit. When I first started working with podcasters, my why was not crystal clear. I knew I loved audio. I knew I liked helping people communicate. And I knew there was something special about this medium, about being in someone's ears while they're driving or walking the dog or washing dishes. But if you'd asked me, why are you doing this consulting work? Really? I probably would have said something pretty generic, like, I enjoy helping people with their shows. That was enough to get me started, but it wasn't enough to sustain me. Year after year, pretty quickly, I started to notice patterns.

I'd work with a range of podcasters. Different topics, different levels of experience, different goals. Some of them would come and go. They'd launch, publish a while, and then slowly fade out. Others just kept going. They stuck with it through the dips, the awkward early episodes, the seasons when life got busy, the times when the metrics weren't doing what they'd hoped. And I kept asking myself, what's the difference? What separates the shows that quietly Disappear from the ones that quietly endure. When you watch this long enough, you start to see that it's not just about the gear or the editing or marketing tactics.

Those things matter, but they're not the deciding factor. The common thread I saw in the people who kept podcasting year after year was this. They knew their why, and I was helping them keep the why in focus. Sometimes they couldn't put it in fancy words, but they had a deep, settled sense of who they were talking to, what they were trying to do, and why it mattered enough to keep going even when it was hard. There were a few conversations that really locked this in for me. I'd be on a call with a podcaster who was ready to quit. I'd say things like, I'm tired. I don't know what to talk about anymore.

It doesn't feel like it's working. And when we dug underneath the surface, we almost always hit one of two things. One, either they never had a clear why in the first place, or two, their why had changed, but their show hadn't caught up yet. On the flip side, I talked to hosts who weren't blowing up in the charts, but they were steady. They knew exactly why. They were still in front of the mic. It might be I'm speaking to the version of me some 10 years ago, or I'm documenting a journey I want my kids to hear someday, or. Or I'm having the conversations my community can't find anywhere else.

Their language was different, but the pattern was the same. A clear, lived in why. Over time, I realized that's what I'm actually doing here. Yes, I can help with microphones, editing, and episode structure. Yes, I can help you think about the titles and promotion. But the thing that really lights me up, the thing that makes me want to keep showing up for podcasters is is helping you find and stay connected to the reason you're doing this in the first place. That's where my podcast guy really started to take shape. My clients started calling me that before I ever thought of it as a brand.

I was the person they called when they were stuck or overwhelmed or wondering if they should quit. And again and again, even if we talked about tech or tactics, we almost always ended up talking about why. So my why, as my podcast guy sounds something like this. I help podcasters reconnect with the deeper purpose behind their show so they can make clear decisions, create from a grounded place, and keep going long past the initial excitement. This podcast, the podcast why exists because I wanted to take that same work I do one on one and put it in your ears. I want you to feel like you've got a calm, honest, strategic friend in your corner. Someone who's seen a lot of shows, a lot of patterns, a lot of struggles, and isn't shocked or impressed by any of it. Someone who can say, you're not broken.

Let's just get your compass pointing in the right direction again. Has my why changed over the years? Oh, absolutely. At first, my why was more about learning to craft and helping people make better podcasts. Now it's much more focused. I care most about helping you make a podcast that's true to you, true to your listener, and true to your season of life. Not just shinier, not just bigger, more aligned. That's my engine. That's what gets me excited to create episodes like these and to get on clarity calls with podcasters who are stuck and ready to be honest about it.

So what do you do with all this? You spent this whole season looking at your own why from different angles. You've heard me talk about how I think about mine. Now it's your turn to bring it together into something you can actually hold on to and work from. Here's a simple exercise to close out this season. First, I want you to pull together your notes from the last few episodes. If you've been jotting down answers to the questions, great. If not, you can just take a few minutes after this and think back through what's resonated. Then I want you to write a rough draft of your why in one or two sentences.

Don't aim for perfect. Aim for honest. Something like my podcast exists to do what for who so that what changes for them? Or I make this show because your reason for people who your listener, so they can result or feeling. Let it sound like you, not like a marketing brochure. You can clean it up later. Right now, you're just trying to get your engine and your North Star onto the page. Once you've written it, read it out loud. Notice how it feels in your body.

Does it land? Does it feel light and true? Or does it feel like something you're supposed to say? If it feels off, tweak it. You might need to make it more specific, more personal, or maybe more honest. Here's today's why question. If you had to keep podcasting for the next year with no guarantee of big numbers or big opportunities, what version of your why would still feel worth it? That question strips away the fake fuel. It forces you to find the reason that's strong enough to carry you through the real ups and downs of making a show. When you find that you've got something you can build on in season two, when we start getting more tactical about how to turn that why into decisions, language and plans. And if you don't want to figure this out alone, if you'd like a calm, strategic voice in your corner as you work through your why, your format, your metrics and your next season, that's exactly what I'm here for. You.

You can book a Clarity call with me. Just head over to my podcast guy online and look for the Book your Clarity Call link. We'll talk about where you've been, what your real why might be now, and how to shape your podcast around it. Thank you for walking through the first season of The Podcast Why with me. I'm Brett Johnson, My Podcast Guy and I'll talk to you in season two.