Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Life

3 Skills to Maximize Podcast Listening

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Malcolm Gladwell is famous for saying that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve world-class expertise in any skill.

Since first writing about the “10,000 Hour Rule” in his book, Outliers: The Story of Success in 2008, the theory has come under much debate. Now regardless of your viewpoint on the rule, the fact is, 10,000 hours is a lot of time. After spending that much time on one thing—while you may not be world-class or an expert—you’re probably half decent.

And if there’s anything I’ve spent 10,000 hours on, it’s probably podcasting.

I’ve listened for 10+ years, I’m a regular guest on others, and I co-host three:

  1. New Churches Q&A Podcast: Church Planting, Multisite, Multiplication, Leadership Development, and Discipleship
  2. 5 Leadership Questions Podcast: Leadership
  3. IMbetween Podcast: Marriage, Parenting, and Faith

Two years ago, I wrote an article on The Power of Podcasting. Last year, I wrote one entitled, Thinking of Starting a Podcast? Don’t! Until you read this…. So this year, I wanted to focus on the listener and offer you a few skills to maximize your podcast listening.

Skills to Maximize Podcast Listening:

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Top Quotes on Didn’t See It Coming by Carey Nieuwhof

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I’m not sure if there’s a more helpful and accessible voice for church leaders than Carey Nieuwhof.

His podcast is on point and his newest book, Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the Seven Greatest Challenges That No One Expects and Everyone Experiences distills some of his greatest insights into an easy to read book for all church leaders.

You’ve probably seen his book around, but if you haven’t had time to dig into it yet—or if you need a refresher—here are my favorite quotes.

  • “Cynicism begins not because you don’t care but because you do care.”
  • “What starts as self-preservation soon morphs into something more insidious. You become a bit jaded.”
  • “The problem with generalizing—applying on particular situation to all situations—is that the death of trust, hope, and belief is like a virus, infecting everything,”
  • “As you grow older, you become more of who you already are.”
  • “I realized that left unchecked, cynicism would win.”
  • “Cynicism is actually a choice.”
  • “Hope is one of cynicism’s first casualties.”
  • “An incredibly effective antidote to cynicism is curiosity. Yes, simple curiosity.”
  • “Feed your curiosity, and it grows. Starve it, and it withers.”
  • “You can’t wonder and discover when you’re in a hurry.”
  • “As young leader, I was convinced that competency was the key to success in life. My formula went like this: Competency determines capacity. The more competency you are, the greater your potential. The greater your potential, the greater your capacity…But a few years into my adult life, I began to notice highly competent people who became disqualified from leadership.”
  • “If competency doesn’t determine capacity, what does? Character does.”
  • “All the competency in the world can’t compensate for your lack of character. Ultimately, your character is your lid.”
“All the competency in the world can’t compensate for your lack of character. Ultimately, your character is your lid.” – @cnieuwhof

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  • “Character, not competency, determines capacity.”
  • “No matter how hard you try, you can’t escape you.“
  • “Compromise is in you, and life brings it out of you.”
  • “We judge ourselves by our intentions and other people by their actions.“

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The Enneagram, Leadership, and Knowing Yourself

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Knowing yourself has been a neglected and under-appreciated aspect of life and leadership for far too long.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about promoting yourself, nor am I advocating navel gazing either. I’m talking about knowing yourself—your strengths, weaknesses, passions in life, the way you react under stress, how you operate within a team, and on and on.

Knowing yourself has been a neglected and under-appreciated aspect of life and leadership for far too long.

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And while there seems to be a myriad of personality assessments for each and every one of those areas, what’s been missing is one that helps you identify your core motivations—the why behind it all.

Sure, the Myers Briggs might help you identify how you best recharge (introvert/extrovert), the StrengthsFinder might help you discern how you best approach tasks, and the Birkman might help you understand the best environment for you to work in, but what each of them miss is uncovering why you do what you do.

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The Truth Behind Fame

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“Studies say four minutes of uninterrupted eye contact increases intimacy.”

So we did it. For four minutes, Christina and I looked into each other’s eyes…and it went a lot better than the first time I did it with someone else. 

This someone else was a complete stranger—okay, maybe he wasn’t a complete stranger since I had met him a couple hours ago at a conference we were a part of—but that’s how it felt. And yes, it was incredibly awkward and I don’t recommend it, but I had no choice. At least he wasn’t a she. I couldn’t imagine doing this exercise with a woman who wasn’t my wife.

Nevertheless, after having gone through that deathly awkward experience where I felt inappropriately vulnerable with this stranger, I was interested to see how it would feel to do this exercise with my wife.

And I’m not being sarcastic here. I was actually excited to do this with my wife because I wanted to see what would happen. I was curious to see what I would feel and think during those four minutes of silence.

So we did it. For four minutes, we looked at each other in the eyes and here’s what I realized.

I don’t need other people to see me because I am already seen.

When Christina was looking at me in the eyes, I realized that it wasn’t because of anything I was doing. I wasn’t performing. I wasn’t speaking. I wasn’t podcasting. I wasn’t writing. I wasn’t teaching. I wasn’t leading.

I wasn’t doing anything—yet I was seen.

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Stop Chasing the Platform

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“You’re not big enough, smart enough, wealthy enough, strong enough, funny enough, famous enough…”

Ugh, I want to throw up—and it’s not because these messages seem to be everywhere I look. I want to throw up because they’re all true.

It’s true that others are bigger, smarter, richer, stronger, funnier, and more known than you. And it’s also true that you are bigger, smarter, richer, stronger, funnier, and more known than others. But let’s play this out to the end.

Even if you do reach the top and beat out everyone else around you—whatever that looks like—the clouds will eventually clear, only to uncover the fact that there are even higher mountains to climb. And at what loss or expense will you have done this? Only to realize that the success that you apparently achieved is like vapor or a vanishing mist?

Success is like vapor or a vanishing mist. It’s there, but impossible to grasp.

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It.never.ends.

And by “it,” I’m referring to this game of comparison that we always seem to be caught up in. The rat race. And this pursuit for contentment in the very things that never seem to satisfy.

Just consider these words from a famous comedian and actor that seemed to have it all,

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.

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(This is from episode 43 of the IMbetween Podcast that I co-host with my wife.)

Wow. I guess Jim Carrey is finished playing games. I wonder if he’s tired of his mask and God persona.

I was recently interviewed on writing in my thirties and what it takes to get published.

Now if this is something you’re aspiring toward, you’ve likely come across the term, “platform.”

These days, it seems like everywhere you turn, you hear about platform this and platform that. Michael Hyatt even wrote a book on platforms to bring clarity to the concept and help you build one.

And it’s true. Without a platform, you won’t get published. But I believe that an over emphasis on building your platform is actually worse than not getting published at all. I’d rather you stay in obscurity than lose your soul to the very thing that brought the devil down.

Better to stay in obscurity than lose your soul to the very thing that brought the devil down.

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Here’s where we get it wrong.

Your platform is not for you. Yes, you definitely need a platform to get published these days, since without one, it’s nearly impossible to break through all the noise and get your message out. But your platform is ultimately not for you.

Your platform is ultimately not for you.

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In addition, no one else is going to build it for you. There’s no such thing as an overnight success or a silver bullet in life, just as I wrote about in my previous book. Others will help—in fact, you need others to help you—but you still need to grind, hustle, and put the work into building a platform.

And once you’ve built something to stand on, you need to keep on working at building it.

But here’s where we get it wrong. If you think the purpose of your platform is for you, then you’re wrong. Yes, you need to stand on it, but it’s not so that others will look at you and lift you up. It’s so that you can help others up onto your platform, in order to help launch them up higher, further, and faster.

If others are looking up at you as the hero and as the blessed one, you’ve got it all wrong. And you need to be careful because pride comes before the fall. However, if others are looking up at you as the guide, since you’re helping them up onto your platform, you will experience one of the greatest joys of life—that of being a blessing.

Here’s my point.

In everything you do, whether it’s writing, speaking, teaching, coaching, parenting, or helping, make sure you’re doing it to serve, rather than to be served (Matthew 20:28). Don’t let the platform change you, and don’t abandon everyone you trust, love, and care about—especially if God so chooses to amplify your platform.

In other words, don’t chase the platform. Because if you do, you’ll lose your soul and eventually everyone around you.

Don’t chase the platform.

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