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A little over a year ago I shared a list of my top 10 podcasts.  The list has become one of the most popular posts on this site.  Over that time some of the podcasts have gotten better, some have gotten worse, and a few have basically disappeared.  On top of that, I have discovered a few new podcasts that are excellent. In this article you will find the updated list!

Podcasts are a fantastic way of learning, being inspired, and for personal growth. They are audio presentations that you download and are able to listen to at your convenience, whether on iTunes or on an iPod (or other Mp3 player).  If you don’t currently listen to any podcasts the first step is to download iTunes.  After subscribing to podcasts, such as the ones listed below, iTunes will automatically download any recent episodes every time you open the program.  I listen to some podcasts directly on my computer and download others to my iPod.

Each of these podcasts can be found by searching for the title in the iTunes store, or by subscribing at the webpage linked to in the title of each podcast.

1. The Daily Boost

This is a powerful motivation podcast from motivationtomove.com. The free podcast is generally a once a week motivating message, that comes out of their daily podcast service for “premium” members.

The message is short, about 10 minutes a day, and provides a powerful personal development tip that motivates you to move forward.  You may consider upgrading to the paid premium membership, the podcasts are that good!  At least check out the free version.

http://www.podanza.com/podcast/the-daily-boost/1f69ac3b897e89089c4df741388ef093/

2. Inspiring Words of Encouragement – Zig Ziglar

Motivational expert Zig Ziglar offers this excellent podcast.  The subject list is diverse within the framework of living a positive life.  Past episodes include tips on success, lessons for salespeople, and even parenting advice.

This podcast is updated every two weeks, and I never fail to be encouraged, inspired, and to learn every episode.  The full archives are available for download also, giving you lots of powerful motivational material.

http://www.podanza.com/podcast/inspiring-words-of-encouragement/45e6042b3698d45c9a06ff1686a395ac/

3. Mosaic – A Community of Faith, Love & Hope

One of two churches that make the list.  I hesitate to call it a church.   Partly because it meets in a night club, and partly because it is nothing like most churches you may have experiences with.

Pastor Erwin McManus is an amazing communicator of God’s word.  He does it in a way that communicates the true message of Jesus.  He speaks of important personal development topics such as work, relationships and money.  Be sure to make your way into the archives of past messages.  My favorite messages that I recommend you check out are entitled, “Fear”, “Work”, and “Everyone Gave”.

http://www.mosaic.org/podcast/

4. Duct Tape Marketing Podcast

John Jantsch, author of the book Duct Tape Marketing, hosts this excellent podcast filled with interviews of marketing experts and entrepreneurs.  It is always informative and helps to keep up to date with trends in the world of marketing, particularly social media and new marketing. These podcasts come approximately once a week and there is a fantastic archive of previous episodes.

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/podcast.php

5. Harvard Business Review Ideacast

This weekly podcast from the editors of Harvard Business Review shares interviews with the author of an article in the current issues of the Harvard Business Review.  Listening to this podcast allows you to hear about import research in the world of business and get application ideas directly from the author.

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/hbr/hbr_ideacast.jhtml

6. Help My Business Sucks *video podcast*

This is the only video podcast on my list.  I am not usually as much of a fan of video podcasts because I prefer to listen to podcasts while walking to work or driving.  In spite of that this video podcast is worth subscribing to.  I let a few weeks accumulate at a time and then watch through them during a workout.

This podcast is done by Andrew Lock and focuses on marketing for the small business owner and entrepreneur.  It is an excellently produced piece that includes several different segments in each week’s episode.  The idea is that all decisions an organization makes needs to be tied to marketing.  Lock frequently repeats his theme, “Everything is marketing, and marketing is everything.”

http://helpmybusiness.com/

7. Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

This is a monthly leadership training podcast by leadership expert, author and pastor Andy Stanley.  While the podcast is actually designed for church leaders it is a valuable resource for anyone trying to grow an organization, especially entrepreneurs.  The current series has been on the topic of vision, and it has discussed how to come up with your vision, state your vision clearly, and communicate it to your organization.

To subscribe visit this site: (it is the third podcast listed)
http://www.northpoint.org/podcasts

8. CBC Radio Vinyl Café

Stuart McLean is a master storyteller.  This podcast of his weekly radio show is a fantastic break from the ordinary as it allows you to listen to a master story teller at work. This podcast is a wonderful break for relaxation and stress reduction.  If you are looking for a personal development angle beyond the rest it is this: listening to Stuart will help you become a better storyteller for all of your presentations.

http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts#vinylcafe

9. Mars Hill Bible Church

The second church to make my list is Mars Hill Bible Church from Grand Rapids, MI home of pastor and author Rob Bell.  Because of Bell’s travel schedule normally about half of the teachings are from him and half are from other fantastic guest speakers.  Bell teaches the Bible in a way that helps you open your eyes to the uniqueness of who Jesus is and the type of people he calls us to be.  Again, this is not your typical church.

http://marshill.org/teaching/pcast.php

10. Behind the Leader/ Renegade Profile

This podcast is a series of excellent interviews conducted by Jonathan Fields author of Career Renegade.  The podcast consists of interviews with business leaders and entrepreneurs.  The podcast recently switched from “Renegade Profiles” to “Behind the Leader” in order to focus more on established business leaders.  There are plenty of podcasts to listen through in the back catalogue with all sorts of different entrepreneurs.  The interviews Fields conducts are excellent and thorough, many lasting almost an hour. He asks great questions that really help you get an idea of how these leaders and entrepreneurs think.

You’ll need to go to the iTunes store to subscribe, but you can check out a sample episode here:

http://www.jonathanfields.com/blog/behind-the-leader-mullen-cco-edward-boches/

I hope you find a couple of valuable podcasts from this list.  What did I miss?  What is your favorite?  Be sure to share below!

Written by:
The Success Professor – Danny Gamache

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We all know that personal growth is important if we want to move forward in life, get better, and achieve our goals.  But how consistent is your personal growth? If you are like many it goes in spurts.  You’ll have a period of time when you are doing all the right things: you are listening to CDs and podcasts and reading books.  Because you pursue these activities in spurts you also grow in spurts.  You grow for a little, and then stabilize.

What is interesting is that your progress towards your goals will end up following the same track.  When you are growing and pursuing personal growth activities you will be moving towards your goals. There is a direct relationship between personal growth activities and progress towards your goals.

So what’s the solution?  A small but consistent daily commitment to personal growth.

Just FIFTEEN minutes a day!

That’s all it takes.  Fifteen minutes a day can help you stay focused on your goals, moving forward, growing, and a step ahead of your competition.

Here’s how you can make the most of your fifteen minutes a day:

1. Those fifteen minutes a day must be FOCUSED.

They must be FOCUSED on the field or discipline that you need in order to achieve your primary goal.  If your primary goal is in sales, you should be pursing personal growth activities that help you be a better salesperson and stay motivated.  If your primary goal is your blog, you need to be learning about how to be a better blogger.  If your primary goal is to run a marathon, you need to be pursing activities that keep you excited, encouraged and learning how to be a better runner.

This means that other personal growth activities that you pursue don’t count towards your fifteen minutes.  Only activities directly connected to your primary goal count as your fifteen minutes a day.

2. Know the skills and abilities that you want to improve.

Based on your goals, you need to know what areas you need to get better at.  If you are a salesperson, perhaps you need to focus on closing skills or on understanding your customers.  If you are a blogger, you may want to learn about developing WordPress themes or improving your marketing skills.  What are the skills that you need to excel in to achieve your goals and be excellent in what you do.

3. The fifteen minutes a day must be consistent.

You need to do this every day without skipping.  Initially this might be hard.  You may forget, there may be other things going on, and it may feel like you don’t have time.  Even if it is the last thing you do before you go to bed at night make sure you take that fifteen minutes pursing focused growth.

Personal growth in this manner is a habit.  That means after a period of time it will become a lot easier perhaps even automatic.  It takes time to form a habit, but it is worth it.

4. Have someone hold you accountable

Anytime you are looking to pursue a goal or create a habit, you will have more success if you have someone holding you accountable.  As you work to create a fifteen minute a day of personal growth habit, you will be more likely to do it if you have people holding you accountable.  Ideally these should be people who are pursing a similar primary goal and as such are working on similar personal growth activities.

I have a group of four other people that I work with to hold each other accountable to our fifteen minute a day of personal growth.  We email each other every couple of days and share how we have spent our fifteen minutes of personal growth time.  Not only does that help keep us motivated but it serves as a way to share ideas on personal growth activities.

5. Engage in personal growth activities

Just do it!  The slogan that Nike uses is useful here.  You need to get started and just do your fifteen minutes of personal growth time.  What should you do?  There are many options:

• read a book (my top 10 books are listed here)
• listen to a training CD
• get an audio book from the library
• listen to podcasts (my top 10 podcasts are listed here)
• read inspiring blogs
• watch a TED presentation (my top 5 TED presentations are listed here)

There are lots of options, choose one and get started!

Fifteen minutes a day is not a lot of time.  You can learn a new skill, move towards your goals, and above everything else grow!

Written by:
Danny Gamache – The Success Professor
Follow me on Twitter: @successprof

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