Live Well and Flouish

[00:00:00] Dave Jackson: Welcome to the podcast review show. I'm Dave Jackson. This is where. Bring people on, we help them identify what they're doing, right. So they can do more of that. And we help identify those things that made me need just a little bit of Polish and, , joining me as always the one and only podcast talent coach Eric K.

[00:00:19] Johnson. Eric, how are you buddy?

[00:00:21] Erik K Johnson: Very good, Dave. Thanks for, uh, joining me again for another show. I'm always, , happy to get back in the saddle and review another great podcast tonight. We have Craig Van Slyke on to talk about his podcast live well and flourish. Craig, welcome to the show.

[00:00:36] Craig Van Slyke: Hi, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

[00:00:38] Dave Jackson: Yeah. , what inspired you to, to start your podcast?

[00:00:43] Craig Van Slyke: Well, I'm gonna joke and say, COVID like, you know, 9 million other people, but no, in reality, this is gonna sound pretty corny, but I want to make the world a better place. , we're going through tough times. , a lot of people are struggling right now. I have through, , trial and error and my fair of, uh, hardships.

[00:01:04] Figured some stuff out and learned some things. And I wanna share that with the world. So I, I think it's within our power to make the world better and to live a better life. And like I said, as corny as it sounds, that's what I'm trying to do with the podcast, help people achieve that.

[00:01:21] Erik K Johnson: How many, episodes are you in Craig?

[00:01:23] Dave Jackson: Craig?

[00:01:24] Craig Van Slyke: I'm 35 ish. Now I know, , on the website and in the show you talk about how the show pivoted you changed the name. You went to a solo show from your cohosted show. Is that total number of episodes, just this incarnation or is that both, , versions of the show?

[00:01:41] No, that that's both versions of the show. This car, this, uh, version has been going since the first of the year. So, and maybe a dozen or so, uh, episode so far. And are you posting every other week or twice a month? What's kind of the cadence. I do every other week, every other week. Perfect. And, and that's been steady, uh, since the original show started.

[00:02:04] Okay.

[00:02:06] Dave Jackson: Yeah, Craig's got a great background. Where are you teaching at again?

[00:02:09] Craig: , Louisiana tech university

[00:02:11] Dave Jackson: There we go.

[00:02:12] . All right. Well, we're gonna start off listening to the beginning of your show and then we'll take a quick pause and just give us our first impressions. But, uh, this episode was about how, uh, little things can, lead up to big things. So here's the opening of that.

[00:02:27] Replay of Episode: In this episode of LiveWell and flourish, I talk about the small win strategy of. Which involves breaking big changes into a series of smaller changes, such that each of the small changes has its own value. This is the last of a many series of episodes on the power of small things.

[00:02:48] Dave Jackson: of Music

[00:02:54] Craig Van Slyke: Welcome to live well and flourish, where I help you understand what it means to live a flourishing life. I'm your host Craig van Slyke if you're ready to think beyond material and external success, if you're ready to take control of who you are in the kind of life you live, if you're ready to flourish, this is the podcast for you.

[00:03:15] Dave Jackson: Plain and simple that way. So that may quick and right to the point. So, uh, Eric, I'll let you go first. What are your thoughts on the opening?

[00:03:23] Erik K Johnson: I like the opening. , At the very beginning before the music and the intro, I would've liked to have heard a little more, , how I'm gonna be different in this particular episode. , a little so that, like you talk about what happens in this episode, but not really how I benefit in it. So we're gonna go over the little steps and little changes in, you know, that you can make in your life so that you can fill in that blank.

[00:03:48] For me, would've liked to heard a little bit about that, but I love how. , you tell me , what to expect. I know whether or not to stick around for this episode. So I like that part. , the guitar part was pretty cool, kind of laid back. We get into it and then you're open that. You tell me what the podcast itself is all about.

[00:04:04] Like the overall art overarching theme of all of your episodes. I thought that was crystal clear, nice and brief, and really got me where I needed to go on that. So, , I appreciated that.

[00:04:15] Dave Jackson: Yeah, that was me. I know exactly where I'm going. And for some reason that guitar almost needs like the sound effect of crackling, like a crackling fire , in the cabin, in the woods or something. I was just like, it was just so cozy. And then you've got that, a voice that just kind of drips wisdom.

[00:04:35] Without sounding like an old guy, you've just got this warm sound of , your voice, which was, uh, very cool. You started off and this was kind of cool. You had a milestone, I'm just gonna play this and then I'll comment on it.

[00:04:48] Craig Van Slyke: Before getting into the small win strategy. I wanted to let you know that LiveWell and flourished just celebrated its one year anniversary. The podcast has morphed over that year, starting as the ration Ince podcast in which my former co-host Andrea and I interviewed interesting people about a variety of topics when Andrea had to step away due to other commitments, I decided on a new name, a new format and a new focus.

[00:05:11] Since the first of the year, I've been doing short focused solo episodes directed at helping you pursue a flourishing life. And I plan on continuing along that same path and I want to give a huge thank you to all of you who have supported me throughout this journey. All right, let's get to the small wind strategy.

[00:05:29] Dave Jackson: So the thing I liked about this was anytime I hear somebody. Before we get to the show, , the hair's on my neck stand up and it's, it's hard sometimes to get right to the content. But what I liked about this, at least for me, is it was short and to the point and concise it wasn't you rambling on about.

[00:05:47] Your French toast recipe or wait till you hear what whisker whiskers did to the couch. It wasn't, you know, it was like, Hey, I'm, I'm gonna say something here. And it was about the time cuz you started talking about, , your cohost and she left and this. And I was like, oh, we're getting into how the sausage was made.

[00:06:04] And then you quit. And I was like, Meh all. So Eric, what were your thoughts on that little be before we get to the content kind of, uh, section

[00:06:11] Track2-USB2 Main: I'm a big fan of you. Can't catch up to a slow start. Like we need to start with some great content. Tell me what's in it for me and get me to stick around. I felt you did that at the beginning. I think in the, where I mentioned in the open, if you say today, we're gonna talk about small wins and then tie it to me so you can make big changes in your life.

[00:06:30] Reach your goals, lose weight, whatever. The small changes are going to help me if that happened there, where you really made me go, oh yeah, this is for me. I need to stick around and check it out. I have no issue with. Housekeeping before we get into the meat of the conversation. Most listeners don't make it all the way to the end of your podcast episode because they stop listening whenever they're done doing whatever they're doing.

[00:06:52] Erik K Johnson: Like you're not as important in their lives as we hope we are like, so when they're done exercising, they're done listening to your show. So I don't have any problem putting that housekeeping stuff right up front. Let's just make sure we really grab 'em by the collar and suck 'em into the content.

[00:07:09] Before we roll into that. , like Dave said, I love the background history of it because had you not mentioned that I would've never known the back story of the show and then, had I said, wow, I really like this episode, let's go binge a bunch more. And I go back to episode 17 and I go, wait a minute.

[00:07:26] Who's that? So I like the, but the backstory kind of tell me where we've come from. I appreciated that.

[00:07:34] Dave Jackson: And, and this next clip, this is such a great example of what a lot of people miss. So let me play this and I'll, I'll tell you what I mean.

[00:07:43] Track4-Bluetooth 1: If you're not an academic, you might not be familiar with Dr. White, but trust me, he's a very big deal and an innovative thinker who has had a huge impact on management research and practice.

[00:07:53] Dave Jackson: And what I loved about this jumped out at me. I I've heard this episode about three times and this jumped out tonight, cuz I was like, what's great about this is so many people would go well, let me tell you about Dr. Soandso and then they read his LinkedIn bio da da, da, da. His, you know, went to LSU. His dog's name is Skippy.

[00:08:12] He's been married to Marsha for twenties, and you're like, I, and you said, trust me. This guy is in, you know, and then it was like, and I was like, yeah, most people don't realize. I think that I already think this guy's a good guy because he's on your show and you wouldn't let some, or you wouldn't be in this case, he's not on your show, but he, you wouldn't be quoting him if it didn't make sense to the topic.

[00:08:35] So I, I like the fact you're like, no, trust me, this guy's like a big shot, smarty pants. And I was like, there you go. And it took like two seconds , to do that.

[00:08:43] Track2-USB2 Main: yeah, the only part of anyone's bio that's important to the listener is the. Makes them care about what that person's saying. So the fact that you mention, the gentleman's name he's on there and, whatever his credential was that made me go. Oh yeah. Okay. Uh, let me listen to what this guy's got to say and that you quote him.

[00:09:02] I thought that was great. We didn't have to go into a lot of detail , the only part of the bio that's important is the part that, that adds context to the part you're going to quote

[00:09:12] Dave Jackson: the yeah.

[00:09:13] Craig Van Slyke: makes sense.

[00:09:14] Dave Jackson: And then we get into how, , we can do these little things that will lead to, to changes. And there was one section here.

[00:09:23] Craig Van Slyke: basic idea behind the small win strategy is that large scale changes are really hard to pull off. Usually you're better off to view a big change as a set of interconnected, small changes that can result in what white calls, small wins. Dr. White's article concerned, large scale social changes, but we can apply his ideas to personal changes as well.

[00:09:44] Big changes can be tough, really tough. There are several reasons for this.

[00:09:50] Dave Jackson: So I had one thing that I, I liked about this is the fact that, you know, you're talking about this guy and kind of this, this topic over here, and you're like, oh, by the way, if for some reason I've remotely lost you, this applies to what we're gonna talk about today. So I like the fact you're like, Hey, this is here, but it does apply over here.

[00:10:08] And then Eric, I think you had a note on this one about , you were thinking that maybe this was a good place for a story.

[00:10:14] Erik K Johnson: Yeah. , I loved the background and the, and how it ties into what we're doing, but I would've loved a little bit of an example or a, a story or something to tie in. And I think, You give a great example later on, that will play, but it it's just an example. Uh, stories are really powerful, especially when it comes to learning.

[00:10:35] So had you been able to take a case study or something that he, , conducted or something like that? And just told us a bit of that story in 30 or 60 seconds? , I think it would've really helped his teachings and his philosophy come to life right here on the episode. Um, I'll kind of tie that in here in a little bit when we play another clip, but I thought this part right here had we added just a touch of a story.

[00:11:01] It would've, , really said, oh, okay. Now I see how it applies to me. Now let's go into the teaching part of the episode, ? , the story stirs some emotion in me and makes me care about what's happening.

[00:11:14] Dave Jackson: And then you did have a great example. , I really love this cuz , it's not something most people stand up and shout. , but uh, I thought it was a great, it, it tied in nicely with a topic and, uh, you know, showed some vulnerability here.

[00:11:27] Craig Van Slyke: by breaking the task into smaller chunks, you can preserve the winds from the stacks you complete between the interruptions. Yeah. This is a trivial example, but you can apply the same thing to more realistic scenarios. I'll give you a real life example, one for my own life.

[00:11:43] A long time ago, I was a huge guy, really huge pushing 350 pounds.

[00:11:50] Dave Jackson: So when I heard that, I was like, whoa. And then, so it was, it was vulnerable. It was personal. And I was like, okay, now that's, this is a cool story. And it ties in well with that. Uh, Eric, what were your thoughts when he went into this area?

[00:12:04] Erik K Johnson: Exactly what I was looking for. Like, this is where the story comes to life. Um, a small example earlier, would've. Made me, uh, lean into the conversation a little bit earlier, in the show. The, I love the fact that it happens here and I love that it's you and it's personal. and that we're now starting to really see how it impacts our lives and makes us care about what we're talking about right here.

[00:12:31] Dave Jackson: care. And then I love the fact that again, the whole idea is small changes , can lead to bigger things. And you gave this example of , one of the things you started off , to lose your weight.

[00:12:43] Craig Van Slyke: Small winds also provide more. Feedback, which allows for making corrections, if things aren't going as planned. For example, my chip avoidance project tested my ability to avoid a particular food and I received more or less immediate feedback on my attempts to avoid chips. And that feedback helped me in my attempt to avoid fries.

[00:13:04] Dave Jackson: And so when I heard that, one of the things that's great is when you kind of tell a story, To, to get somebody to think different. They have to see things different. I just read the book, uh, the red thread by son Webster. And as you're saying this, I was like, well, I could give up chips, like, okay, I could, you know, I'm and you even said, I love chips.

[00:13:26] And you're like, alright, I did this one thing. But that one thing that led to you thinking, all right, maybe I could do fries. And I just thought it was, uh, cool example, but yet simple, really easy to understand. , the one thing I really loved, it's always great when you're listening to a podcast and either you're doing an interview and somebody asked the question that you wanted them to ask, or in a case of this, , you pulled out a word and I was like, Hmm.

[00:13:54] Erik K Johnson: One reason for this is the relationship between efficacy and performance efficacy refers to your capacity to produce some desired effect.

[00:14:04] Dave Jackson: and as soon as you said that, I was like, think, because I was like, wait, I gotta get out the dictionary EF efficacy. Wasn't that a Prague rock band in the eighties. I'm like, What's go on. So, , I love that part and I was like, that was perfect, cuz I'm seriously, just by the time I was like, wait, I'm going through contacts and things like that.

[00:14:22] and then this is a section, one of the things that's, it's not painfully obvious, I guess is the way to describe it is you're you're reading this and this was one section, that Eric had noted.

[00:14:35] Craig Van Slyke: Usually my three things recommendations are pretty tightly tied to the episode's topic. This one is a bit more obtuse. So please bear with me as a preface. I'm going to assume that you want the world to be a better place, which may be seen as the ultimate big win project.

[00:14:53] Dave Jackson: And so I think there, go ahead. Eric

[00:14:55] Erik K Johnson: , as I listen to this, Craig, , it sounds a little too stiff. It lack, lacks a little warmth because your diction is too proper. It's too perfect. Like people are going to understand exactly what you are saying, , because it's, we write differently than we speak. And so. I don't have a problem with you scripting it out.

[00:15:19] But what I would recommend you do is highlight parts of it. And then tell me the story rather than reading me the story. So it sounds more from the heart , I'd like to hear you smile a little bit more, , you know, even right there, like I know this is gonna sound a little won. You know, you kind of got a way into it.

[00:15:41] , but then you came back and you said, but bear with me, you know, and it's,

[00:15:45] away sentences.

[00:15:46] end in the same way in the same cadence and the same tone and the same manner. And it's not as if you're, , speaking to me because I don't have those sentence stops and restarts and the ums and your thought pro I can't hear you thinking.

[00:16:01] I can't hear you thinking and processing the information as you're telling it to me. and, and I think overall, the content of the show is great. I just miss a little warmth coming from you, as you're telling me the story, rather than reading the story to me. Okay.

[00:16:19] Dave Jackson: Yeah. And I think you say, uh, I'm going to preface, I forget the word that used there.

[00:16:25] Craig Van Slyke: Usually my three things recommendations are pretty tightly tied to the episode's topic. This one is a bit more obtuse. So please bear with me. As a preface, I'm going to assume that you want

[00:16:37] Dave Jackson: As a preface, would you say that if I was sitting across the table from you.

[00:16:44] Craig Van Slyke: Uh, you know, I am a college professor

[00:16:46] Dave Jackson: That's true. Okay.

[00:16:47] Craig Van Slyke: know.

[00:16:48] Dave Jackson: well, that's true. All right. I

[00:16:49] Craig Van Slyke: no, I'll have to ring that in. Yeah.

[00:16:51] Dave Jackson: Well, I, it, it's not that it's a, a fancy word, but now when I think about it, , we all have our own catch phrases, cuz really what you're saying is I'm going to assume, and if you like, I'm going to preface this with blah, blah, blah. So I thought I wasn't,

[00:17:06] Erik K Johnson: and here's the part of that, , that stretch he just played Craig, is that you may say as a preference and you may say it seems a bit obtuse and you may say, but bear with me. But all of them popping off your head, bang, bang, bang like that without having to search for the word like you had all three of them.

[00:17:27] Bang, bang, bang. That's what makes me go. All right. He's not just rattling these off. Like Craig may be a guy that uses obtuse in everyday language, . Not three of them in a row. Is he gonna just rattle off? You might say as a preface. There's gonna be a gap there where you structure that sentence in your head before you say it to me.

[00:17:46] And, that's, what's missing is that gap where you pause and you go, but as a preface, let me put this in front of you.

[00:17:55] Craig Van Slyke: Right. And that's a fair point. And, uh, I would have to admit that if I use that around the house, I would get an immediate eyeroll from my wife. So, or as I call her my long suffering wife, but.

[00:18:09] Dave Jackson: and then in this clip, well, tell us about this. You usually have what, three takeaways and what's the, the segment that you do there.

[00:18:15] Track2-USB2 Main: Yeah, the idea is I want people to be able to put the ideas into action pretty immediately. So I try to give three ideas that are all relatively, easy. To put into practice. , you don't have to do this big, long plan and do all this reading. It's like, look, just pick, pick one of these and just do it next week

[00:18:36] You'll be better off.

[00:18:38] Dave Jackson: Well, that's, what's great about this is Eric had, had pointed this out and I was like, that's really true is this example is again, which reinforces the whole theme of the show. It's like, look, this, you don't have to go write somebody's name in the sky. Like you can just do this.

[00:18:54] Craig Van Slyke: Make it a point, this. You consciously do something kind each day. Again, this doesn't need to be huge. Remember, we're just trying for small wins here. Let someone ahead of you in line, say hi, thank the clerk and a checkout line. Each time you do this, you've racked up another small win.

[00:19:16] Dave Jackson: So that's another thing where, when I heard this, I was like, yeah, those are all, , super easy. Of course these days saying hi to the checker, outer person is nonexistent. Cuz they've all been fired and replaced by.

[00:19:27] Erik K Johnson: Yeah.

[00:19:28] Dave Jackson: But,

[00:19:29] Erik K Johnson: Thank you. Voice lady in the box. yeah. Please take your receipt.

[00:19:33] Dave Jackson: well, it was funny cuz I was thinking about that as you said, then I was like, oh yeah, I should do that. Then it was like, oh wait, I check myself out these days. So, uh, that's

[00:19:42] Erik K Johnson: I do love the three takeaways though. It's a great kind of bow tie on the end of the, of the episode gives me a great takeaway. Something I can use in my everyday life. , a nice way to kind of wrap up the episode.

[00:19:54] Dave Jackson: Yeah. Nice summary that just like, oh yeah, that is what I just learned. And this is how I can put it into action. And then one of the things that Eric and I talk about all the time. On this show by like just hands down, no contest at all is everybody's call to action. And Eric, do you think it's safe to say this is the best call to action we've ever

[00:20:17] Erik K Johnson: This is the most focused call to action that we've ever heard it is.

[00:20:22] Dave Jackson: Here we go.

[00:20:23] Craig Van Slyke: Until next time be well, my friends. I produce live well and flourish because of my dedication to helping others live excellent lives. I don't accept sponsorships and I don't want your money. The only thing I want is to help you and others flourish. If you've received some value from this episode, please share it with someone that might also benefit from listening.

[00:20:44] The best way to do that is to direct them to live well and flourish.com until next time.

[00:20:53] I wanna jam along with it. Um, Eric I'll I'll I'll let you go first. There are a couple things in this

[00:20:58] Dave Jackson: that

[00:20:58] Erik K Johnson: It was great. I loved it. It was succinct. It helps you spread the word. You know, it's not helped me get on new and noteworthy by rating and reviewing my show. It's actually something that's productive. I loved it. It was great. The only thing I would change for you is, uh, in your. Intake form. You talked about , your, , engagement being near nonexistent.

[00:21:24] And so what I might do is direct them to, , a specific page to engage with you. So , on your website, you have a contact page, , and I might direct them straight there or direct them straight to the podcast page to listen, uh, subscribe, something like that. Just to try and create a little engagement with your call to action.

[00:21:45] But I do love the fact that, um, share it with a friend, send them to the website like that was. I, it was very easy to do. They don't have to think about it. They just take the website and share it with a friend and, and here's what you get. I love the, the ending. , if you wanted to tweak it for some engagement, you could do it there, or you could just leave the ending just the way it is.

[00:22:08] And we can ask for some engagement at the beginning of the episode where, you know, I'm always looking for great. topics to dive into. If you have a suggestion for me, go over to the contact page and shoot it to me. You could ask for that upfront before we get into the episode and then just keep your clothes here exactly as it is because, it works.

[00:22:28] Okay.

[00:22:28] Dave Jackson: Yeah. I love the fact it's, it's great branding because a, we bring the guitar in from the beginning. So now we've got the theme music thing going on, and it's a, kind of a, a little mental signal that, Hey, this is the end of the show. I love that. I love the fact that you did not say, find me wherever.

[00:22:45] Find podcasts are. Whatever app you're looking. I'm like, ah, it drives me nuts. And the name of the show is live well and flourish. And your website is live well and flourish.com. And I was like, okay. Checks that checks that cuz so many people don't realize that the search in some apps is, is beyond horrible.

[00:23:05] , it's just awful. And so I was just, I was like that's and then there was one, there was one called action, tell a friend and tell them to go to my website. And I was like, I, I really, when it got done, I was kind of like, oh, surely there's another one. Like he's gonna somehow, you know, I was like, Nope, that's it.

[00:23:22] We're done. And I was like, wow, that was an amazing call to action. So kudos on

[00:23:27] Craig Van Slyke: B. There was this guy, um, that I was listening to, that kind of helped me with that as Dave something or other Dave

[00:23:35] Dave Jackson: I that school of something. Yeah.

[00:23:37] Erik K Johnson: yeah, yeah, I love that. Dave Johnson guy. He's good.

[00:23:42] Dave Jackson: in front of me in homeroom. Uh but, uh, as we

[00:23:46] Erik K Johnson: behind you. It was

[00:23:48] Dave Jackson: that was said, thank you. I knew something like that. but when we go over to your website, this is always, as soon as I see one of these, I'm like, well, there's not gonna be much to talk about here. You're using pod page. And, uh, let me go to the homepage here.

[00:24:01] So we've got the nice, uh, looking over the, the lake or something of that nature. And, um, you've got

[00:24:09] Erik K Johnson: which plays right into the guitar music, right? It's like from lake Wobegon, here we go.

[00:24:15] Dave Jackson: And so you've got the ability to, , follow and subscribe here. That's already set. You've got a contact page. If I were to say anything, when we go to the about page. Because this is where I was like, oh, I need to go to, to Dave's nitpicky corner here. Cuz there really wasn't much is you have this about the show.

[00:24:36] And I think in pod page, you can add a section about the hosts, which I think shows at the bottom of the page, but I'd be tempted to, to put something here about you. I I'm glad that you have. The part about the podcast, because that's usually what people look like, what is this? But the about page of the podcast can have a little more oomph.

[00:24:56] If you put a little bit about you and they're like, oh, well, this guy does this and this and that and that. So, uh,

[00:25:02] Erik K Johnson: That was my thought. Is that the about page and the homepage really? Weren't all that different in terms of content about the. The homepage gives me links to the episodes and the about page doesn't. But the about, on the about page is just like the, about, on the homepage. So is there a little something deeper we can do here?

[00:25:22] Dave Jackson: And then are you, uh, wanted by somebody or is there like there's no pictures of you on the website?

[00:25:28] Craig Van Slyke: not, not, not under this name, so not under this name. That's awesome.

[00:25:34] Dave Jackson: So you might wanna mix in a picture, you know, you don't have to,

[00:25:39] Craig Van Slyke: Really, I mean, you're looking at this face. You really think that's gonna help

[00:25:44] Dave Jackson: well,

[00:25:44] Craig Van Slyke: put a picture of one of the goats up there something? Yeah.

[00:25:46] Dave Jackson: Put some flannel on nstead next to a cabin tie, right. In, , the other thing, and, and again, this is where I was like, oh, finally, so thinking I can go, I would change. This is you have a, a Mato on, which is, uh, kind of a, a system that lets you build your own Twitter, which is kind of cool.

[00:26:03] And when I clicked on it to play with it, And again, this is not a deal breaker, but you still have your old branding over here.

[00:26:09] Craig Van Slyke: Okay,

[00:26:09] And I was like, ah, it's not the rational ignorance podcast. Oh. And there's that fire? There's the crackling fire with a cat in it, which is

[00:26:15] that's right. That's our, that's our one of our little kittens. So

[00:26:19] Dave Jackson: the other thing is, is this the old artwork to the previous version of the podcast in the bottom left hand corner here that we're looking at? What is that?

[00:26:29] Track2-USB2 Main: Yeah, and I have not been able to get that to change yet, so I need to get in touch with them and, you know, pod pod page is 90% great. And 10% I can't quite figure out. So I, yeah, I, that is the old, uh,

[00:26:43] Dave Jackson: Figure out where it is kind of thing. And then I

[00:26:46] Erik K Johnson: that kind of sounds like my life I'm 90% great. And 10% just can't figure it out.

[00:26:51] Craig Van Slyke: That's better than most of us

[00:26:53] Dave Jackson: and then I don't know if it's my monitor. Eric, did you have any problem reading the white text on this background?

[00:27:00] Erik K Johnson: Yeah, that was a little wonky for me. I kind of had to lean in to, to check that out, that the white against the pale blue on the footer footer of the website was a little tough to read.

[00:27:12] Dave Jackson: Yeah. Cuz I get that the blue kind of matches the blue-ish of the, the water on the front, but I was like, I might make that a little, maybe just a little darker blue just to make this a little easier to read, um,

[00:27:26] Erik K Johnson: Or make it black, like it is on the

[00:27:28] Dave Jackson: Yeah, that's true.

[00:27:29] Erik K Johnson: yeah. Uh, the, the left is black and make the right black. Okay, that makes sense. Um, the only other challenge I had with the website is the blog itself. , I noticed that you just recently put up a, a recent blog post, but that had been dormant for quite some time.

[00:27:46] So the podcast episodes are there and, and, um, I love the clean look of it. I love pod page. They do a great job. , but other than that, everything else was pretty rock solid.

[00:27:57] Dave Jackson: Yeah. Yeah. I thought it was.

[00:28:00] Craig Van Slyke: great.

[00:28:02] Dave Jackson: So as we start to wrap up, um, Eric, any final thoughts here for Craig?

[00:28:10] Erik K Johnson: No, overall, your content is solid. Um, I'd just like to hear a little more warmth from you. Let me hear you smile. Um, tell me the story rather than reading the story to me. Um, I know on your intake form, you talked about. Your ideal target listener and not being able to understand where to find them. And I think that goes back to the vagueness of your ideal listener.

[00:28:33] if you, the more you niche down and focus on your ideal, target listener, that single person you want to attract, then you know where to find them online. Mm-hmm right. So if you say your I, your target audience is people who think about the deeper questions of. I realize this is pretty vague.

[00:28:53] Yep. Cuz that's pretty much everybody that's that's in existence. And then the next question is where does your potential audience hang out? And you don't know, you haven't figured it out yet because it's everybody right? So , if you narrow it down a little bit more, and if you go down in your, , Uh, what are your biggest pain points of your audience?

[00:29:12] You start getting into, , they have a feeling of being incomplete, lacking, meaning in their lives. Often these folks have been successful professionally, but have this sense that there's more to life than professional and financial success. So you're looking for those people who have. Succeeded greatly in life, but now they're looking for the meaning of life, right?

[00:29:34] So it's not everybody, it's not just people thinking deeply. It's these people that read, magazines like mental floss and read, uh, these, uh, psychology today and kind of trying to find a deeper meaning amongst us, rather than just every. And so I think if you go back and refine your ideal target listener a little bit more, and the pains they're struggling with the goals and, and what they want out of life next, I think you'll figure out exactly who they are.

[00:30:04] And you'll, you'll better understand where they hang out online. You'll understand which experts already have those people in their audience. They're already talking to those individuals. Now you can go partner with those folks, get in front of their audience and invite them to your

[00:30:20] Craig Van Slyke: . Okay. Great idea. Thank you.

[00:30:22] Dave Jackson: The other thing I was thinking when I heard this episode is, is a. , crack in the door or at least a way to reach out to people. Your show is not a weight loss show. It's, it's more, , a life balance show in a way. , but because you have a personal weight loss story, you might reach out to weight loss shows and say, Hey, I lost X amount of pounds.

[00:30:44] Here's how I did it. I dunno if you've ever talked about this kind of strategy, but I'm living proof that it works, blah, blah, blah. And then you can say, oh yeah, I'm with the, live well and flourish show where we talk about such and such. And that might actually then have somebody who's. Yeah.

[00:31:00] They've already got a weight loss show, cuz they're listing to the one that you're a guest on. But if they need another show to kind of talk about, you know, like the stuff you talk about on your show, that might be a way to get some, some people,

[00:31:13] Erik K Johnson: Yeah, great way to grow is to find people. Compliment your niche. So they're talking to the same people, but they compliment what you do. So if you're talking about live well and flourish, like, what is that next, um, thing in life? How can we find people that are all already talking to that group? Maybe they're talking philosophy, or maybe they're talking, purpose driven life, or maybe they're talking weight loss, or maybe they're talking, career enhancement or something like that.

[00:31:42] So they're, they're talking to the. Audience, but they're talking to them about a different topic or a complimentary subject matter of what you're discussing, and those are the people you wanna partner with.

[00:31:54] Craig Van Slyke: Okay, great. Thank you.

[00:31:55] Dave Jackson: Yeah. Cuz you've got some great episode titles, you know, risk and benefits of generalizations. I love this one. Birds don't just fly. They hop a lot too. And so things that make you want to click on and it's not, Live well and flourish episode 47. That does make me want to click.

[00:32:12] So I liked your titles as well. So

[00:32:15] Erik K Johnson: I love when Dave says nobody is Google searching episode 37. like don't name your show episode 37.

[00:32:23] Dave Jackson: , did you have any questions for us?

[00:32:26] Craig Van Slyke: No, I, I, I think I've gotten, uh, some really good feedback. I'm assuming that the length is okay and sounds okay. That kind of.

[00:32:34] Dave Jackson: Yeah, actually, , I'm glad you brought that up. Yeah, the, the audio was great. And when I opened it up to night to, to edit it, it was right where you kind of want to be around that, uh, anywhere from minus 12 to minus three range of, of volume in that whole nine yard. So that was good. And, um,

[00:32:51] Erik K Johnson: The length is great. You know, uh, Valerie Galler famous, radio consultant always says no such thing as too long, only too boring. And, uh, you know, you get through it and you hit those three points. I, I, I'm not as concerned with the length as I am the consistency. So people are creatures of habit. If they're coming to your show expecting 17 minutes, roughly every week, then give them roughly 17 minutes every week, get them in the habit of, um, expecting that delivery from you.

[00:33:20] They know what they like, and they like what they know. And so if you're giving them consistent every week, then they're gonna come every week to get it.

[00:33:27] Craig Van Slyke: Great.

[00:33:29] Dave Jackson: Yeah, cuz I mean, you did a great job of here's what we're talking about. Here's some examples. Here's my story. Here's how, you know, and then you just like, all right, well that's, we've, we've done what we came here to do. Like, all right, please go tell a friend. Yeah. exactly. Awesome. Well, Craig, thanks for coming on the show.

[00:33:48] You can find Craig over@livewellandflourish.com. Eric, where can people find you?

[00:33:55] Erik K Johnson: Find me anytime. You'd like all my coaching information, contact information, and helpful tools over at podcasttalentcoach.com and Dave, how about.

[00:34:05] Dave Jackson: You can find me over at schoolofpodcasting.com. And if you'd like to be in Craig's seat, simply go over to podcastreviewshow.com. You'll see there's an option there to get reviewed at the top of the screen. So thanks so much for tuning in and until next week, you know, there's always room for improvement.

[00:34:24] That's, uh, something to think about, and that's what we're here to help you do and boost. So thanks for listen. We'll see you again real soon with another episode of the podcast review show.