Episode 76 | Confident Storytelling Podcast

Can you believe it's been over 6 months since an episode was published in Confidence Storytelling Podcast? Well, now we are back, and in this episode I am going to share what was happening in the background, what incredible changes, what was I going through, and why it took me so much time to come back. And also the good news, now we are going to have a new episode every single week, so So stay tuned and let's get started. Welcome to Confident Storytelling Podcast, the podcast where stories shape leaders, ignite change, and connect us all. I am your host, Haritosh Srivastav, a storytelling and public speaking coach. Whether you are a professional, an entrepreneur, or a coach, this is your space to discover how to craft and deliver stories that inspire, build trust, and trust and influence those around you. Here, we'll dive deep into techniques, real-life examples, and personal experiences that will elevate your storytelling skills and boost your confidence. Let's transform the way you communicate, one story at a time. Hi everyone, I hope you are doing great. Today is 2nd of September and it 11 PM Indian Standard Time when I am recording this episode, and hopefully it should be coming out in next couple of days. And when I'm here in my— this new place, this new mini office, I am having a lot of nostalgic feeling, lot of reflections, and I think this is the perfect time for me to record this episode. So this episode is going to be a straight from the heart episode. So I'm going to keep it audio because I want it to be a free-flowing episode without having too much worry about how do I look on camera and etc., etc. I have just my laptop open with few notes for me to cover. And in this episode, what I want to cover is little bit about this podcast if you are new. I hope you will find this interesting and how it has evolved over the years, why there was such a long break. So if you notice, the last episode was published somewhere around February of 2024, and there has not been any new episode posted for last 6 months or so. So why there was such a long break? What were my reasons behind that? And why I'm restarting now, and what are things are there in the store for now. So let me first start out with the history of this podcast. This podcast started initially in 2021. In fact, the first episode, if you look back, you'll find the first episode was recorded on 1st of January 2021. At that time, it was called as Small Town Bigger Dreams Podcast. I was in the process of writing and editing my first book, which is again called Small Town Bigger Dreams. And my purpose was to use this podcast to generate some curiosity, to get people to listen about that. That's why if you look at the initial episode, it was all the more about about the book and the lessons. But over the last 3+ years that we— I had been doing this podcast, as I have evolved, this podcast has also evolved over the years. I started with this, the book, then eventually it went towards the public speaking. And then as I figured out that even in public speaking I want to niche down, I want to really get deeper into the aspect of storytelling. This podcast also eventually became Confident Storytelling Podcast. We have, oh, probably 4 seasons. I still contemplate at times whether I should have said that as season or not. Nevertheless, we have had about 4 seasons already, and What's most important is that we have over 75 episodes. I think this is going to be the 76th episode. So I can very proudly say that we are among the top 1% podcast, just statistically, because most of the podcasts, uh, don't even go beyond a few or 10 or 20 episodes. So we have reached a big milestone, and I plan to continue that. So that's a little bit of about history of this podcast. Now I want to talk about something which is very, very important— why there was such a long break of about 6 months or half a year. Oh my God, how do I start? And then we'll talk about why now. So why there was such a long break? Now I want to be very candid and honest over this because I love my podcast audience and I want to be very open. And I think I have talked about that in last— towards the last episode that I was recording, that I was going through a phase where I was setting a few wrong expectations by myself. Also because of the vendor that I had and other things. But I had put some unrealistic expectation from me, and that was taking a toll on me. So to be honest, I had put a target of having 2 episodes per week, which turned out to be a nightmare for me. So while I was very comfortable before publishing 1 episode per fortnight and then 1 episode per week, Putting it, making it 2 episodes per week became a huge challenge which was taking a lot of toll on, on my health, on my balance. And at the same time, I was working and I was involved into so many other things, I couldn't find the time. And as they say, once you miss one episode or one of the episode Then the series continued and you feel like, okay, I need to catch up, or should I restart, or should I take a pause? And in that jumbo bumbo, I could never catch it up. So that is why there was some wrong expectation on my end which resulted into no action being taken for last 6 months. And I think I'm, I'm perfectly fine with it. Uh, initially I was very disturbed with it that I had made a promise, but I couldn't do. Interestingly, I also made few more promises to my audience which I couldn't fulfill, and I felt really, really bad. But you know, as things go on, you learn from your experiences, you become more realistic and practical, and then you grow from there. So that is what I'm taking away with it. The second reason why I was on such a break was there was a lot, I mean literally a lot, going on on the personal level. So those of you who do not know me personally, uh, I was working in an IT company as an IT project manager while doing all of this as a side hustle. And at that time I was in the UK. And towards the end of the last year, I had already decided that I will be relocating back to India. I will be switching from an IT job and a part-time storytelling course to becoming a full-time storytelling coach. So for those things to materialize, I had to stop a number of things, and podcast was one of those things because from April till I would say at least July end or start of April, August. I was into where I was, no, I had put my resignation, I was doing my non-establishment, and I was packing my bags, doing stuff in the UK, and then switching back, coming back to India, and doing setup in terms of business streamlining. So I'm very glad to share that, uh, I think almost all of it has been done. And one more realization that has happened, that in business you never arrive, you are always work in progress. I'm getting used to it and I'm learning the tips and tricks of living an entrepreneur life. But I can safely say that I am at a spot that where I feel that this is the right time for me to come out of that break. And the third reason why I was on a break was it was always a temporary pause. I never intended to, to get away with this podcast or just stop right away. It was always in back of my mind that, yeah, I may not be coming here as often as I want to, but I'm going to come back. Or even if I'm on a break, I'm gonna come back and resume from here so that Those were some of my reasons why I was on a break on this podcast. Now let's talk about why now. What is it that I want to do with this podcast and what's my vision for this podcast? So first of all, as I said earlier, we are reaching a milestone and we have already completed 75 episodes. So very soon we'll be completing 76th episode, with this episode, and I want to complete, uh, 100 episodes as on without any break. So my plan is to have from now on one episode per week so that I am continuously providing a lot of value, consistent content to my audience. You've been my audience. It's been an honor and privilege, honestly. So I'm going to put one episode per week, and I'm also gonna put a combination of types of episode. So you would have seen that initially when I started, it used to be a lot of solo episodes, and it used to be a lot of interview episodes. I've done a lot of interviews in the past, and I want to bring those because, uh, for my own selfish reason, when I get to interview some amazing world leaders, champions. I get to learn a lot, and I think if I interview them and put it over here, I'm assuming you also learn a lot. So that's the value that I want to bring. So I want to keep some episode as solo episode, just like what we are having now, uh, where I want to talk straight from the heart. Sometimes I want to become more tactical, sometimes sharing some personal insight. And also on other times, I want to bring some guest speakers, some guest interviews I want to do. In— as a matter of fact, I already have record— I had recorded couple of episodes before I came from UK, and you're gonna hear about that in the coming weeks. So I'm very excited for that. So that's the new updates that I have in terms of what's going to happen. And I'm also going to research and do more to engage the audience. So if you have any suggestions for me to improve, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram @coachharitoshsrivastav. That is C-O-A-C-H-H-A-R-I-T-O-S-H-S-R-I-V-A-S-T-A-V. So @coachharitoshsrivastav is my Instagram handle. You can follow if you want to and send me any ideas or suggestions that you have that can help me update or bring you top-notch podcast episodes. Okay, now let's talk about, uh, what are some of my learnings through this exercise, through this, through this reflection, through this journey. Of, you know, changing the job, taking a really, really bold decision, which I'm human, I also get a few times a doubt, self-doubt creeps in, but I'm trying to stay afloat. I'm trying to get some right accountability partner, right mentor, right guidance on that to not get that overtake my mind. So what are my top 3 lessons? Number 1 is that you always have a choice. A lot of us live in the mindset that we don't have a choice, this is what we have to do. If you need to hear it from me, let me tell you that you always have a choice. You can always restart your journey. You can always take a pause. There is, there is no judgment, and you shouldn't worry about any judgment. So you always have a choice. You can always stop, you can always restart or resume, and you can choose which battle you want to fight. And this I can say from my own personal experience. The lesson number 2 that I have for you is there are a lot of stories we tell. The one story that we tell is to the others. The second story we tell, uh, we listen is that others tell to us, that is the we listen to the story. But third and the most powerful story is What stories we tell to ourselves. For the exact same situation, exact same circumstances, one person may be telling a really bad story to himself or herself, while the other person may be telling a real— a better story, a great story. So you are the story creator of your own life. You are the creator of your own life story. So make sure you are telling yourself better stories. It comes— goes back to the concept of how being in growth mindset affects your life. But I really want to pass on this second lesson to you is you can always tell a better story to yourself. And number 3, the third lesson which I learned from Ankur Warikoo when I was listening to one of his episodes, or maybe I was reading one of his newsletters. He said that it's the last man standing who wins, which means that consistency always pays off. No matter how talented or non-talented you are, if you are consistent to make an effort there's a good probability that you might succeed, provided you are doing your work diligently, consistently, and honestly. So those were my top 3 lessons: you always have a choice, you tell better story to yourself, and it's about the last man standing. So that's my inaugural episode of I don't know, new season should I call, or number 76 of Confident Storytelling Podcast. By the way, if you are a working professional, an entrepreneur, or a coach who wants to elevate your storytelling skills, who wants to see how storytelling affects directly and indirectly your sales, your influence, your impact then I would like you to— like to invite you to my next Secrets of Storytelling Masterclass. I'm going to put the link in the description so you can directly register from there. And also, if you have not yet subscribed to the podcast, I hope you found some value, so please do subscribe. Trust me, it really helps. And if you— if you really found this useful, if you really had some bulb on or aha moment I want you to leave a 5-star review on Apple or Spotify podcast and send me a screenshot on Instagram, and I will be sharing a free course about how you can build your confidence. So take care, friend. I'll see you next week, which is going to be one of the most profound episode I ever recorded because I had a chance to interview one of my mentors, one of my coaching ideals. So you'll hear about it in the coming week. But until then, as I say every time, until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep going out of your comfort zone. Take care, stay safe, and stay blessed.