How I overcame my fears and limiting beliefs of starting a podcast (7 min)

ZJ Chang Author

12 November 2020

(7 min read)

We all have fears that make us come up with excuses, when it comes to pursuing what we desire.

In this first episode on my podcast, I am sharing with you

Why I wanted to start my own podcast – this podcast
The 4 excuses that kept me from starting my podcast sooner
How I shifted my perspective to start doing it anyway and what you can do too, when you feel you are holding yourself back

Episode summary

This is the first episode, and it is a big milestone for me, because I've been putting this off for such a long time.

It's something that I've been wanting to do for a couple of years already, but I never felt ready. Well, of course, we are never ready to start anything new or something out of your comfort zone. And today I just had this thought: ‘why not just record it and then just publish it’? We have to take a first step somewhere, right?

A wish to share something with the world

Honestly, starting this podcast show has been a wish of mine for a couple of years now. I have always been so inspired by the shows that I listened to myself, that I wanted to start one too.

I listened to a lot of podcasts on personal development, entrepreneurship, founder stories, people sharing their life experiences or business experiences. Personal development is a huge passion of mine and I truly believe that everybody should spend time on personal development, as it just helps you so much in every way and aspect of your life.

And because I learned so many new things, I got so many insights from these shows. I wanted to share my own lessons and insights also through a podcast, because a podcast is one of the best ways to share. Why? Well, because a lot of people are busy and it is so easy to just listen to a show when you’re on the go or as you are doing other things, like chores in and around the house or when going outside for a run.

Actually that is how I did it. I would always, and still do, listen to shows when I am commuting from home to work or on my way to a client. When I was still working as a consulting for one of the Big 4, I was spending so much time in the car and I was so sick of the radio, that I started to listen to other (personal development and self-help) podcast shows. These shows really inspired me, and helped me understand myself so much better:

Where I wanted to be
What I wanted to do
Feel inspired
Feeling energized

Arriving at my destination after listening to these, just make me feel so much better: hyped up and energized.

Now that you know why I listen to podcast so much myself, in this first episode I wanted to dig a little deeper into the process of starting one. Sharing what I went through to finally do this.

The 4 excuses and beliefs (or fears) that kept me from starting my podcast

1: I have nothing to share. I’m not an expert

In the beginning I was always telling myself that I wasn't ready to start a show, that I was not adding any value. I mean, who am I to share these experiences and this knowledge, right? It was not that I was a business owner or so, just someone who reads a lot of non-fiction self-help books and listens to a lot of podcast shows, and would watch a lot of YouTube videos on these topics of personal development too.

I was not an expert at it – and still am not one as I am always learning more.

So this feeling made me put it off and I would tell myself that maybe one day when I have made a name for myself, when I am an expert at something, that I would start a show. One to inspire others.

2: Fear of being judged by others

On top of that, I also did not know what I wanted to share with others. Reason? You could say I was afraid to be judged by others. That people would say: Oh now ZJ is starting her podcast.. about what? What does she have to share. Basically no topic or theme looked good enough for me to put it out in the open.

3: I can't because I don’t have the equipment

Another thing that kept me from doing it was just an excuse that I was telling to myself. I told myself or got myself to believe that I needed all this equipment to start a podcast.

But truth is, this is no more than a huge excuse. Nowadays what do you really need to start something like this? You only need you, and a phone. There a numerous apps right now to record and edit audio. So there is frankly no excuse to not start a podcast. As everything you need is free too.

4: Now is not the time for me

One other excuse that was holding me back was the fact that I had only started my own business last summer. In 2019 I quit my job as a corporate consultant, as a strategy consultant, at one of the big four consulting firms. As since I just started out, I felt uncomfortable to already share insights and tips and tricks from my personal experience.

As seeing other people launching their show left and right, I felt I would only be able to share more of my experience and expertise once I had a super successful business up and running, once I would have my desired income goals and enough spare time. That only THEN I could (and would be allowed – allow myself basically) to spend the time and effort on a project like this.

Spending time and attention on launching a podcast first that was not generating me an income, didn’t feel like the best use of my time and resources.

And then I did it anyway (and so can you)

But today I felt differently and thought differently.

I just felt I had to do this. Just start it. Simply because when you spend time on things you love, that energize you, that lift you up, you will be enthusiastic and motivated to also take the next step in another areas of your life.

I also think that by recording this first episode, I will start train myself to take steps faster, to learn quicker, and to just get out of my comfort zone much more, so that that I can actually grow in my journey as an entrepreneur and as a person.

Basically, I just felt today that I had to do this and that it would be a start of something GREAT.

We'll see where it’ll lead me to.

Just starting this very first episode, honestly is a great way to overcome my own obstacles and excuses, my beliefs (BS) that I cannot do it, that it is a waste of my time, that I’m not an expert of people will just laugh at me.

Just by starting this first episode, I'm throwing all those beliefs and all those excuses right out of the window.

Okay, so the big lesson to share with you today is you just must start before you are ready, before you feel ready. Just do it and then take it from there.

Start before you are ready, before you feel ready. Just do it and then take it from there.

There is always something that you can learn along the way. It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. Nobody started perfectly. Everybody started with something that was just 50% or 60% or basically 80% for themselves, and maybe 50% for the outside world.

But it doesn't matter, because over time you will get better. Over time, you will grow your confidence to share more, to share knowledge and to grow even more personally.

Continuous growth is one of the most important things in life.

If you don’t grow, you basically die.. ok.. ok… that sounds really harsh, but I want you to think about it. Everything around us, all the life around us, like trees, plants, everything, it just keeps on growing. And if it doesn’t it means it has stopped growing and progressing and basically start to deteriorate and die.

Alright, a pretty heavy end at the end of this first episode, but let's just say that I'm looking forward to sharing more of my knowledge, tips, tricks on business, on my entrepreneurial journey, on personal development, on being a mom of three kids, all of this together.

It will just be an uncensored show and hopefully I will talk to you in the next episode.

So have a great day for now, and I'll see you in the next episode. Bye-bye.

Hi, I am ZJ and I am a business strategist and coach for entrepreneurs. In my podcast I share my business tips and insights with you to inspire you to create your Bold Business on your own terms.

I would love to hear from you personally.

Let me know what you think of my podcast, how it helps you and also share you suggestions for future episodes with me. Don’t hesitate to contact me on Instagram or LinkedIn.

Did you already leave me a review? If not, all you have to do is go to Bold Business Owners Podcast and leave a review.

Follow me on

Instagram: @zjmeansbusiness 

LinkedIn: Zhen Jun Chang 

Website: www.zjmeansbusiness.com

Do you want to take your BOLD Business to the next level on your own terms? Are you stuck, not sure where to start, what direction to head into, or can you use something to think along with you on how to grow it in a way that fits you and your goals? Book your free call with me so that we can discuss the first step you can take to get there.  Book here!**

Categories: : Podcast