I have been commuting 45 minutes for work for about six months now and I was getting real tired of my usual Spotify playlists. I had dabbled in listening to podcasts a few times, but it wasn’t until a road trip with some friends, binge-listening to the Dr. Death podcast that I really got hooked. Since then, I’ve had a new podcast episode downloaded and ready for my drive almost every day! Sometimes I even have to sit in the driveway and listen to the last five minutes. ?
I especially like to listen to podcasts that I can learn something from. Those commutes have turned into classroom time!
Here are nine of my favourite podcasts to listen to when I want to feel inspired and gain some new knowledge:
The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast
If you haven’t listened to Lauryn Evarts and Michael Bosstick’s fun and witty podcast, you are missing out on tons of useful information and plenty of laughs. The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast features tons of amazing guests with valuable insights on entrepreneurship, influence, productivity, healthy eating and lifestyle, skincare and more. And aside from the helpful tips and stories, Lauryn and Michael’s banter with their friend Taylor is pure entertainment. ?
Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman
Hosted by the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, the Masters of Scale podcast is an interview style podcast featuring some of the biggest names in business and entrepreneurship. You can learn about how to “move fast and break things” with Mark Zuckerberg, how to reach and engage millennials with Brit Morin of Brit + Co and what makes a great company culture with Netflix’s Reed Hastings (my favourite episode, hands down!).
Follow Me Podcast
This podcast by the Be Social Group team is relatively new, but I was hooked from the first episode. Hosts Ali and Cole sit down with influencers, social media managers, hairstylists and more to talk about their careers and how they work in a digital space. My favourite episode so far? Episode 7 with Rachel Zeilic – that chick is inspiring!
Business Wars
As soon as I finished the Dr. Death podcast, which is by Wondery, I jumped right into another one of their podcasts – Business Wars. I love listening to business stories and how they were developed, but Business Wars takes it one step further by diving into the stories between competitors. You truly won’t believe some of the details of how Netflix overpowered Blockbuster or what went down between Marvel and DC Comics. I personally loved the series that explains how Mattel and Hasbro battled it out in the toy industry. Do you know who Barbie and Ken were named after? Or how the idea for Barbie was sparked? Take a listen and thank me later!
The GaryVee Audio Experience
Yes, I am one of those people who couldn’t stand Gary Vaynerchuk when I was first introduced to him and his content. I was going to a conference that he was speaking at, so I checked out some of his videos and thought, “Wow, this guy is full of himself and can be pretty rude.” After that keynote, I think I disliked him even more, but in the 2+ years since then, he’s grown on me (I even read and LOVED his book, Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too). If you can get past Gary interrupting his guests and occasionally shutting them down, you’ll see that he is really just trying to help guests and listeners, and that his content is extremely valuable to literally anyone that wants a fulfilling career.
The Influencer Podcast
Julie Solomon is a marketing expert and publicist who knows a thing or two about influencer marketing and growing a business. On her podcast she offers tips and tricks of her own, and she brings special guests on the show to talk about their experiences. What I like about The Influencer Podcast is that Julie doesn’t just bring on the high-profile influencers and entrepreneurs. She also chats with some of her clients who have smaller followings and are still in growth mode. Her chat with Officially Quigley was incredibly insightful and I would highly recommend a listen!
Second Life
This podcast, which is hosted by Hilary Kerr of Who What Wear and Clique Media, has some really amazing chats with incredibly inspiring guests who are major #careergoals. Are you interested in learning about how Raissa Gerona climbed her way to CBO of Revolve? Or how Drybar founder Ali Webb made blowouts a necessary beauty staple? Or maybe you want to know how Eva Chen’s career has taken her from Editor-In-Chief of Lucky magazine to Instagram to becoming a children’s book author? Second Life is all about the twists and turns that our careers take us on, and how these success stories navigated the “What’s Next?” question.
Girlboss Radio
Now this is the podcast that launched my love of audio interviews. Listening to the Girlboss herself, Sophia Amoruso, interview entrepreneurs and successful career women is mega inspiring. The interviewees, many of whom have launched their businesses in the last few years, share stories about how they got their big idea, steps that they took to get funding, challenges that they’ve faced and the big wins that make all of the hard work worth it.
EntreLeadership
This podcast can be a bit hit or miss for me. Some episodes I love, some I find super boring. One episode that I have replayed like 10+ times is Episode #278 Molly Fletcher: Fearless at Work. Holy shit, this chick is incredible. She’s been described as the “female Jerry Maguire” and she is extremely inspiring. If you want a little kick in the ass to excel at your passion or work, press play on this one.
One thing I should warn you about this list of podcasts… Your significant other, best friend, or mom might get a bit sick of hearing you say “I was listening to this podcast today and you wouldn’t believe….” – HA. Sorry Kirby ?
What are you favourite podcasts to listen to?
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