Sometimes things fall in place. Sometimes they don\’t.
I have been out of town for a few days, so tonight I sat down to record my podcast for this week. As I usually do, I decided what I wanted to talk about, created a basic show outline and sat down at my microphone to record it.
One hour later I listened to the 35-minute episode I had just created… and I hated it.
In fact, I was so displeased with the content that I decided not to upload it to iTunes.
Typically, people all around the world who subscribe to The Joel Comm Show would be getting notification of a new episode as I write this.
It\’s not going to happen this week.
And it\’s okay.
You see, It\’s my desire that the content I produce always deliver to those who listen. I want what I write and what I say to bring value and to make a difference.
I don\’t like to produce crap. And for whatever reason, I felt like what I recorded tonight was precisely that. I didn\’t see the value. I thought there was too much negativity. It was sub-par in every way.
So Episode #8 of my podcast may never see the light of day. In fact, there will never be another episode #8. If this one never gets released, I am skipping directly to episode #9 next week. \”The Lost Episode\” will stand as a reminder of the high standard I want to set for myself.
If I don\’t have something valuable to say, I don\’t want to say just anything.
I\’d rather have one profound episode that impacts lives than one thousand forgettable episodes.
And you know what? I hope you aim for a high bar as well.
If your product or service isn\’t excellent – if it doesn\’t fully deliver to a level that pleases you – it\’s alright to go back to the drawing board.
I\’ve sent the mp3 of episode #8 to a trusted friend. I\’ve asked their honest opinion.
If the feedback is positive, I may release the show after all. But I suspect they will agree with me. They may not \”hate\” the final product as I do, but they\’ll be honest and tell me if it should be shelved.
It may be unusual for people to just come out and tell you that they thought something they produced really sucked eggs, but if I am going to teach authenticity and transparency why shouldn\’t I extract and share a lesson from my own struggles?
And that\’s all I have to say about that.
What say ye?