So...what's up with the podcast? (I.E. Where the f*ck have I been? And what does the future hold?)
I'm just going to dive right in and point out the giant elephant in the room (elephant SFX): It's been a LOOOOOONG time since I've released a new podcast interview. It's been almost a year now, in fact, since I hosted my 5-day virtual summit about navigating the future of entertainment. And this is by far the longest gap I've had between episodes since all the way back to when I launched the podcast in 2014. Over the last decade I've conducted well over 400 long form interviews, and I always prided myself on **being a good little content creator who pleased the algorithms by consistently releasing new content on a weekly basis.
Ugh...there are so many things I hate about that sentence.
One, I disdain the term "content creator." That's not to say that I disdain content creators, in fact there are several that I follow religiously, learn from, and highly recommend. But at the same time, I can't stand what this term has come to represent and the expectations that come with it. I didn't launch a podcast so I could add "content" to people's news feeds and to-do lists, I launched a podcast because I love exploring the human experience, learning about individuals and their journeys, and sharing this knowledge with others whom it can benefit. And it just so happens people ended up finding me and getting value from these conversations. So I just kept doing it. And a global community emerged around these conversations. But then the excitement of building something was overtaken by a dark pit in my stomach. An overwhelming feeling took hold that I "have to" be releasing content every single week, or else I'm letting my listeners down.
The second thing I hate is the idea that content creators work for the algorithms...and let's be honest, content creators have become slaves to the algorithms across all the platforms. And I frankly have no interest in being a part of an ecosystem that deals dopamine hits with the intent of keeping analog humans tethered to their digital binkies, disassociated from their thoughts and feelings, incapable of tolerating boredom, and preventing them from being more present for the actual people around them.
And third, I shudder at the term "consistently." Content creator burnout is an absolute epidemic across industries and platforms. On the surface it may sound amazing to run your own business, do your own thing, and generate revenue by making your own stuff by your own rules. But once you became a slave to the algorithms, the only way to consistently support yourself is feeding said algorithms. . And as someone with ADHD, let's just say consistency with...well...anything is not my strong suit. So in short, I'm over it. All of it. No thanks. I'm out of the consistency game.
In my most recent Substack essay about declaring Expectation Bankruptcy (which you can listen to in this same podcast feed), I go into much deeper detail about this next phase of my creative career, but to briefly summarize what's relevant to you, the podcast listener:
As of Wednesday, May 27th , I've started working on my first book. I’ve transitioned from the future tense mindset of “I’m going to write a book someday when all of the conditions are perfect and I have all of my ducks in a row and I’m ready and prepared” to the present tense of actually writing the fucking book despite not being ready and not having the time.
To quote bestselling author and artist Austin Kleon [https://open.substack.com/users/800132-austin-kleon?utm_source=mentions]:
> “If you want to be the noun, first do the verb.”
If I want to be a writer, I need to be writing. Not waiting to write. Not preparing to write. FUCKING. WRITING.
Given this will most likely be the most difficult professional undertaking of my entire career, and having recently declared expectation bankruptcy, these are my new zero-based expectations for you, the podcast listener:
* I’ll do my best to release a couple of long-form podcast interviews for per month. I might hit this goal. I might not. I might even release more! Who knows. But the book comes first.
* I’ll do my best to write a couple of long form Substack essays per month. I might hit this goal. I might not. But the book comes first.
* I will continue to work with clients and students in The Arnold Academy [https://thearnoldacademy.com/] both privately and in small groups, but I will protect my calendar such that there is always time to write. Because the book comes first.
Having said that, I will continue to explore the human condition and how we as analog humans fit into this new digital world dominated by robots. And in doing so I intend to introduce you to different ideas and perspectives from a multitude of experts, authors, filmmakers, storytellers, and inspirational humans doing awesome things. I will not be interviewing people that are trending, and by and large I will not be accepting cold solicitations for podcast guests. I will chat with people I find interesting and that have value to provide you, whether they have a book releasing this week or they haven't released anything in fifty years. If the conversation can make your life even a little better, my goal is to record it and make it available to you.
Despite not having an endless conveyor belt of new and fresh content coming your way on a weekly basis, I want to remind you that my entire library of conversations are evergreen educational resources that you can now discover and search by learning path at zackarnold.com/episodes [http://zackarnold.com/episodes]. Whether you want to navigate the next act of your career, build your dream network, do your best creative work, learn how to take better care of yourself, or just plain be inspired, you can find whatever conversation you need sorted by learning paths, your unique goals, and the obstacles standing in your way. Once again you can access my entire episode index and find the exact conversation you need when you need it at zackarnold.com/episodes [http://zackarnold.com/episodes].
On that note, I look forward to years if not decades to come of engaging, insightful, and inspirations conversations with fascinating, highly creative humans. And I'm so glad you're along the ride with me. Thank you so much for letting me into your earbuds, your inbox, and your heart. Take care of yourself, and be well.
