I generally don't listen to podcasts. It's not that I don't want to, it's that it's difficult for me because a) I'm not good at multi-tasking (listening and writing do not go hand in hand) and b) I don't have a commute. But I do make exceptions, especially when a podcast has been recommended to me.
The rotten thing, in this case, is that I can't remember who to thank for recommending Seth Godin's podcast to me. I took two trips to SoCal in the past two weeks, one by car and one by train, and got hooked on Akimbo. I listened to as much of it as I could while watching the beautiful state of California fly by me.
It's about how to change culture and it's terrific.
Akimbo is an ancient word, from the bend in the river or the bend in an archer's bow. It's become a symbol for strength, a posture of possibility, the idea that when we stand tall, arms bent, looking right at it, we can make a difference.
Akimbo's a podcast about our culture and about how we can change it. About seeing what's happening and choosing to do something.
The culture is real, but it can be changed. You can bend it.
Now, I think of Seth Godin as a marketing guy, and he is. But this podcast is something more. It goes beyond that. I guess what I'm saying is that I think it would be interesting to non-marketing folks.
. As I listened to it, I took down pages and pages of notes, occasionally stopping the recording to reflect how his lessons apply to me and my work.
For example, his episode on origin stories got me thinking about what I've told myself about how I got to be who I am, what choices I've made as a result, and how much of that story and those choices have informed my whole life's journey.
Again, it's called Akimbo. It's in its second season now (it started in February of this year), so there's plenty of content to binge on. You don't have to start at the beginning like with other podcasts but I would. I did. Each episode is about 20 minutes long.