retires great first podcast, retires great's first podcast, first podcast, podcast

WOW! Our very first podcast! Maybe you're wondering what it's like to participate in one. Up until a few short weeks ago, so did we. 

Surprisingly, it was fun, exciting and a little bit nerve wracking. Obviously, we wanted Retires Great first podcast to go well. In the end, it wasn’t quite like we expected – it was awesome!

We also gained a greater appreciation and understanding of how each of us deals with stress. And, how the man I love almost drove me crazy!

How It All Started

Much to our surprise, in the middle of May, Kemkem from Next Bite of Life reached out to us to be in a podcast. She had come across our blog, read some of our articles and thought her audience might be interested in our story.

retires great first podcast, retires great's first podcast, first podcast, podcast

Wow! We were really impressed with her website and the many podcasts she had done!

Shannon is so excited. Whereas, I’m feeling that niggling sense of dread (being an introvert). We’re all our own worse critics. I’m not even comfortable with having my picture taken let alone being interviewed.

Still, this will gain us more exposure and is a good thing to do. We fire off a reply to her email before going to sleep. In my infinite wisdom, I did mention we are newbies and this would be our first one.

Then the Self Doubt

The days and the weeks trickle by with no response. Self doubt starts creeping in that maybe we’re not ready for this and she changed her mind.

After all, we’re still a relatively new website. It was almost a feeling of relief for me and we’re busier than ever anyways.

Well, apparently, our response went into her “junk mail”. It was over two weeks before we heard back. Kemkem was so apologetic! She suggested we schedule it for the following week. Which day and time were most convenient for us?

Planning and Preparation

As you can imagine, my apprehension is, now, going through the roof!

Her discussion points look great and Kemkem reassures us that everything will go smoothly. Shannon is getting excited about it as we divvy up the questions. 

He’s done some public speaking back in his career and is extremely comfortable and confident presenting information.

Me, not so much. In fact, I once had to do a presentation and it took everything in me not to throw up. Everyone told me I did well. To this day, I cannot remember even what I said LOL!

However, my loving husband listens and is supportive as we discuss everything. I’m actually starting to be more comfortable with all of this.

The Technical Aspects

We’ve never done a podcast before – did I mention that before LOL?

Living out in the sticks, will our internet be fast enough? We only get around 5 MB on a wireless connection. Also, we’ll need a decent microphone to ensure proper audio.

retires great first podcast, retires great's first podcast, first podcast, podcast

We decided upon a Snowball Ice Blue microphone. It worked great!

A Man on a Mission!

The evening before our podcast, any semblance of peace in our house was shattered! Each of us deals with stress differently.

My wonderful husband decided, the evening before, we needed facts and figures at our finger tips. This easy-going man I love, transformed into a man on a mission.

Becoming ultra focused and task oriented, he revealed a side he seldom shows since his corporate days. The next several hours were a blur. 

He went about uncovering the many nuggets of information scattered throughout our posts. In fact, I don’t think there’s a single fact or figure he didn’t re-read and pore over.

It felt like we were preparing to be contestants on the game show Jeopardy. Category – little known facts on retirement.

retires great first podcast, retires great's first podcast, first podcast, podcast

Don’t be fooled! There’s over 20 pages filled with every imaginable detail from our posts! As the requests were flying fast and furious, I did my best to compile and organize them. I seriously doubt he missed anything.

Once this insanity was completed, Mr. Hyde returned to his former gentle self. After all that, my discomfort level has gone through the roof.

As an aside, we barely glanced at any of our notes during the podcast – go figure, huh?

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Considering this is completely new for us, what could possibly go wrong during Retires Great first podcast?

When the appointed time arrived, with fingers crossed, we joined Kemkem on the podcast. What a relief to hear her voice. It was our first time actually speaking with her. She was warm and supportive.

Everything seemed good until our screen froze!

We lost our internet connection. After several panicked moments, we were able to restore it.

Recently, our internet connection has been problematic and we’ve struggled along. Of course, it would go down just when we began our grand debut. After this potentially fatal mishap, everything went according to plan.

That also prompted a call to our service provider who replaced a faulty antenna.

retires great first podcast, retires great's first podcast, first podcast, podcast

Retires Great First Podcast

After all my nerves and “the man on a mission” incident, I found the podcast was, surprisingly, relaxed and comfortable. 

It was more like chatting with an old friend and we could easily have spoken much longer. Shannon even cracked a few jokes.

Kemkem sent us the cover she was going to use. She added it to her Podcast Chronicles – Episode 13. WOW - lucky number 13! If you’re interested, you can listen to the full interview HERE.

Some of the things we discussed included:

  • How each of us “retired”
  • A different spin to the 4% rule
  • The importance of relationships
  • Our advice for retirees: “Plan, prepare, and remain flexible”

June Was a Month of Firsts

In addition to our first podcast, June marked several other firsts for us. We share our trials and tribulations of starting our website in celebrating our 1st year anniversary.

We also did our first video or, rather, Shannon explained his DIY kitchen renovation. I was behind the camera doing my thing – where I’m comfortable.

I can’t believe Shannon celebrated his 60th birthday! He doesn’t look or act his age I can tell you that! He’s already started a post on what it’s like to reach that milestone.

Finally, we added a spot to sign up for emails, You will only receive a notification when we post new articles. If you find our stuff interesting, please sign up. Of course, we value your privacy and you can unsubscribe at anytime.

Closing Thoughts

Would we do another? The answer is absolutely YES!

Retires Great first podcast was certainly a learning experience. I realized I had a fear of the unknown – new to me, to be honest. 

Being my own harshest critic, I created unnecessary anxiety for myself. Even after all these years, quieting my inner voice is still a challenge.

As for my other half, he’s a bit of a perfectionist and sometimes gets mired in detail. However, that held us in good stead.

Being prepared helped to alleviate some of the butterflies. Also, it helped things go over without a hitch – other than the internet!

Looking back at it now, the podcast was a fun and a very interesting, enjoyable experience.

  • I really enjoyed your podcast and I can relate to how you felt. I had never done a podcast before either, but Kemkem is a fantastic hostess. Cool website you have here guys, I will have a good look around and check out your other articles.

    • Thank you, Gilda! Yes, Kemkem is awesome!

      Your blog looks equally cool and we will be checking out some of your European travels! One day, in particular, we want to get to Greece. And more from there, of course!

      Thanks for checking our blog out!

  • Wow! I would never have imagined all this behind the scene. Great to read and it had me cracking up. Jeopardy…haha! I still get nervous myself so l understand completely but you were both really great and the nerves did not show. You’re right, we could have gone much longer. Thanks again for being part of the podcast. Love your site and your delivery and wish you many more years on the blogging scene. Happy Birthday Shannon :-).

    • We so appreciate you including us in your podcast series, Kemkem.

      It was fun and exhilarating! Like most things in life, the story behind the story is equally interesting.

      It was an enjoyable experience and loved chatting with you. Thanks, again! 🙂

  • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
    >