Ignite Your Story: Take Action and Pursue Your Dreams with/J. Rosemarie & JV Hilliard

In this episode, I share some insights from my interview with fantasy author Joe Hilliard, focusing on the creative process of storytelling and the journey of aspiring podcasters. 

If you don't want to miss the full interview follow this podcast on your favorite platform.

The conversation emphasizes the importance of commitment, constructive criticism, and taking action toward your dreams, whether in writing or podcasting. I encourage you to engage with their audience. 

00:00 Introduction to the Journey of Storytelling
02:32 Navigating the Publishing Landscape
04:55 Taking Action Toward Your Dreams

Key Takeaway:

Action Over Inaction: Do something towards your thing. Whether it's recording your podcast intro, writing about your topic, or guesting on other people's podcasts. Take action today toward your podcasting dreams.

• Your story is dying to be told.
• Be open to constructive criticism from others.
• Network with others in your field before launching.
• Identify where your audience is and engage with them.
• Action beats non-action in pursuing your dreams.
• Sometimes you just have to hit publish and start.

"Jump and grow wings on your way down". ~ Les Brown

Still struggling with trying to start your podcast? Grab a free copy of "Start Your Podcast Now" or book a call to get your questions answered. Don't waste time wondering what could have been. Take action now.

Transcript

J. Rosemarie Francis (00:00)
Tony Robbins says that taking action is the key to success and that you can change your life by making decisions and taking action. In today's episode, I borrowed two clips from my interview with fantasy author, Joe Hilliard. These comments, and observations of his, relate to podcasters and how you can move forward in your dreams.

to start a podcast.

Joe Hilliard: story is dying to be told. The characters in your head are telling you that they want out. But I would recommend a few things if you're going to do that. A lot of people write a chapter and it goes in a drawer and they come back to it two years from now. But commit to writing it. And that means writing something every day. That doesn't, that may not mean writing a chapter. It could mean writing two paragraphs, but you know, make it a little bit of a force of habit. Secondly, if you're going to do it, the authors in the community, listen to the beta readers that you'll bring on to do it. Listen to your editors, you know, and listen to the folks that are you

that they're going to buy those books, you are part of the book clubs, the library groups, and all those kinds of things. And the last thing I would say is when you get to that point where you've got something you think is publishable, decide whether or not you want to do it independently. You know, a lot of that's very popular these days where people are indie authors all over Amazon and other places and they can do it on their own or, you know, reach out to traditional publishers. Both have their, their frozen con.

You know, if you're working with someone, you're splitting royalties, you're also giving up a little creative control. And so you make less money and it takes a little bit more to make that money. On the other side, indie authors, you get a hundred percent of every dollar you make, but you also get a hundred percent of every loss you take. So it's on you to do that. So make sure that you give some real good thoughts of what you want to do there. Okay. So that's very helpful information. If you are, if you want to write a book or if you're in the process of writing a book.

but I would like to ask you to apply that to starting a podcast. It talks about networking with other authors, which you can do with other podcasters even before you hit publish. So go ahead and start to talk about your podcast, not just to friends and families, but to people online that...

eventually, you'll be communicating with me once you have your show, right? The other thing you talk about is communicating with potential readers of your book. Again, this is information that applies to you if you're planning on writing a book, which you should do. Everybody has a book in them, at least one. But as it relates to you as a podcaster,

or an aspiring podcaster, go where your audience is. Where are they hanging out? Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Quora, TikTok? Where are they hanging out? Where are those people you want to find to let them hear what you have to say? Where are those people that need to hear your message hanging out? Who are those people that

We'll hear what you're selling and give you money for what you have. So this is a commentary on my guest, Joe Hilliard, author. And I found his interview so insightful, even though it wasn't podcast-related, because it's related to us keeping in touch with

Joe Hilliard: our innermost being of coming to terms with what it is that is required of us to get those dreams into reality, to get those stories out, not just in a book form, but in your podcast. And that's the science. The art is writing something that someone will want to read. Yeah, but their idea could be completely different. It could be volunteering in their community. It could be starting a business. It could be doing whatever they want to do.

You know, but for me, I've always found that action beats nonaction. And, know, and I think that, you know, if you put a little bit into it, you start to dust off your resume, you know, you do whatever you need to do to start sending that around to find a new job or you, or you go to the bank and get that loan. There's, there's stuff there that, you know, I'm hoping that people will understand that it's not for everybody, but what I would recommend is them doing it. Give it a shot.

and when I say that there's also a part that says you can't, you can't be too comfortable with going back. So when COVID happened, I had literally a year and a half to do nothing. I wanted nothing else for me to do. Action over inaction. What I'd like to address here is something Les Brown says, jump and grow wings on the way down. And while we all cannot do that.

That's not something we can do at all phases of our lives. There's gonna be that time when you just have to just hit publish. You just have to start something, sit down, write the words, go to the bank, get the loan, and reach out to that figure you've been trying to get to.

but you haven't quite worked up the courage to reach out to them. Maybe it's you need to register your LLC or maybe you just need to pick up your smartphone and start recording. So do something now. In last week's episode, I talked about three things you can do before you launch your podcast. And I would like to refer you back to that episode 100 because

It's action rather than inaction. So if you're not quite ready to start your podcast, last week's episode 100 is for you. I hope this message today helps you, inspires you, and motivates you to action over inaction. I appreciate Joe Hilliard for giving us these insights today. Stay tuned for the full interview coming up soon.

Thank you for listening. So I hope this makes sense to you. This is a very short episode. I just think that this may be the thing for you to do your thing. So start your podcast now, will ya? And if you need help starting your podcast, don't forget to reach out to me. I have a link below where you could book a complimentary call with me. Or maybe you want to be a guest on my podcast. That's.

Number three, on my tips, what to do before you launch your podcast. So hit the link below and let me know how I could help you. Thank you.