Thinking about all the platforms available for personal development content. The key may be in audio. I know a fair amount of people who see the value in personal development, but they hate reading and will not do it.  Personally, I like all forms of personal development. I’ve watched a few friends try to read, and they literally can’t stay focused long enough to make it through a single page.  Once I saw this for myself, I started to understand that the struggle is real for some people even though it doesn’t affect me. Give me some audio, video, spoken content and written words any day of the week!

What is the advantage that audio has over the rest of the formats?

It can be consumed passively while doing something else.  This is exactly why podcasts are so popular and why they will be for the foreseeable future.  You can listen to anything that you like while driving, working out and even while working.  I do all of the above and enjoy a variety of personal development podcasts.  There are shows out there for everything, and it’s just a matter of listening to a few shows to figure out what you like.  I listen to different podcasts for entrepreneurship, social media, marketing funnels, motivation, branding, etc.  My list may not be interesting to you, so figure out the areas that you want to grow in and consume that kind of content.  

Along the same line as a podcast, audio books are another growing option for those of you who appreciate the benefit of audio.  The last time I checked, audiobooks were the fastest growing version of books when compared to paperback books and ebooks.  For this reason, I still plan on voicing over my own paperback for audiobook distribution as well.  I know that I will reach a larger audience, make an impact on more lives and make some additional sales as well.  

Have you given audio a shot yet?

When I first began podcasting, I listened to other shows for about an hour a week.  Now, it sounds insane to even to write this, but I am consuming 30+ hours of audio content a week because it is so easy to do and I see growth within myself.  I think that Audible is still the place to go for audiobooks and podcasts are available on a dozen or more platforms now, so availability for all of this is abundant. 

Whether you enjoy reading or not, give audio a try for personal development and see how you like it.  If you are already trying it, double the amount of time that you are listening per week now and see how that works for you.  With the increasing popularity of Alexa and Google Home, I can only imagine what the future holds for us all.  There is a lot of attention on audio right now and for a good reason.  I feel like you appreciate it, even more, when you create this type of content as well.  If you are a podcast host, you probably already really enjoy listening a little more than you did before you started.

I would love to hear how the rise in audio personal development content has impacted you.  Reply in the comments or tweet at me @IntInsPodcast and let me know what is on your mind.