Here at Clarity, we’re true believers that “success” is not an end-point, it’s a never-ending journey (thank you, #GirlBoss Radio, for aligning with us here!). I have found throughout my own career – and perhaps it’s no surprise I’m a recruiter – that I love hearing stories about how entrepreneurs and business leaders got their start in their respective careers. Often times, the most impressive careers come out of surprisingly unlikely beginnings, and many don’t follow a linear path. In today’s post, I want to share with you some of my favorite podcasts that highlight these stories as well as some that spread knowledge so you can dig deep and harness what makes you tick.
Whether you’re just getting into your professional groove or you’re still working hard to define your future course, we can all learn something from these enthralling shows – for example, we bet you did not know that the famous investor and Shark Tank host Mark Cuban got his first “real” job through a staffing agency, did you? Just sayin’! (Shout out to How I Built this, 12/5 episode for that tidbit!) Personally, I use podcasts to drop some mindfulness into seemingly mindless parts of the day so I can constantly keep my mind active – it’s the drudgery of my morning commute that initially spawned my love for podcasts in the first place! Inspiration is everywhere, so take it all in and enjoy!
1. Girl Boss Radio – This show has been a personal favorite of mine for the past year –Hosted by Sophia Amoruso, each week features an interview with an inspirational #GirlBoss where you can learn everything from their first ever job to how they came up with the idea for a business and shipped their first product. The show includes the likes of Clarity favorites, theSkimm’s Danielle Weisberg & Carly Zakin and other inspirational women such as Alyssa Mastromonaco, COO Vice Media & Former Deputy Chief of Staff to Obama. Listen time: About an hour per episode
2. How I Built This – Launched last fall, I haven’t missed an episode! NPR brings fascinating stories of well-known business leaders and entrepreneurs to your earbuds. Learn how a passion for the outdoors and a lack of appropriate climbing gear in the U.S. sparked Yvon Choinard to start Patagonia out of his garage, and how a pure chance encounter while couch surfing led Joe Gebbia to start AirBnB! These first-hand interviews will draw you in. Listen time: About an hour per episode.
3. TED Radio Hour – This hour long show distills technology, entertainment and design (yep, that’s TED!) ideas into compelling stories and insights gleaned by the world’s leading minds. This show gives bits and pieces of TED Talks along with discourse pertaining to their themes. An oldie but goodie, here’s one that addresses the question of success itself, featuring Clarity favorite and author of Grit, Angela Duckworth, to get you started: Success. Listen time: About 1 hour per episode
4. Hidden Brain – Learn the behavioral science and psychology of how we think, in a story-driven and refreshingly accessible format, hosted by NPR’s Shankar Vedantam. It might propel you to think differently about how you approach life – for starters, try taking tips from Silicon Valley engineers [Episode 56], who remind us we can always iterate and reiterate a product to make it better – which we can also do with our personal and professional lives! Listen time: 20-30 minutes per episode
5. Stuff You Should Know – The aptly named show literally tells you about just that – interesting facts, history and explanations of commonly known, but minimally understood facets of daily life. From the science behind how fireplaces work to whether computer addition is truly “a thing” and so much more! The two hosts use clear language, take a conversational approach, and inject lots of humor. Listen time: About an hour per episode
6. This American Life – This Emmy Award winning show, hosted by Ira Glass, is more relevant than ever, and a great way to stay in tune with what reality looks like across the country. It tells real-life stories about real Americans – at once emotional, humorous, sad, happy – all the feels, and always real! It’s a great way to exercise your imagination and consider lives of others you might otherwise not. Listen time: About an hour per episode
What are your favorite podcasts? Let us know in the comments or email me at serena@claritystaffing.com.
