Foreign.

Hey hey my friend.

Welcome back to another episode of the Soul Podcasting Podcast.

I'm so glad you're here, and even if this is your very first time, I want to take a moment to just say thank you for showing up and for returning.

If you are a return listener, thank you for just giving yourself this space to think about your podcast.

I know it's easy to scroll past or hit next, but you didn't.

You chose to sit with me for just a bit, and that matters more than I can say.

I am your host, Demetria Zynga.

I've been podcasting for over 21 years and coaching podcaster since 2006, and one thing I've noticed over all those years is that the podcasters who last, the ones who actually build a voice, a community, and a sustainable brand, are almost never the ones that are hustling the hardest.

In fact, the podcasters who lean into Hustle often crash and burn long before they reach that sweet spot of flow and of impact.

And that's what we're talking about today.

I want to get really clear though, that Hustle is not a podcast strategy.

I know it's something that we have to do as solopreneurs, entrepreneurs when we are getting our business systems together.

It does feel like Hustle.

And I know that might feel like a punch in the gut to say that it's not a podcast strategy because this world we live in glorifies doing more and more, doing more faster, and doing it louder.

But I promise you that taking a step back, slowing down, and building with intention will always serve you more in the long run than just trying to sprint your way to podcasting success.

I remember back when podcasting first started, back in around 2005 or so, it wasn't about doing everything perfectly or constantly posting.

The early creators were more experimental.

I think we made episodes because we had something to say, or we just wanted to process our own ideas out loud.

Growth happened slowly and organically through listeners who showed up because they connected with the host, not necessarily because of SEO hacks or algorithms.

But then over time, podcasting just got bigger and the culture around it started to shift.

And suddenly success wasn't just having a good show.

It was posting every week, several times a week, or a batch recording multiple episodes, cross promot promoting on every single social media platform there is constantly chasing those metrics, and Hustle quietly became the default.

The tricky part is that Hustle doesn't arrive wearing a sign that says hey, I'm bad for you.

It just Shows up as responsibility, as dedication, as taking your podcast seriously.

And that's where so many podcasters get caught.

Because most of us are responsible, conscientious people.

We wanna show up for our audience.

We wanna do the work that the right way.

So we push ourselves because we care.

And because at first, the results, which are those likes and those downloads and listens, it makes it feel worth it, right?

It kind of gives you that spark of.

Of energy to keep going when you see that you've gotten yet another download.

But over time, pushing without the clarity that you need, pushing without that intention, it starts to feel heavy.

And that weight slowly chips away at why you even started in the first place.

So I'm going to get personal for a minute because this is something I've been living through myself recently.

A few weeks ago, some of you might know if you listened to my last couple of episodes.

But I made a decision that surprised even myself.

I let go of two of my podcasts that I had been holding on to for a long time.

One had been with me for 14 years.

So, yes, it was my baby.

I grew that podcast.

And the other I'd held onto for.

For five years.

And I'm just going to be clear with you, those are not failed podcasts.

In fact, if I ever want to go back and continue them, I can.

But I believe they were meaningful and successful in their own ways, and they carried seasons of my life, moments I'm never going to forget, relationships I'll always cherish.

But continuing to carry them was starting to feel like a backpack full of bricks.

Not heavy in the obvious exhausting sense, but heavy in the way that some saps my energy, the energy that you guys don't see because I'm behind the microphone.

And it was heavy in a way that cluttered my mind.

Heavy in a way that quietly pulled my focus away from my next chapter.

And I'm totally in a season right now of next chapter.

And I feel it to the core and in my bones.

And I know that getting super clear for 2026 was important for me so that I can move on with clarity and without anything holding me back.

As much as I love having all my shows and can't keep up with them, it's not that I was falling behind.

I never felt like I was struggling with managing and juggling multiple podcasts.

In fact, I even preached the message that you can run multiple podcasts and that it's totally doable, totally possible, and I still believe that.

In fact, if you want to go back and Listen to that episode.

It is episode 29, which is juggling multiple podcasts.

You can do it.

And I recorded that one and published somewhere around June 2024.

So you can go back to episode 29 and see that, yes, indeed, this has been a part of my life having multiple podcasts.

And it's still something that I may do pretty soon in the future if should I decide to either continue with those podcasts or start a new one.

But for this season of my life, I really felt like it was important to narrow things down to just this one.

And I'm so happy just to really focus on soul podcasting this year.

For years, I kept thinking I should maintain them because they were familiar.

They represented a kind of identity that I was proud of.

They reminded me of the discipline over the years that I've had to pour into these shows and the longevity, especially the 14 year one, which was my homeschool podcast.

But what I realized was that keeping them alive out of obligation and out of habit was not serving me.

And it wasn't serving me serving anyone who's listening.

Letting go wasn't about quitting.

It was about refining my strategy and narrowing things down for my life and creating room for what actually matters for me now, for the message that I believe I'm meant to deliver today, for the energy I want to bring every single time I come to this microphone.

Moving forward, and the moment I let them go, I felt lighter in a way that I hadn't even realized I needed.

That's the thing about release.

It's freeing in ways you can't anticipate until it actually happens.

So the reason I believe that hustle is so seductive is that it promises progress, but it rarely delivers clarity.

Hustle tells you to just keep moving, keep producing, keep doing more, but it doesn't ask whether what you're doing actually matters or if it's aligned with your goals and your values.

In fact, it's so easy to fool yourself into thinking that what you're doing is in alignment with what you need to be doing.

Because of course, we can come up with excuses, reasons, and very well thought out reasons for that matter as to why we're doing what we're doing.

But at the core of it, we have to ask ourselves, is this really accomplishing what we want?

Sometimes it's good to put a timestamp on it and a limit and say, at this point, I'm going to wait until maybe three months, six months, a year, two years down the road, and see if this is something that still serves me at the end of this time period.

And so whether it serves me financially, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, that is kind of my call, right?

As the podcaster, and so as the content creator, I want to ask you to consider how you want to create that boundary and what test you want to give yourself to say whether or not this project you're working on is worth it for you.

For Purpose driven podcasters, those of us who want to serve our audience and build community and make an impact, that Hustle mindset can be especially dangerous because it assumes that your capacity is unlimited and that your message can stay static, that your audience's needs never change, and that's simply not realistic.

Over time, the disconnect between your effort and the alignment that you have will continue to grow, and you'll find yourself showing up for a podcast that no longer energizes you, that no longer reflects your voice, or no longer fits your life.

So that was the truth for me.

My two older podcasts had served their purpose, and I am so grateful for everything that they gave me.

But continuing to push them forward just because I could wasn't a strategy.

It was a habit.

And it wasn't a habit that I wanted to continue.

So one of the biggest lessons that I've learned over the years, and one that I want every podcaster to understand, is that clarity beats hustle every single time.

Clarity allows you to make intentional decisions about what you want to record, how often you release those episodes, and who.

Who you serve.

Hustle only gives you motion, right?

But clarity gives you direction.

Clarity also protects your energy.

It helps you show up consistently without burning out, and it keeps your podcast aligned with your values rather than letting it be dictated by the algorithm or external pressures that you might have.

And most importantly, I think that clarity gives your listeners something they can trust.

When your episodes are intentional, when your message is clear, your audience knows what to expect, and they just keep coming back.

Not because you've hustled harder than everyone else, but because what you're offering actually matters.

So here's a part of podcasting that doesn't get talked about nearly enough, I think.

And sometimes the smartest thing that you can do isn't to add more.

It's to release what no longer serves you.

Letting go, I think, is a form of strategy.

It's a way to make room for your current message, your current audience, audience, and the seasons of your life that are calling for your attention.

So I'm not asking you to let go of a podcast on this episode.

Please don't misconstrue what I'm saying.

I would love for you to keep all of your podcasts if you're promoting more than one, if you're producing several, if they're in alignment with where you are and what you want to be offering your audience, please continue doing what you're doing.

But I guess my call, my plea for you is to not be in the frenzy of hustle culture this year, if possible.

Right?

We all are busy people, and we're going to be feeling, feeling sometimes that we're running out of time because there is so, so much to do.

And so that's why.

And when it comes to this podcasting industry and the art of being creative with podcasting and including it as part of our business processes, I would love to make this less stressful for you than it probably already is.

And that is why I'm really preaching the no hustle culture.

That doesn't mean that I'm unaware of how busy we are as entrepreneurs and how much a hustle it is to actually get things done.

So I'm not in any way blinded by the facts that are there and staring me in the face that, yes, indeed, solopreneurs are hustling constantly.

But what I'm asking is that you will not allow podcasting to become a burden to you because you have to hustle, so to speak.

And so I talk about releasing these podcasts because it's part of my journey right now in the here and now that this is something I've done just recently have done.

And so I wanted to share it with you while I am still processing what has just happened, letting go of something that I've held onto for so long.

I mean, we're talking over a decade.

You know, it's.

It's a big deal to me, and it was a part of my identity, and I actually let that go.

And for those of you who are not aware, and maybe it's your first time listening, I was a homeschool podcaster for 14 years, and I homeschooled my own children for quite a few of those years, a great many of those years.

And so that in itself, just being in that type of community and mindset and lifestyle was a huge part of my identity for such a long time.

And now, you know, as I've slowly let go of all those things, kind of this last leg of that journey was to let go of the podcast.

Although the episodes are still there, my blog is still there, all of the stuff social media and the Branding and all the assets are still online and they're public and available for anybody who wants to glean from, you know, the, the content.

And so it's still in action without my support and my weekly feeding into the algorithm and feeding into the podcast itself, into the brand and the content.

So I'm no longer doing the content churn for it.

But yeah, this is like a new season for me, just letting that, that go.

And then once I let it go, I realized just how much mental bandwidth I'd been carrying unnecessarily.

It wasn't just about freeing up time in my calendar.

It was also about freeing up my energy and my creativity and focus.

I could see more clearly where I wanted to invest in my life next.

I could plan episodes that really matter for this show.

I can record from a place of excitement rather than obligation.

And that shows shift in perspective, transform not just my approach to podcasting, but just how I show up in the rest of my life.

So many creators believe that hustle equals progress.

So if you do more and push harder and release more episodes, you're gonna eventually see all these results that you're looking for.

I think that's a dangerous assumption because hustle without strategy rarely produces sustainable growth.

It just produces fatigue and frustration.

So I believe that as a purpose driven podcaster, we need to redefine progress.

Progress isn't necessarily measured by how fast you can release content or how many platforms you can post on.

Again, we are only one person, maybe with a small team, but still, we don't want to be churning out content just for the sake of it.

Progress is actually measured by whether your podcast is fulfilling its purpose, whether it's reaching the people it's meant to serve, whether it's sustainable for you as a creator.

So I want to challenge a common misconception.

Discipline does not mean never stopping.

Discipline means showing up consistently.

But it also includes discernment.

If you never heard the word discernment, I'm going to share what that means right now.

I would ask you to look it up in your spare time, but just to save you a little time, I'll tell you what it means.

Discernment is the ability to judge well, to recognize subtle distinctions and understand complex situations, to make sound decisions, going beyond the obvious through insight, perception and wisdom, to separate truth from falsehood or what's best from what's merely acceptable.

And I'm getting this, of course, as an AI overview.

And it took a lot of different resources online and sort of combined it into this one definition it also goes on to say that developing discernment involves slowing down, deep reflection and gaining experience, while its benefits include clarity, better choices, and purpose, often connecting with wisdom and spiritual understanding.

So when I talk about discernment, I often kind of relate it to my.

My faith, because in the faith world, we often refer to this word in terms of spiritual discernment, being able to separate truth from false.

But I believe discernment is something that you can practice, that you can utilize in every aspect of your life, not just your faith and not just your spirituality.

It's something you can operate in your business.

You could use discernment to help you make pivots that need to happen in your business world.

In your life, you know, things that need to take place, changes that need to be made.

You won't know to do those things unless you have discernment, that it is a season for you that needs to change and shift.

So when you discern that you have too much on your plate, or you discern that this is not a good season for you to continue all the things that you're doing, or maybe that you need to say yes to one thing and no to another, turn down one opportunity, accept another.

When you discern that it's a new season, a new phase, a new time, and you act accordingly, then this is going to help you to navigate your life in a way that will just be so meaningful for you, because you're not bumbling around blindly.

You are thinking about it, meditating on it, and then making an informed choice.

And many times, navigating through the use of discernment.

Discernment is about asking yourself hard questions like, does my podcast align with my purpose?

Does my business align with my purpose?

Is my message still serving my audience?

Does the schedule respect my life and my energy?

Discernment is what separates sustainable podcasting from burnout.

It's what allows you to maintain your podcast over years and even decades, like I did, without losing your voice or your joy.

So, again, I really did enjoy that podcast.

In fact, I still like it a lot.

But because of discernment, I have to give it a rest and go on break with that particular show.

I believe as a result, my work will feel ultimately lighter in the next couple of months, and I think I'll have more impact where I need to.

So, again, it's not failure, it's not weakness, it's just letting go so that I can be free to create strategy elsewhere in my life.

So if you're nodding along and you're thinking yes, Demetria, I feel this okay, here's something practical for you.

I want you to start by evaluating your current workload.

What parts of your podcast feel heavy or misaligned?

What are you keeping out of obligation rather than excitement or clarity?

And what could you release or delegate or even pause so that the rest of your workload feels lighter and more intentional?

From there, I want you to start building a system that reflects your capacity and your goals.

Map out a publishing schedule that feels doable for you, not for your friend.

Not for the podcasting guru that says to do it a certain way.

What is the schedule that feels right for you?

Map that out.

Create a content plan that's rooted in clarity and in purpose.

Prioritize episodes that solve problems or offer real value to your audience rather than just filling a slot.

And most importantly, I want you to give yourself permission to say no to the things that things that don't fit.

If today's episode has helped you to see that clarity matters more than hustle, I want to offer you a resource to make this even more actionable.

It is my Launch Confidently Podcasting Checklist.

Even if you've already launched confidently, you can always refer to this checklist to help you continue to think about how you want to strategize your podcast over the year.

It walks you through those foundational pieces that you need before you press record so that you can build from intention instead of overwhelm.

So you can grab that checklist and all of my free podcasting resources@soulpodcasting.com resources.

And if you want to see these principles in action, check out my YouTube channel for behind the scenes content, longer teaching segments, and examples of intentional podcasting in real time.

So, my friend, your podcast is not meant to be a place of constant grinding.

It's meant to be a space where your voice is heard and clear and your message resonates and your energy is respected.

Hustle might keep you moving for a little while, but clarity is what keeps you going long term.

Sometimes the smartest move you can make is to let go of what no longer serves you.

That space you create is where the magic happens, and that's where your best work can live.

That's where you reclaim your energy and your your voice.

So thank you for listening and for showing up and for believing in the power of your own voice.

And as always, keep podcasting with Soul Happy Podcasting.