Life is short - hence why Podcasting is Important!

Greetings fellow Steemit Community Members!

'GiftedGaia' from the Steemit Talk Podcast here (aka Jason) - and I have some thoughts spilling out of my brainspace this morning that I felt may be of value to share with the collective all of your brainspace(s). Please proceed if interested.

( Photo by @winstonwolfe )

Let me tell you something friends - I'm not one for "100% dogmatically definitive" statements - yet I do believe for sure that as cliche as it sounds: "Life is short" .. which I never really understood that fact until I started losing people.

When I say 'losing people' - I mean both when someone leaves your life via a geographical change, as well as death. Its kinda one of those circuits that never turned on in childhood for me (thankfully) probably mostly due to environmental conditions. The imprinting did occur with a forceful vengeance later in my life. I'm both scarred as well as empowered by these events, and I had the observation a few days ago about something that feels like its now come 'full circle'.

Do unto others..

I speak a bit in my introduction post about some of the craziness that I've walked through in my past, and I usually don't jump into many details regarding those topics publicly. It was difficult enough to make that post without going down those avenues and triggering my Aquarius themed Hyper-Sensitivity. I do feel as if I did capture the overall theme as to what my purpose is here on this host cell Earth, which simply put is to help people.

My gushing need to help other people solve their problems stems from two identifiable factors I can accept:

Number 1 : I want people to say nice things about me when I die. I came to this realization when I had to start forming words in retrospect of friends & family after they had past. When you are trying to write an obituary or remembrance post about someone you've deeply loved & lost - the brain tends to wander all over the place in a spilled slop of emotional chemical residue. At least my mind did.. and through all the tears & memories flying via the several times I've had to do this task now, my mind ALWAYS screams the question "What will they say about you?" My answer is simple: I want people to say nice things about me when I die. One of the best ways I can accomplish this goal is to simply be a helpful human. (True Story: Whether you believe me or not - I had to pause just now while writing this due to hearing the construction guys outside my open window ask each other if anyone had a marker. My brain responded "Be a helpful Human" and I offered them mine. This is EXACTLY what I'm writing about and the synchronicity doesn't escape my notice.)

Number 2 : Helping other people HEALS you. Its a universal constant that we as a species can do great things when we look out for each other as opposed to compete with each other. If you've ever studied genetics you'll see that you are 99.9999999999 (plus a lot more 9's)% the exact same thing as any other Human on this planet. Realizing that fact helped me drop some reality tunnel walls of divisiveness that existed in my mind. Another confirmation came when I realized I was so depressed that I was sliding down into a very bad situation. I had to find some sort of purpose and one of the few things that started to really become apparent to me is that when I was able to help someone who needed it, it really did make me feel better about myself. This stretched from staying up all night talking a friend through a breakup (though I was wearing a poker face and not showing that I also was completely destroyed via a recent relationship ending) to giving the homeless man outside of the grocery store the last $10 I had to my name until payday - knowing he needed it more than I did. In those moments - I felt 'alive' instead of 'broken', and therein lies the purpose I was seeking.

Skip forward a few years....

Mr @winstonwolfe - close friend of many years who used to play DJ games with me back in the day - keeps saying "Hey dude have you heard about this website called Steemit?" Shortly there after another long time close friend & neighbor Miss @sykochica began speaking of this magical internet space known as Steemit. I decided between the two of them & their opinions (which are trusted) that this was vetted as 'the real deal' - so I'd join the fun, declaring my intention here being to showcase my 10+ years worth of DJ mixes as well as my Quadcopter Aerial shot Photography/Videos. As has been referenced on the Steemit Talk Podcast many, many times now - I became much more 'inspired' after joining the community and little did I know that something new & fantastically glorious was just on the horizon...

2016 : Enter the Podcast

It became apparent quickly that anytime I would see Winston or Chica in person (which happened often) since joining the site, our conversations were now dominated by our interests in Steemit. At some point Winston prompted Chica to record a conversation pertaining to the site to share w/ the community. I'm not sure if they knew at that time what they were about to unleash on the world. That simple burst of insight may mark a definitive turning point in my life.. Its funny how that works.

Chica & Winston made their recording - and the next day asked me to sit in with them for their second session. At that time I knew very little about Steemit, and still had many questions. It was decided that our format for that recording (done on cell phones crudely placed in the middle of the room) would be me asking those questions and playing the honest role of "Hey I'm new & don't know what's going on here". We hit record and proceeded to hang out and talk just like any other time we've done so (maybe with a little added ham voice for the recording) and called it a podcast. I entered that session thinking it was very much just a one & done situation for me, and ended the session saying "when can we do the next one? - i've got some audio equip we can use!" .. and just like that - podcasting for me was born.

I CAN HAZ ALL THE PODCASTS

I've always been a musician, a sound guy, someone who really enjoys pulling cables and making things sound good. I never thought a podcast would scratch that itch for me - but it does. There is also an added piece of the puzzle that fits here in that I had pretty much considered myself 'retired' as a DJ via this year (minus putting out new mixes which I love doing) and feel bad that I've spent a decade sharpening my craft & talent - only to now just not really want to do it live that much anymore. The podcasting fills that hole perfectly. I've had to MC club nights many times, and never realized I was picking up subtle ques and lessons on how to manage a microphone in front of people, on a recording. I also watch every episode of the JRE podcast, and have done so for years now as an avid fan, so I've most certainly learned some do's & don'ts from there - which all in summation means I walked into podcasting knowing a lot more than I realized I did.

Upon the addition of @quantumanomaly, and alongside the aforementioned @sykochica & @winstonwolfe , by the 3rd recording the 'Steemit Talk Podcast' was born! Realizing that one episode wasn't enough via how much fun we were having as well as how much more there was to talk about regarding Steemit when together - we decided to also start recording a STP POSTcast to share with our Steemit listener friends.

Most recent STP episode: https://soundcloud.com/steemittalkpodcast/012-1082016-lazy-bastard-coffee-art-onboarding-new-members-and-invisible-pink-unicorn

This was followed one night by Winston joining me on a pair of mics while viewing UFC 202, in which case we decided that "Whatever the Fuck happens is what we talk about" - and so the WTFH podcast was also born. We've only navigated a few of these sessions but the 'anything goes' format is as fun to do as it is organic.

Realizing the marketing potential of the podcast format - I asked a guy who is in a business networking group with me if he wanted to do a recording highlighting local business owners that we knew. He agreed and we soon there after launched the 'Ozarks Business Spotlight Podcast' which seems to have taken off far faster than I thought it would.

The format of this podcast is simply to get to know a business owner a little better by discovering what they are passionate about, and why they do what they do. I've made several friends in doing these now, and its providing free marketing to the businesses featured as our brand has gained some local notoriety. We have almost 2 months out planned already - and this leaves me walking people through their first podcast experience every week. I've yet to do one with someone for their first time without the response "OMG that was soooo much fun -thank you so much for doing this with me!".. its a good feeling.

Most recent OBP episode: https://soundcloud.com/user-784147680/episode-7-celine-roberts

The cohost of OBP (not a Steemit user.. yet) has now also become a friend & having so much fun doing these he also wanted a format in which 'anything goes' and so we've created something that ended up being very.. very creepy known as 'The Bison Speaks' (think SNL's parody NPR skits) in which we claim inherent wisdom from a speaking Bison who requests his followers to "Get Involved". (How - I'm not certain.. the ambiguity is part of the joke which borders on "weird" to "cult like". I'm honestly both proud & embarrassed by these sessions)

The Bison Speaks: https://soundcloud.com/user-336139526/get-involved

Being the guy with 5 podcasts running since starting 2 months ago has led to realization that I've rolled 40 recordings in that time. I hope to hit triple digits by the end of the year.

Full Circle

Ok - so I've rambled enough now - you all deserve a point. MY POINT here is that these projects are helping people. In example:

Steemit Talk Podcast - helping steemit users navigate steemit by discussing the content found there. Also helping by branding the site.

Ozarks Business Spotlight Podcast - helping local business owners showcase their business by talking about themselves, their story, their passions.

I've enjoyed these experiences so much that I'm now spending most all of my free time engaged in these projects. It kinda feels like its taken over my life a bit - which I'm not at all complaining about.

My kitchen table, compared to "normal people's kitchen tables" is a good example of how the infection is spreading..

Or my coat closet.. I acknowledge that THIS is not 'normal' closeting behavior.. but I am who I am.

In all seriousness - and this may be the most important thing I'm trying to explain - what my over analytical brain realizes is that I'm also capturing raw recordings of conversations with people who eventually will be leaving the Earth. So someday I hope that one of these recordings will act as a documentation of someone's voice, personality, and laughter - to be used to remember someone by a loved one once gone.

This doesn't matter today (thankfully) but will unavoidably be the case at some point.. and I hope it serves the purpose to help remember who the person was and what passions mattered to them while they were still here podcasting with me. I'd love to have a recording of my father & I podcasting.. which considering his passing in 2003, I do not have. Or any of my friends that have left this place too soon.. I would very much listen to a recording of any of those fine souls & myself BSing about life.. and feel I'm both building as well as helping other people build those libraries of recordings that may sound goofy today, but may matter with far more relevance later down the road.

And therein lies the point. In helping other people here, I'm healing myself.. as well as hopefully aiding the goal that people will say nice things about me when I die.

Its a very nice feeling to discover a hobby that I really enjoy doing that encompasses these aspirations. Thank You Steemit listeners for helping to fuel that fire.

Until next time.. Kind Regards Steemit!

---Giftedgaia

(Who I am: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@giftedgaia/we-rise-by-lifting-others-greetings-steemit )

(Steemit Talk Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/steemittalkpodcast )

(Steemit Talk Discord Chat - Come hang out with us: https://discord.gg/2fpmA78 )

(Ozarks Business Spotlight Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user-784147680 )

(Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_dP2hI9TzM1FT5utThXPGQ )

(Newest DJ Mixes to DL: http://www.mixcrate.com/jasondeal/dj_mixes )

(Complete DJ Mix Archive: https://www.mixcloud.com/JasonDeal/ )

(Photogenic Adventures - Episode 1 - German Car Club: https://steemit.com/photography/@giftedgaia/photogenic-adventures-episode-1-german-car-club )

(Photogenic Adventures - Episode 2 - Super Happy Fun Airport Day: https://steemit.com/photography/@giftedgaia/photogenic-adventures-episode-2-super-happy-fun-airport-day )

(Photogenic Adventures - Episode 3 - Shots from my Home: https://steemit.com/photography/@giftedgaia/photogenic-adventures-episode-3-shots-from-my-home )