10 Surprising Lessons I Learned Making a Podcast (With 1 Million+ Downloads)

What started as a frustrating Sunday afternoon mistake in a tiny Chicago apartment turned into a million-download podcast that changed everything. Join 5,000+ Ruckus Makers who want to Do School Different 👉 https://ruckusmakers.news/subscribe Ten years ago, I almost quit before I even started. I lost my first interview recording and nearly gave up on the whole podcasting dream. Instead, I chose myself and launched anyway. Now the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast ranks in the top 0.5% worldwide. Here are the 10 game-changing lessons I've learned from a decade of creating, serving school leaders, and building something that matters. TIMESTAMPS 00:01 - The story begins: September 2nd, 2015 01:52 - The lost recording disaster that almost ended it all 03:48 - Choose yourself: The moment everything changed 06:31 - Lesson 1: Most overnight successes take 10+ years 07:24 - Lesson 2: Be an original (Purple Cow principle) 08:20 - Lesson 3: Fire yourself to scale 09:09 - Lesson 4: The one question that changes everything 10:01 - Lesson 5: Look for leverage in everything you do 11:07 - Lesson 6: Take action, then improve 11:53 - Lesson 7: Fear vs Adventure - you choose 12:38 - Lesson 8: Choose your pain - discipline or regret 13:10 - Lesson 9: Success won't make you happy 15:04 - Lesson 10: Love is the center of everything WHENEVER YOU ARE READY … HERE ARE 3 WAYS TO CONTINUE YOUR DO SCHOOL DIFFERENT JOURNEY: 🗞️ Read Ruckus Makers — Exclusive content on Substack. Premium leadership insights, AI prompts and custom gpts, new books before the bookshelf. https://ruckusmakers.media 💥 Join The Ruckus Maker Club — Our private network + workshops, The Automatic School tools, AI Prompt Library, and more: https://ruckusmakers.club/join 🧨 Apply to the Mastermind — Weekly coaching, peer mentorship, and our proven leadership system (The Ruckus Maker Flywheel) to help you transform your campus: https://betterleadersbetterschools.com/mastermind