January 12, 2026

804 - The First Fifty Years Were Preparation

1 hour 9 minutes

In this episode, I share a deeply personal and wide ranging conversation I recently had with Greg Gerber, host of the Forward From 50 podcast.

Greg originally came into my world more than a decade ago as a Podcasting A to Z student. Today, he hosts a show dedicated to people over fifty who know their best work is still ahead of them.

The conversation became a powerful reflection on identity, ambition, reinvention, and what it means to step fully into the work you were made to do.

This conversation tells the story of my journey from insurance agent to podcaster, from Podcast Answer Man to mindset and business strategist, and now into this next chapter where everything is coming together with more clarity and alignment than ever before.

Key insights from this conversation

Your voice and desire to communicate are not accidents. They are clues to what you are here to do. Mine started with CB radio and a toy microphone long before podcasting ever existed.

Leaving a career that works is often harder than leaving one that fails. Walking away from insurance, and later from Podcast Answer Man, required trusting who I was becoming more than what I had already built.

Podcasting A to Z did far more than launch shows. It revealed that most people were really looking for business clarity, confidence, and a way to create income and impact from what they already knew.

The difference between a hobby and a business is not a podcast. It is having a clear ideal client, a real problem, and a way to solve it that people are willing to pay for.

Your identity is not the role you played. Losing a job or retiring does not mean you lost who you are. It just means one chapter ended.

Journaling is one of the fastest ways to reconnect with who you are, why you are here, and what you actually want.

Desire is not something to be justified. It is something to be listened to. The 50 Things I Want exercise is a way to let that voice speak again.

The people you surround yourself with either expand your vision or quietly shrink it. Choose wisely.

The return of Podcast Answer Man is not nostalgia. It is a strategic move made possible by new tools, better leverage, and a deeper understanding of how I serve people best.

The first fifty years of my life were preparation for the work I am doing now.

Ready to start your own podcast

If this episode stirred something in you and you have been thinking about starting a podcast or finally taking the one you have more seriously, I invite you to join me for my next session of Podcasting A to Z.

This is my four week live coaching experience where you and I work together to turn your idea, message, and voice into real impact.

You can learn more and register at PodcastingAtoZ.com

...more

View all episodes

By Cliff Ravenscraft

4.4

333333 ratings