“Why Would Someone Listen To Me?”

Misbah Haque  (00:00):

I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly looking at other people to see if they feel the same things that I do. So I can confirm that I’m not alone. And that I’m not crazy. So people might listen to you simply because you can articulate what they’re feeling (no hero, I put my bra in one booth at a time, like everyone else) people might listen to you because you don’t shame them. People might listen to you because you can jolt them into action with your no nonsense style. Or it might be the opposite: people might listen to you because you have a more balanced and relaxed type of vibe. 

Let’s think about meal prep for a second, because it’s a very common topic that you might see dozens of accounts out there that talk about meal prep, some do it from a standpoint of meal prep for those who are on a budget, meal prep for anybody who’s working a nine to five, meal prep for people with diabetes, and my favorite meal prep for people who hate meal prep. But the fact that there’s other shows and accounts out there already, who are making the types of things that you want to make, let that excite you. Because it shows that people are actually interested in the types of things that you want to talk about. 

Keep in mind that no other show has exactly the same DNA as yours. So even if you’re just sharing a quote from a book that you found interesting, the second you start talking, you have an opinion on it, your interpretation of that quote, and how you apply it to your life is unique. Think about something like a social security number in the US. It’s a top-secret number that you don’t tell anybody, and it’s responsible for your entire identity.  

What makes your social security number? So secret. It’s just a bunch of numbers, right? It’s nine digits, everyone’s using nine digits, everybody’s using the format of numbers, but it’s just a different combination. And one number, if just one number is off, out of those nine numbers, that’s a completely new life, a new identity, a new set of problems, new struggles. 

Just like a social security number. There’s a lot that people don’t know about us. Now, when people want to verify your identity, whether it’s to start a bank account, open up a credit card, get a license for something, people are going to ask for your social security number, right? But I don’t need to know all of your social security numbers, just give me four digits. So I know you’re real. When I was coaching, fitness and managing 60 to 70 clients, I wasn’t the most jacked person in the room, let alone online. 

So what made them choose me over some other jacked dude who’s been doing this forever? Right? And when I asked them, Hey, why did you choose me over somebody else? That was Jack there 1000s of programs 1000s of other coaches out there, you had your pick, but why? Why me? And they revealed that it was a couple of things. One, I had a back injury, and they had a back injury, or they had had some type of injury that really made them feel down and out. Number two, I was Indian. And even if they weren’t Indian, they knew that from a cultural standpoint, I could understand,  food is a huge part of how families engage with each other. 

The types of foods that are eaten in Indian culture, it’s not the most supportive of putting on five pounds of muscle. So they knew that, hey, this guy has figured out a way to be Indian and also get kind of jacked whatever they knew about me from the podcast to Instagram, it made them feel heard, represented and not crazy. (Are broke my back. 

Do you mean by that you broke back, you’re broken). So think about these things adding up. Wow, he’s Indian. Wow, he’s hurt his back. Oh my gosh, he’s also not jacked. He might understand me a little bit better than the coach has been an athlete all their life. To turn this into something that’s very actionable and tangible. Let’s analyze who you’ve listened to in the past 30 to 90 days. This could be podcasts. It could be YouTube videos. It could be Instagram posts, who are the people, what are the accounts and I want you to peel back the layers and dig into what excited you about listening to them.  

What made you actually click there are 20,000 videos on YouTube about How to Make Grilled Cheese. But why did you watch this person? Did you like that they were more relaxed? Have fancy containers? Wasn’t it that they didn’t have fancy containers? So you found your personal topic account? Who helps you make grilled cheese okay, you really enjoy them. Now find 123 other accounts or people or videos that are talking about the exact same thing. 

Now analyze the differences. What is different between the two videos, both people are Teaching How to Make Grilled cheese. One might be doing it with gluten-free bread. One might be doing it with white bread. One might be doing it with no bread. Who knows? So ask yourself why didn’t you go with person two or three? Why did you go with person one? 

What qualities made you appreciate person one, and you’re going through this reflective process. I found that it really helps me tune into the way that I consume content and my own behavior. And in turn it helps you empathize a little better with your future listener or viewer. Now I know there are tons of reasons you come up with why somebody wouldn’t want to listen to you.  

But hopefully this video gave you a few. of why someone would. Drop a comment below of how you navigate these types of thoughts. And if this video was useful and you’ve implemented it, definitely share how it worked out for you. And if you want to message me, you can definitely DM me on Instagram @podmahal. I’d love to connect with you. I’d love to hear your stories. But thank you again for your time. I appreciate you tuning in. See you next time!