[Music]
travel with me if you will back to
magical year 1984 I’m 11 years old and
I’ve got one of those cassette recorders
you know where you can talk into it what
you push down the two buttons and it
record you and I sneak out to my parents
car and they have an eight-track player
out there I throw on the rock III
soundtrack and I record DJ style intros
over eye of the tiger and I interview my
little brother and I’m basically
creating my own little radio show now
fortunately for me time has gotten rid
of those tapes I don’t know what
happened to them but they don’t exist
anymore and my goals for being on the
radio show didn’t exist as well I would
discover computers and that would lead
to that interest would lead me to go to
be a software developer and it would be
a typical computer programmer
introverted and leading a quiet and
comfortable life now move forward a
little bit to the mid 2000s and podcasts
are invented and I discovered podcasts
pretty quickly and there was something
about them that I just latched on to it
was this unique style that they had the
the beauty with podcasts were that they
didn’t really have rules so they could
go as long as they needed to be about
whatever they wanted to be about and it
was different than the normal interview
style I would hear like on a talk show
or his light and fluff and these were
people talking like real people and they
were authentic conversations and I was
hooked I would even think you know I
should I should have a podcast but I
would always use an excuse of I don’t
know what I would talk about well I
don’t have a topic that I could could do
so I would continue to be quiet and
comfortable leading my introverted
lifestyle now you know how there are
certain outside forces that act
sometimes that gets you out of your
comfort zone
well that would the outside forces would
have
happened to me in 2013 in June of 2013 I
would lose my job I’d had for 12 years
and after an initial freakout I would
settle in and decide I’ll just do
software consulting for a while and I
needed a way to market myself and I
thought hey a podcast I could talk to
Evansville businesses and that would get
me to know know them and they would know
me hopefully they would like me and use
me to do their software but I still
didn’t do it I was still missing
something and later that year into in
2013 that something would arrive in
November No Shave November the beard the
beard arrived and it had confidence and
it said start the podcast
so I listened and we launched the
podcast in December of 2013
now a side note I’d originally wanted to
call my podcast give Evans ill the
business it’s not a great name it’s it’s
really bad name actually and fortunately
I have a vice president of common sense
and my wife and she said you’re not
gonna call it that and so I listened and
I didn’t so I started the podcast also
I’ll give the my beard an idea credit
for the catchphrase that I came up with
it for some reason that said I need to
have a saying I would use at the end and
then we would play video games online
and me and my friends and I would come
up with a thing we would say at the end
where we’d be like good job everybody
mostly sarcastically but something about
that always stuck with me and I decided
to use that at the end of my podcasts
where I would like a job everybody so I
had my beard and I had my microphone and
Hammer catchphrase
and also started developing a theory and
this theory was that if he knew someone
you were probably going to support them
you know if your friend has a coffee
shop you’re probably gonna go to that
coffee shop hey so I use this as an
excuse to talk with the businesses I
thought hey I’ll I’ll tell them that if
you know if you’re on the show we’ll
learn about you and then you know people
will like you and they’ll support you
cuz I thought why would people talk to
me I don’t really have connections I’m
not you know I’m an introverted guy but
it turns out people really like to talk
about themselves so it wasn’t an issue
so I talked started talking to these
businesses and what happens was I
started to have these authentic
conversations with people people that I
normally wouldn’t have access to and I
got to know them and the theory was
right I wanted to support them I learned
about these businesses that either
I had seen a you know the building or
maybe gone to but never really cared
much but once I got to know the person
behind it I learned their struggles and
their successes and I wanted to support
them you know the theory was right then
almost immediately the event people
found me I see I didn’t consider talking
about events when I started the podcast
as honestly as we all probably heard
there is nothing to do in Evansville
so what events would we talk about well
turns out that thing is a huge lie
there’s there’s too much to do in
Evansville actually it’s exhausting
trying to keep up but we I would talk
with these people but we wouldn’t talk
just about the events we would we would
talk about why they’re involved with the
event and you know how did the vince
start and why you know why are you doing
doing this and through that I would want
to actually go to the events and support
them and it would make me connect with
my community more by going to these
things the participation in these events
would help me connect to my community
and then I started talking with
politicians and nonprofits and community
leaders and I would find out why they
were involved in the community why did
they care getting to more of a deeper
level on why why they were involved why
did they give up their time to to do
stuff for Evansville and it affected me
it made me care more about Evansville it
made me want to share their story but
also be more involved to participate and
it not only affected me personally but
it affected my family see after a couple
of years of doing the podcast about
Evansville we realized we needed to move
not away from Evansville we wanted to
move downtown Evansville we wanted to be
where the action was where the heartbeat
of the city was that we thought at least
just there’s a passion that was down
there that we weren’t getting in suburbs
where we were at and so we did we moved
down and it it was night and day
difference for us we were we were
prepared
for that kind of community connection
neighborhood engagement that we were we
were not getting before and I know that
I can go to a local establishment now
and I’ll know someone there most likely
and I’ll be able to talk with them which
wouldn’t have happened before and we’ll
have a good conversation and usually
I’ll know when we’re having a good
conversation because I’m mad I’m not
recording it and my kids will even say
before we go in somewhere hey we’re not
gonna like be here for an hour right
we’re you don’t have to talk to everyone
that when we go somewhere but whatever
so I can’t emphasize how different that
is from pre bearded Jason’s life and my
goal today is not for for you to grow a
beard or even to start a podcast that’s
just the tools that I needed what I want
for you too is to find out whatever it
is that makes you connect to your
community in a more meaningful way
because I can’t imagine living
unconnected anymore good job everybody
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
travel with me if you will back to
magical year 1984 I’m 11 years old and
I’ve got one of those cassette recorders
you know where you can talk into it what
you push down the two buttons and it
record you and I sneak out to my parents
car and they have an eight-track player
out there I throw on the rock III
soundtrack and I record DJ style intros
over eye of the tiger and I interview my
little brother and I’m basically
creating my own little radio show now
fortunately for me time has gotten rid
of those tapes I don’t know what
happened to them but they don’t exist
anymore and my goals for being on the
radio show didn’t exist as well I would
discover computers and that would lead
to that interest would lead me to go to
be a software developer and it would be
a typical computer programmer
introverted and leading a quiet and
comfortable life now move forward a
little bit to the mid 2000s and podcasts
are invented and I discovered podcasts
pretty quickly and there was something
about them that I just latched on to it
was this unique style that they had the
the beauty with podcasts were that they
didn’t really have rules so they could
go as long as they needed to be about
whatever they wanted to be about and it
was different than the normal interview
style I would hear like on a talk show
or his light and fluff and these were
people talking like real people and they
were authentic conversations and I was
hooked I would even think you know I
should I should have a podcast but I
would always use an excuse of I don’t
know what I would talk about well I
don’t have a topic that I could could do
so I would continue to be quiet and
comfortable leading my introverted
lifestyle now you know how there are
certain outside forces that act
sometimes that gets you out of your
comfort zone
well that would the outside forces would
have
happened to me in 2013 in June of 2013 I
would lose my job I’d had for 12 years
and after an initial freakout I would
settle in and decide I’ll just do
software consulting for a while and I
needed a way to market myself and I
thought hey a podcast I could talk to
Evansville businesses and that would get
me to know know them and they would know
me hopefully they would like me and use
me to do their software but I still
didn’t do it I was still missing
something and later that year into in
2013 that something would arrive in
November No Shave November the beard the
beard arrived and it had confidence and
it said start the podcast
so I listened and we launched the
podcast in December of 2013
now a side note I’d originally wanted to
call my podcast give Evans ill the
business it’s not a great name it’s it’s
really bad name actually and fortunately
I have a vice president of common sense
and my wife and she said you’re not
gonna call it that and so I listened and
I didn’t so I started the podcast also
I’ll give the my beard an idea credit
for the catchphrase that I came up with
it for some reason that said I need to
have a saying I would use at the end and
then we would play video games online
and me and my friends and I would come
up with a thing we would say at the end
where we’d be like good job everybody
mostly sarcastically but something about
that always stuck with me and I decided
to use that at the end of my podcasts
where I would like a job everybody so I
had my beard and I had my microphone and
Hammer catchphrase
and also started developing a theory and
this theory was that if he knew someone
you were probably going to support them
you know if your friend has a coffee
shop you’re probably gonna go to that
coffee shop hey so I use this as an
excuse to talk with the businesses I
thought hey I’ll I’ll tell them that if
you know if you’re on the show we’ll
learn about you and then you know people
will like you and they’ll support you
cuz I thought why would people talk to
me I don’t really have connections I’m
not you know I’m an introverted guy but
it turns out people really like to talk
about themselves so it wasn’t an issue
so I talked started talking to these
businesses and what happens was I
started to have these authentic
conversations with people people that I
normally wouldn’t have access to and I
got to know them and the theory was
right I wanted to support them I learned
about these businesses that either
I had seen a you know the building or
maybe gone to but never really cared
much but once I got to know the person
behind it I learned their struggles and
their successes and I wanted to support
them you know the theory was right then
almost immediately the event people
found me I see I didn’t consider talking
about events when I started the podcast
as honestly as we all probably heard
there is nothing to do in Evansville
so what events would we talk about well
turns out that thing is a huge lie
there’s there’s too much to do in
Evansville actually it’s exhausting
trying to keep up but we I would talk
with these people but we wouldn’t talk
just about the events we would we would
talk about why they’re involved with the
event and you know how did the vince
start and why you know why are you doing
doing this and through that I would want
to actually go to the events and support
them and it would make me connect with
my community more by going to these
things the participation in these events
would help me connect to my community
and then I started talking with
politicians and nonprofits and community
leaders and I would find out why they
were involved in the community why did
they care getting to more of a deeper
level on why why they were involved why
did they give up their time to to do
stuff for Evansville and it affected me
it made me care more about Evansville it
made me want to share their story but
also be more involved to participate and
it not only affected me personally but
it affected my family see after a couple
of years of doing the podcast about
Evansville we realized we needed to move
not away from Evansville we wanted to
move downtown Evansville we wanted to be
where the action was where the heartbeat
of the city was that we thought at least
just there’s a passion that was down
there that we weren’t getting in suburbs
where we were at and so we did we moved
down and it it was night and day
difference for us we were we were
prepared
for that kind of community connection
neighborhood engagement that we were we
were not getting before and I know that
I can go to a local establishment now
and I’ll know someone there most likely
and I’ll be able to talk with them which
wouldn’t have happened before and we’ll
have a good conversation and usually
I’ll know when we’re having a good
conversation because I’m mad I’m not
recording it and my kids will even say
before we go in somewhere hey we’re not
gonna like be here for an hour right
we’re you don’t have to talk to everyone
that when we go somewhere but whatever
so I can’t emphasize how different that
is from pre bearded Jason’s life and my
goal today is not for for you to grow a
beard or even to start a podcast that’s
just the tools that I needed what I want
for you too is to find out whatever it
is that makes you connect to your
community in a more meaningful way
because I can’t imagine living
unconnected anymore good job everybody
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
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