James’ Daily Emails
“Start a podcast,” they said.
“Start a podcast,” they said. “It will be fun!” they said. “You’ll make lots of money!” they said. Yes, there is lots of money to be made in the podcasting craft – and it’s also a terrible reason to get into the craft. Because podcasting ain’t a bed of roses. It’s hard work. You feel…
Read MoreWhat to do when you feel stoppable
A common catchphrase we often hear in pop culture is “Unstoppable!” It denotes a “zone of genius,” a frame of mind or body where you can do no wrong, nothing can get in your way of accomplishing a goal, a project, what have you. While those zones of the mind are real, and they are…
Read MoreEasy money
Sharing the information I’m about to share runs the risk of some of my podcast editing clients becoming somewhat disillusioned with the service I provide, but I believe there is a valuable lesson in it, so here goes. Editing a podcast is rather simple. You “give the audio a haircut” as I like to say:…
Read MoreThe two essential elements of a podcast
Whenever I tell someone in casual conversation I produce podcasts for a living, a lot of questions invariably arise. And for good reason because it’s still kind of an unknown entity in our culture. I’ve also met many people who say they’re interested in starting a podcast and want to pick my brain about it. The enthusiasm is…
Read MoreIt’s not official ’til the money changes hands
In the last 30 days I’ve had a crash course in sales, namely closing the deal. Spoiler alert: it ended in disappointment, sorrow and a never-ending list of questions of what could have been. A former podcast production (aka PodProd) client reached out to me around October of last year saying she wanted to get…
Read MoreIf you’re damned if you do, you may as well do
I had an interesting conversation with the manager of the apartment Sana and I moved into last month (January 2023). This is a place I’ve lived before, so at the time it seemed like a good idea to move into a place where I have a bit of a history after being itinerant for 3+…
Read MoreAI-generated sermons have no soul
I came across an interesting article shared by Steve Baker, who I have featured on the Gone Newclearpodcast. The emphasis of the article was on how artificial intelligence is being utilized by pastors, rabbis, etc. to write sermons for them. You can read the article here, it’s an interesting read. The consensus among men and…
Read MoreBeing okay with being “un-okay”
One of my commanders in the Army band once told a story about a fellow he was serving with playing a solo in a concert. I guess this person had been around the block a few times, judging by how he described this scene. Apparently this guy played the solo well enough, but made a…
Read MoreFinally, an honest tennis interview!
**This email was originally written and sent in the summer of 2021, while I was residing in Vietnam with my wife Sana. I liked it so much I wanted to share it again. One of the unforeseen benefits of living in Vietnam is the TV coverage of the major tennis events. Tennis is one of…
Read MoreA two-year trek down I-95
A couple of months ago I picked up a terrific book titled “Blood and Treasure.” It’s a biography of the great American frontiersman and explorer, settler, etc. Daniel Boone. Something that I read in this book that really stuck out to me was how Boone’s family relocated from Pennsylvania to North Carolina when he was…
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