My First Podcast Guesting Experience in Singapore

I like listening to podcasts. When I'm at home during the weekend, I would listen to Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" or Joshua & Ryan's "The Minimalists". When I'm at work creating a program, I know I can find inspiration from Elise Blaha Cripe's podcast called "Elise Joy". When I'm feeling down and low energy, my go-to podcast to listen to is "Getting Naked with Happiness" by Stephen Lew. All these wonderful people, along with the guests they invite on their podcast channel have significantly inspired me because of the wisdom they share, brought about by their life experiences and expertise.

If you are curious about what a podcast is, it is actually a recorded audio discussion that you can access online and download on a mobile phone or device. During a podcast interview, there is an interviewer that asks the questions usually about a theme and the invited guest shares his or her experience with that theme. Using Spotify or Apple music, you can access many different podcast contents. There are also many other types of hosting channels you can explore online. This also means that anyone from all over the world may listen to the podcast!

So, when an invitation came for me to be one of the guests in a podcast here in Singapore, my heart started pounding like crazy. I never thought I would be ever invited as a guest to a podcast, let alone be interviewed for a local channel. I have to thank a wonderful person, Winifred, for recommending me and sharing this opportunity with me. Thank you, Wini, with all my heart.

I agreed to the invitation, grateful for the consideration. I picked a date that was a month away so I can prepare myself mentally. It felt like a dream I never realized I had that was coming true. Being interviewed for the podcast meant having the opportunity to share my story, talk about the people who inspired me, what struggles I faced, and how I overcame them. So much vulnerability was going to be spilled. I was not sure I was ready for it but I know I wanted to do the podcast. That was certain for sure. As it was still a month away, I tucked the thought from my mind for some days and told myself not to think too much about it. I shifted my energy to the present moment instead.

Then came the day of the interview. I felt like a duckling swimming on a lake, calm and graceful above water, but paddling hard underneath. My mind was all over the place too! The what-ifs came rushing in. What if I forget what I say? What if I stutter? What if it doesn't go well? I tried keeping a smiling face, but maybe the reality leaked out because Danny, the producer and podcast interviewer kindly and genuinely calmed me down by saying: "You're going to be okay."

It was my first time being in a podcast studio. When I stepped inside the room, the feeling was totally different and a little weird for me. There was total silence inside apart from the noise created by my frantic thoughts. Any sound from the outside somehow got absorbed through the foams on the wall. There were microphones and wires, two chairs arranged opposite each other - one for the interviewer and the other for the guest, and a table. I made myself comfortable as I arranged my thoughts as neatly as I could in my head. I breathed and meditated for a moment before we began conversing.

Danny briefed me on how the interview would go about. Then, we started recording. The whole duration took an hour. He asked me questions and I would answer. I shared about Cebu, the Philippines, my childhood, the importance of family values, moving to Singapore. I very much enjoyed sharing about the fun experiences I had back home - from playing the ukulele when I was in primary school, to spending time with my sister as we play with our cousins and close neighbors. Growing up, we would often talk about what we want to be. Those were the days when we didn't have any other worries.

I also fondly shared about our transportation, the jeepney. In the photo, I was explaining how a jeepney is like. Describing its unique characteristics was fun. I never knew a time would come when I'd have to share what a jeepney is all about. I proudly shared about the kind of culture we have in Cebu, our love for music, food, getting together, and living a laid back life be it in the city, on top of the mountain, or by the seashore during sunset.

Narrating these things made me miss home.

While sharing, I noticed my energy going up. Looking back at the wonderful experiences I had along the way, I realized I had grown so much and in my growth were people who had always guided me throughout my journey. It made me reflect on the importance of having strong family values. For us, I'm grateful our family taught us to have a strong faith in God, be humble, have respect, and to learn to stand on our own two feet and be hardworking. I also experienced an openness to my past experiences that I thought I have not yet accepted - these include my past mistakes, fearfulness, and regrets. To me, being in a quiet room, where all I had were my thoughts, can be quite emotional. Nonetheless, I gave it my all.

To be honest, towards the end of the experience, I felt drained. It took so much strength from me to express my vulnerabilities and screwed up moments. Before this day came about, while I was preparing how I would talk about my story, I shared my idea with Alex. He listened to me and wondered what if I give it a chance to share my story from a different angle. To give more context, the title of the podcast I was being asked to share for was called Screwed Up Moments. While listening to the previous content of the podcast, I thought: "Oh no, my story is too ordinary! I'm not sure if this even deserves to be shared."

I forced myself to attack it from a recurring angle: "I made this mistake, and I countered, survived and bounced back from it by..." But before I could continue in this direction, Alex responded: "How about sharing it from an angle of being someone who is a perfectionist, or someone who wants to be always in control, and has not faced that epic kind of screw up? How exactly did your own screw-up moment affect you? Maybe there are people out there who can relate to you."

This guided me to make a decision and that is to share my story using my own voice. My own perspective. He was right. I can be someone who hated losing. As a competitive person, being exposed to many competitions at a young age, receiving more praise than rejections, I was programmed to believe that I can take on anything and I will not lose at all. Then came a time when isolation, rejection, and the reality of failing (and having actually failed) slapped me hard right on my face. This understanding had led me to examine a personal fact, that a screwed up moment has different degrees and levels and is unique from one person to the other. That screwed up moment for me was facing rejections that shattered my self-confidence and perceived self-image.

I shared my story during the podcast interview with a simple objective in mind - that when we experience a screwed up moment in our lives, we must embrace it fully instead of underrating it. Avoid saying what I had said earlier on, recounting that my story was not worthy to share, or that it is too irrelevant compared with others. Avoid comparison. Our own individual experiences are meant to be listened to and learned from, not something to compare with. I have learned this based on my own personal experience. Our screwed up moments are important because they can serve as a teacher, so we can make better decisions in the future, or so that we can identify ways to have a more meaningful life.

While it had been a roller coaster ride to narrate my experience as a guest, especially being a Cebuana and a Filipino working in Singapore, I enjoyed many parts of it, some parts drained me, but overall it was such an unforgettable experience. I'm so thankful and blessed to have been shared this opportunity and have my voice be heard. I am uncertain about the outcome of the interview. But I have no regrets because I gave it my best and my intention was good, this I'm proud of. I also learned something about myself, that I can express myself better when I write than when I speak. :-)

I hope when the material is live, you can also listen to it (sometime around May 2020). 

I also hope, taking it a little further, that you be given the courage too, to share your unique story. I have a feeling that the world can become a better place only when we accept that we screw up sometimes and that's just part of life. The best thing is we acknowledge it and move on from it, and love ourselves all the same (which can be a little difficult, I know, but we just have to try, shouldn't we?).

The interview ended with a little casual conversation with Danny; how he decided to be a producer and what his motivation is behind creating this podcast. What he's doing is really meaningful, providing an environment for stories to be heard by a broader audience, hoping to inspire others and making these well-being ideas and personal stories of screw up moments and redemption more accessible.

I went home that evening feeling tired after a long day and was intensified because of the in-depth reflection I did about my life, but deep inside, it felt really satisfying. Also, knowing that Alex had my back and was present with me while I was contemplating this opportunity and blessing, is truly a gift. Thank you, Schatz. 

This is the story of my first podcast guesting experience in Singapore.

P.S. Oh, and speaking of the podcast, Jambar Team Building has its own podcast, too and I'll share the link below. The Jambar Leadership Podcast talks about helping people become leaders faster and avoid pitfalls that many first time leaders fall into.

Thank you for staying with me here. 

May you be well. May you be safe. May you be happy.

Love,

Mary Jedde

A Cebuana making small meaningful impact in Singapore (and wherever she goes. lol)

Helpful Links:

1. Screwed Up Moments: http://tiny.cc/screwedup
2. Jambar Leadership Podcast: https://tiny.cc/leadership-podcast
3. On Purpose by Jay Shetty: http://tiny.cc/1jo4kz
4. The Minimalists: http://tiny.cc/themin
5. Elise Joy: https://www.elisejoy.com/podcast
6. Getting Naked with Happiness by Stephen Lew: http://tiny.cc/gnwh