Starting your own podcast requires consistency, patience, and perseverance. Recently Angel Rios visited NEPM to walk us through his process. Rios, of Springfield started “The Rally Cry” podcast after overcoming his own personal challenges and realizing he didn’t want to constantly struggle with his mental health. This served as motivation for him to create his podcast.
He wanted to show up for himself and the rest of the community by teaching others about the importance of self-improvement.
“You know, what gave me inspiration was coming out of my own personal endeavors. Coming out of that, I realized that I don't always want to feel bad, right? I don't always want to feel like I'm not enough. And I think through that, it made me want to stand up for myself because I believe I'm confident and I want to learn more. I read books, podcasts, and I love learning. And I think that all coincides with how that gave me the push to make a podcast and just show up for myself.”
Rios believes it is important to highlight the people in western MA as it shows how different success can look for everyone and to serve as role models in empowering others.
“People that are doing things in the community, someone that has their own craft, their own creative work…let's talk about it,” Rios said, “Let's not only highlight you, but what can you give advice for the people? Because there's somebody out there that is looking for help someone that wants support and if it can be that one person. Because there's somebody out there that is looking for help, someone that wants support and if it can be that one person then you know, we're making an impact.”
Choosing the guests that come onto his podcast is an important part of the process for Rios because he tries to highlight people that he finds interesting. Everyone has a different story, but having entrepreneurs from multiple backgrounds can show someone that you can still be successful no matter the circumstances.
When opening up about the struggles of running his own podcast, Rios talks about how it is important to ensure he does not burn himself out, while also having the energy to create something that is bigger than him. He says it takes time and it is important to enjoy it.
He says, “Angel, as in I, is someone in the community that's just trying to make impact through self-improvement and ways that we can improve our lives to be more happier, healthier, and more healed.”