The Art of Leveling Up in Podcasting and Life: A Conversation with Eric Jennings

In my latest episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Jennings, the mastermind behind the World XP Podcast. Today, I'm excited to share the insights and lessons from our conversation, which I believe will resonate with fellow content creators and anyone looking to level up in life.

The Genesis of World XP Podcast

Eric Jennings embarked on a journey to capture and share global stories and experiences through his podcast, aptly named the World XP Podcast. The 'XP' stands for 'experience,' a nod to the video game terminology that signifies gaining life experience and leveling up. This concept is at the heart of Eric's mission—to explore diverse narratives and learn from them, much like completing missions in a game.

Gaining Free Education Through Podcasting

Eric's podcasting journey has been nothing short of a free education. By hosting an array of guests, including video game designers, military personnel, soccer players, coaches, musicians, and professors, he has gained a wealth of knowledge. This eclectic mix of perspectives has broadened his worldview and allowed him to integrate different viewpoints into his own life philosophy.

The Highs and Lows of Content Creation

As a content creator with a YouTube channel, Eric has experienced the unpredictable nature of content performance. He shared a tale of two videos—one that soared to 12,000 views and another that fell flat. The key takeaway? Passion trumps numbers. Eric emphasizes that creating content solely for views or fame is a recipe for burnout. Instead, he advises focusing on what you love, as the numbers will then hold less power over your motivation and satisfaction.

A Warning Against Number-Chasing

Eric warns content creators about the dangers of obsessing over analytics. The algorithm can be a fickle friend, especially for those just starting. He advocates for a passion-driven approach to content creation, ensuring that the joy of the process outweighs the stress of statistics.

Connecting with Eric Jennings

For those eager to dive into the experiences shared on the World XP Podcast or explore his soccer-specific content, Eric can be found on Instagram and YouTube. He encourages direct engagement through Instagram and offers a wealth of content on his YouTube channels.

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Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00:00) - On. All right. Good day everybody. Welcome to podcast host Ami. We've got five minutes on the clock. What is your name and what is your podcast show.

Speaker 2 (00:00:09) - My name is Eric Jennings. My podcast is called the world XP podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:00:13) - The world XP podcast. What does XP stand for?

Speaker 2 (00:00:17) - Experience. We, we were searching in the beginning. We were searching for a way to kind of explore lots of stories around the world and experiences from around the world, and we figured the word experience was too cumbersome., both. The guy that I started with and I were video gamers. And so XP is a thing in video games where like, well, there you go.

Speaker 1 (00:00:33) - Yeah, in a video game, you get life experience, you go do something, do a mission, and you level up when it turns, you know, when your XP hits, you know, 100, you level up to the next character or whatever. Right? So in your podcasting journey, talk to us about some of the things that have helped level you up.

Speaker 1 (00:00:51) - And when we were in the green room, you were talking about, yeah, it's kind of like a free education. Josh so what did that look like for you?

Speaker 2 (00:00:57) - Yeah, 100%. I think,, for me in the first place is just the the wide breadth of guests that I've had on that I've had on the show, from video game designers to,, military people to soccer players and coaches. I'm a soccer player, so I have a lot of connections in that area., musicians, anyone and everyone, professors, anyone and everyone is. So it's really given me a broad perspective on the people that are out there and how they think about things and, and things to consider in my own life. And kind of taking from, oh, I like what this person said, but I didn't really like with this other thing that they said and like taking the things that I like and don't like and modeling,, and adapting some of those for myself and, and helping me, I guess, level up,, in my own life.

Speaker 1 (00:01:40) - Yeah. I think it's really cool because you started, you know, podcasting and then, you know, you've got your YouTube channel and you've had some pieces of content that did really well. You know, you were just sharing an experience that maybe you could share here. One did really well and the other didn't. What have you learned? Kind of give us the overview of what that look like and what what have you learned when it comes to content creation? I would say the.

Speaker 2 (00:02:03) - Biggest thing is you have to like what you're creating. If you're doing it for the views or for the the fame or notoriety is, it's not going to last because like you mentioned, it can get discouraging to have one. I had one,, short on YouTube, had about 12,000 views and like people were in the comments saying some wild things and that's all right. And then the next day, from the same podcast, another clip around the same time, posted at the same time of day, just the next day,, had like 50 views or whatever.

Speaker 2 (00:02:29) - And it's like there's no rhyme or reason. And so if you get if you get caught up in the numbers themselves,, it's very easy to get discouraged and frustrated. I was like, this one did. Well, why did that one not do well? And if you just have to not worry about it, at least that's what I've learned, because otherwise I would have been,, very discouraged for sure.

Speaker 1 (00:02:46) - Yeah, you got to like what you're creating. And if you're producing just for the numbers,, you threw a warning out there, like, you're like, don't do that. Right? Like why? There's a lot of people that I talk with on a regular basis. They're like, I need to get my numbers up. I need to do this. And they're numbers, numbers, numbers. What is your warning for that?

Speaker 2 (00:03:08) - Again, just like you mentioned, is you have to have a passion for what you're doing. I love talking to people. I love learning new things, I love soccer, so I've got a soccer kind of offshoot as well.

Speaker 2 (00:03:19) - And the content that I make, I really like making it, and that's really what it is, because the algorithm is not really your friend. It can be your friend, but also is not really your friend. And so,, of course, if you get big enough, you're Mr. Beast, whatever. Then then it becomes your friend. But when you're starting out, it's not your friend. And you'll have stuff that you'll have. You'll ask people to go look at it, and you'll look at the video three days later and they'll have like four views and you're like, why? But if you like making it, then it's fine. And the number doesn't matter so much at the end of the day, as long as you had as long as you liked making what the content that you made.

Speaker 1 (00:03:52) - Yeah. Like you're like, I know for sure that I sent this to at least 20 people and I only have four views on this. Yeah, some of my friends aren't real friends, and I'm getting rid of them.

Speaker 1 (00:04:01) - Right? Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:04:02) - Exactly. Exactly.

Speaker 1 (00:04:04) - Yeah. Now you talk about, like, a free education of going through the just things that you've been curious because you've interviewed all sorts of people as you look back. Right? You've got you've got your own focuses of how you make money. And then you you're a soccer coach and, you know, in your,, you know, you're doing really good over there as you round out for people who want to level up their own stuff and maybe check out the variety of things that you've created, what's a good place for them to connect with you? And maybe check out some of the work that you've done?

Speaker 2 (00:04:33) - Yeah, for sure. If you want to connect with me., world Exp podcast on Instagram., and the YouTube channel is the same world exp podcast. And then if you're more interested in the soccer specific stuff, it's world Exp soccer,, both on Instagram and and YouTube as well. And the Instagram channels if you want to reach out directly or probably the the best ways, but all the content is on the YouTube channels as well.

Speaker 1 (00:04:54) - Cool. Well, Eric, thanks for coming on the show., fellow podcasters, content creators, thanks for joining in with this five minute format. If you have something that you'd like to chat about, podcast host ami.com, it's a good place to get started. Talk to you all on the next one.

Speaker 2 (00:05:08) - Bye, guys.