Stuff I Learned Yesterday
About Stuff I Learned Yesterday
Stuff I Learned Yesterday is a podcast that aims to encourage, inspire, challenge, motivate, and improve the lives of those who listen to it. Stuff I Learned Yesterday is released each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each episode ranges from 5-15 minutes long and contain short stories based on real events and lessons learned by the hosts. Friday episodes are called the Friday Forum and are filled with inspirational and motivational thoughts submitted by Stuff I Learned Yesterday listeners. Submit your story for a Friday Forum episode by calling 304-837-2278, visiting our feedback page, or click on the Send a Voice Message button on the left hand side of this page.
255- Going Through Life With Blinders On
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:29 — 4.4MB) | Embed
We have a metal gazebo on our deck. In the spring, summer and fall, it shelters us from the sun while we sit on our outdoor furniture. In the winter months, when our furniture is put away, we hang a bird feeder from a ceiling hook in it’s centre. The feeder is mostly protected from the elements and having it so close to the house allows us to watch our feathered friends from the warm comfort of our kitchen and living room.
We watch sparrows, chickadees, finches, nuthatches as well as the odd woodpecker as they feed on the black oil sunflower seeds we put out. Some mornings there could be as many as 30 or 40 birds coming and going from the feeder at any one time.
Last week, while watching with my wife, she wondered if the birds ever got tired of eating the same thing over and over. She decided to look up online what other things we could feed them and as luck would have it, we had many of the suggested menu items in our pantry. My wife filled a bowl with tasty bird treats and trudged through our snow filled deck to put the bowl on the ground beneath the feeder. Read More…
254- Working On, Not Working In
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:56 — 6.1MB) | Embed
Last year I really struggled with the idea of separating out my podcast production services into a separate company from Golden Spiral Media. I sought out several of my friends for advice, and even got advice from a marketing executive from one of the biggest media companies in my city. The results were pretty much split 50/50 as to those who thought I should break them apart and those who thought I should keep them together. Both sides also made good points to support their perspective.
I thought about it a lot and as you are probably aware, I decided to break them apart. Last September I formed Pro Podcast Solutions to serve as the company that handles all of my podcast consulting and production, and kept Golden Spiral Media as my podcast network. Read More…
253- Friday Forum
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:31 — 6.8MB) | Embed
Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share contributions from Bonita and Geoff. You can participate in Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. Read More…
252- Sometimes The Truth Is Not Enough
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:31 — 8.4MB) | Embed
My daughter arrived home from school on Friday and instead of saying hi like she always does, she went straight to her room and closed the door. Never a good sign. Of course being a concerned parent I went to check on her only to find her crying on her bed because “all her friends hated her”. This is what I was able to get out of her.
A couple of weeks ago Joelle’s best friend was invited to a party by a couple of girls that, for some reason, don’t like Joelle. She doesn’t know why they don’t like her but needless to say she wasn’t invited. Joelle’s best friend asked her if she minded if she went to the party and Joelle told her she didn’t. I remember this. At dinner one night Kim and I asked her if she had any plans with her friend that evening and she told us about the party. Joelle wasn’t upset that she wasn’t invited, nor was she upset that her friend went. She told us she was surprised that her friend even asked her. Joelle thinks it’s ok if her friend hangs out with other people just like she would expect her friend to be ok if Joelle wanted to hang out with someone else. Just because they are best friends doesn’t mean they need to be exclusive to each other. I personally thought she was very mature about it. Read More…
251- A Life is Like a Garden
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:22 — 6.8MB) | Embed
Are you up for another episode involving snow? I know many of you have had enough of the white stuff to last a lifetime, but I guess we can all be grateful we didn’t live in Silver Creek, Colorado back in 1921.
As I look out my window today I see a few inches of snow. I haven’t watched the news to see how much is out there, but I’d guess it’s about 2 inches. It’s nice to have a window in my studio. It’s something I never got during my corporate days. Okay, well technically I did have a window, but the only thing I could see was the tops of shelving out in our warehouse. Read More…
250- Friday Forum
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:26 — 13.2MB) | Embed
Today is the Friday Forum!! In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday we’re looking back across 250 episodes as you share your favorite Stuff I Learned Yesterday moments. You can participate in Friday Forum by visiting our Feedback Page or calling our voice feedback line at 304-837-2278. Read More…
249- Don’t Sell Yourself Short
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:04 — 4.8MB) | Embed
In the past few weeks, my life has taken some dramatic turns. With the combination of our decision for me to stay home with our children while simultaneously moving into a new home, our financial situation changed drastically. We have been stretched thin recently, but were making cuts necessary to be able to maintain life as we knew it. We did the things people normally do when faced with financial strain. We cut extras, trimmed fat and eliminated all extra spending. We quit eating out, and began shopping in more budget friendly ways as well. Read More…
248- Ask And You Shall Receive
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:03 — 8.1MB) | Embed
We’re taught as children to ask for things. Can I have a cookie? Can I go to the park? Can I buy these shoes? It’s one of the fundamental principals of life. If you don’t ask, you wont get. Of course we’re also taught that we don’t always get what we ask for. It might be too close to supper for a cookie or the shoes may be too expensive. Sure, we may be disappointed but at least we tried. Read More…
247- Blitzed by a Blizzard
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:31 — 6.4MB) | Embed
Our winters are really fairly mild here in the Sooner state. We get 2 or 3 decent snow falls each season that will keep the kids out of school for a few days. The worst days are when we get ice instead of snow.
Back in 2009 we were projected to keep a whopper of a storm. Not only was it projected to be a whopper, it was projected to hit on Christmas Eve. Back then my commute was about 30 miles each way and it took between 35 and 40 minutes. A bad day might be 45 or 50 minutes. A really bad day would take an hour. Read More…
246- The Topless Jeep and Sonic Drink
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:42 — 6.9MB) | Embed
Today I want to share a story that took place during the winter of my junior year of high school. I was the editor for the school yearbook and I also served as a photographer. I’ve mentioned before that I spent a lot of time outside of school with the yearbook teacher, because we traveled a lot to sporting events and venturing off to the city I now live in so that we could have access to a dark room to develop film. Read More…