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Enthusiasm is Common. Endurance is Rare.
Sociologist Josh Morgan conducted a rather interesting study on the number and status of podcasts on iTunes from 2005–2015.
Here are some key highlights:
- About 200,000 individual podcasts were created, with about 5,000 new ones added every month since then.
- The average podcast had 12 episodes, about 2/month for 6 months.
- Most podcasts never receive even one rating.
- A mere 40% of podcasts are still active.
The point is this:
Enthusiasm is common.
Endurance is rare.
People start things all the time — but they rarely “finish” them.
What Really Matters
“Long-term consistency beats short-term intensity.” -Bruce Lee
In her groundbreaking book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Angela Duckworth explains an interaction between herself and a young man who had a dream of starting a podcast for entrepreneurs.
This college student declared he would stop at nothing to create, produce, and sustain this new podcast. But Duckworth pressed him about what would happen if he lost motivation or became tired by the project.
