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The other day RISE viewer Paula sent me this question:

“David, is there a specific personality type/characteristics that works best for someone that wants to create their own online talk show interviews people like you do?”

Very good question. Because, like everything worth doing…it isn’t for everyone. That being said after 275+ episodes and 600+ interviews in all kinds of mediums, let me tell what I believe it takes to be a successful online talk show host NOW in 2012 (and beyond).

A Quick History Lesson:

Times have changed. Pre-Internet days, the way (super simplified for the sake of illustration) to become a talk show host was to work your butt off doing lower level jobs in TV production or at the local radio station, perhaps eventually getting a shot at local radio or TV or something if some old white dude in a suit thought you deserved one. From there, besides your own hard work, you needed luck and the right people to help you at the right time (probably some massive butt-kissing involved). In show-biz they call this “a break.” It might have taken years. It might have taken decades. It might have taken forever (as in it never happened).

Then, that Internet thing came along and in the Web 1.0 era, you could create your own break…sort of. *All* you needed was:

•      A massive understanding of tech (like, MASTER because there were no simple tools like there are now that are smarter, faster and cheaper and built for mere mortals like you and I).
•      Luck of timing. Meaning, as an early adapter you stuck out because there was unlimited real estate. IF you could figure out how to get your show up online (no easy task) there was little competition. In many cases, you didn’t have to do a ton of marketing because, essentially, you were the only store on the street.
•     Some kind of business model associated with your show (easier said than done in Web 1.0).

Fast-forward and bring us to present time. Call it whatever crazy name you want to call it. Web 2.0. Social Media Era. Some of the same qualities are the SAME that were required of talk show hosts of past eras and some are unique to the times we are living in now.

Here are the 7 key characteristics in my eyes. Some are personality-related. Some are drive-related. Some are hustle-related. Some are innate. Some are learned.

1. People Person: No BS on this one. If you don’t like people, it will be kind of hard to have a show where the idea is to interview and have conversations with people. Bonus points if you get along with others. Likeability matters.

2. Knowledgeable & Passionate About Your Topic: You don’t have be the be-all-end-all-master-expert-guy/gal, but you do have be knowledgeable on the subject(s) that you cover. If you don’t know anything about hockey and don’t like it, why in the world would you start a show about it? Sounds simple, but I’ve seen shows fail because people chose the topic they “think they should do” as opposed to what they want to do.

3. Can Share The Spotlight: This is important. If you have to always be the “know-it-all” expert and have the attention on you 100% of the time, there might be better mediums for you.

4. Love To Give & Promote Others: Self explanatory. You are throwing a party for your guests and spreading the love is key to success. If it is about you 100% of time, it just won’t work. This would be a good place for a joke on “self love” but I’m going to control myself.

5. Curious: The top interviewers in the world have revealed to me that their best questions always from their own personal curiosities. I totally agree. The more curious you are, the better. If you were a cartoon and your first choice would be Curious George, you get bonus points.

6. Organized: Old school talk show hosts didn’t have to be extremely organized. Other people did that for them and they just showed up and hosted. Not in this era. Most likely when you start you are going to be wearing all kinds of hats: Host, producer, promoter, community builder, fire put-er-outer, guest getter. If you aren’t organized, you will end up punching yourself in the face.

7. Willingness To Get Hands Dirty: This my friends is the secret sauce and unlike McDonalds it isn’t bad for you. If you think you will be successful by simply creating a show and popping it up on your website and then riding off into the sunset, you my friend have been smoking something. You are going to work your butt off. Networking, answering emails, building relationships, responding to comments, marketing, taking on multiple roles, putting your show on the map, getting in the trenches. Is it hard work? Sure. But, if this idea of creating your own online talk show resonates with you, you will never be freakin’ happier.

Is it possible to be successful without all seven characteristics? Maybe. But, I can tell you right now if you were nodding your head as you read this more than you were shaking it, you are going to be in good shape.

Think you have what it takes? I’m going to help you by teaching those that are serious EVERYTHING I know about creating, promoting and profiting from online interviews through Create Awesome Interviews. And I mean everything. Check it out the details right here.

Boom. What do you think?

Examples: How to passively earn $1,000 a month or how to market and promote your book/ebook or how to position yourself online as an expert in your industry or how to grow traffic to your blog (without spending $) or how to get media coverage and turn that into sales/leverage…or…?

Working on a super-special-ultra-cool-fluff-free-project to help you out

So, have you?

And if you have thought about it, what is holding you back from creating your show?

The feedback to this post on the interview course I’ve been working on behind-the-scenes has been absolutely RIDICULOUSLY huge.

The course is going to launch in early 2012 and is going to teach you the exact “The Rise To The Top” methods that you can use on your blog/website to land interviews with amazing people, turn your interviews into a traffic magnet and much more.

I’ll be sharing step-by-step how I landed interviews with hard-to-reach folks such as Seth Godin, Tim Ferris, Tucker Max and The “Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger, behind-the-scenes on how I grew the audience from 0-100,000 and then 100,000-200,000 and more no-fluff-bs.

Two quick things:

#1: If you want to hear about the course FIRST, you can sign up below and you will be notified even before my mom (well maybe right after I tell my mom)

#2: If you have a burning question want to be SURE I address in the course and haven’t filled out the form yet to submit your question(s), here it is your last chance to do so. Chance to ask questions has now expired. Thanks for all the amazing questions!

Can’t wait to bring you the course!

-D

I use RISE partner Wistia for video hosting because they rock. Check ‘em out.

Audio Only Player:

Click here to download the audio file.

I use RISE partner Wistia for video hosting because they rock. Check ‘em out.

Audio Only Player:

Click here to download the audio file.

I was at the gym the other day around 11 AM and an older gentleman was working out next to me. He looked over at me and said, “Shouldn’t you be working right now? I didn’t get to come to the gym in the middle of the day until I was retired.”

Yikes.

Just like some people think their religion and political views are “correct” and everyone else must be wrong., some folks seem to think their view of what work and life should be (or can be) is the right one…and everyone else is a dumb-dumb.

The big lesson here, I believe, is what works for you works for you. What works for me works for me. And what works for that guy works for that guy.

You might be the person similar to Marie Forleo who rethought her business model to spend more time near her hubby (as opposed to on the road all the time).

You might be the person who wants the freedom to cut down working hours to spend more time with her kids like Ria Sharon.

You might be the person who wants to create passive income to spend more time doing fun things such salsa dancing and kickboxing like Tim Ferriss.

You might be the person who wants to travel to the world’s poshest places such as Capri, Italy & Mykonos, Greece and compete in epic fitness competitions like Rob & Kim Murgatroyd.

You might have a sense of adventure and charity and spend your free time going on zero gravity adventures and spreading entrepreneurship to less fortunate communities like Yanik Silver.

Or maybe you aspire to be “pretired” like Shannon Ward and Diana Stirling who have spent  13 months living in tropical destinations over the past three years WITH kids.

You might thrive on a structured schedule for every hour of the day. Or that idea might give you a heart attack. You might love to work from home (like me). Or you might need to be an office. You might need a million hobbies outside of work…or maybe just two.

But at the end of the day, it is up to you. There are examples across the board of pretty much everything (my favorites are those that are REALLY living life who have created an incredible, exciting, fulfilled lifestyle). There is no “right” or “wrong” way to live your life and create your business similar to religion and politics.

I know what works for me right now.

• I love doing The Rise To The Top.
• I love working from home on a flexible schedule.
• I love taking time before, middle or after the day to get a workout in or have tea and sushi with a friend if I want to.
• I love having the freedom to do fun things like go to hockey games and WWE events.
• I love spending as much time with my wife as possible.
• I love playing rec sports such as flag football and ball hockey, BBQing, traveling and spending lots of time with my family.
• I love the freedom and control I have over my business…I can take some time off and I have a team in place to make sure everything goes smoothly and I don’t feel guilty for taking time away.
• I love the simplicity of just needing a laptop/phone/iPad and the Internet and I’m all set when it comes to business.
• I get giddy over trying something new and exciting or incredible experiences like the recent trip Marcie and I took to Costa Rica where we hung out with monkeys, took a sunset kayak cruise and zip-lined.
• I love how I know one day when we have kids that not only will I not be the Dad who is “never there” but I will be the Dad who always IS there (just like my dad was/is to me).

But that’s me. And that is right now.

Advice:

-You might not know what works for you, until you try it. Give it the “ole college try” as they say. For example, I didn’t know if I preferred to work from home/coffee shops, etc., until I spent time trying to work out of an office.

-Don’t be embarrassed. Just because someone else doesn’t agree with what you are doing or thinks it is weird (ahem…guy in the gym), doesn’t mean you’re wrong.

-Find someone (or multiple people) similar to you to learn from. As mentioned above, someone is out there that you will resonate with be it on a business level, personal level or lifestyle level. Learn from them. Get to know them. Pay attention. If anything, it will give you confidence about the way you want to live your life and run your business. Sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. Keep an eye for upcoming The Rise To The Top episodes in 2012 with people who have mastered their personal lifestyle design who will open up your eyes. Trust me.

Because, at the end of the day, do any of us really want to be that guy in the gym who deferred the life he wanted and looks down upon folks who are living it now?

QUESTION: What would you put on your “I love” list similar to mine above. Try it. “I love…”

What is your take? Has this every happened to you? Are you confident with yourself?

Yes, this was an actual invoice I sent to a client.

Lesson: Even the most boring things in business don’t have to be that way.

I can’t wait for the championship belt and to go with the Derek and his awesome wife Melanie to the Blues vs. Capitals game at the end of the month (and because of their connections…meeting the players!).

And if you are in the Washington DC area on Wednesday, November 30th make sure to come out to Cadre’s Un-Networking event. It is going to be first class and I’ll be doing a live interview with the Executive Director of the NFL Players Association DeMaurice Smith.