Mike Murphy Unplugged is a podcast for one-man bands and content creators who want to move forward in business and in life. Learn how to use AI, how to create online content for a living, and how to create the life you want.
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Episode Summary: A Happy New Year check-in — a walk down memory lane through Mike's path from a one-man band in Naples, Florida to nearly a decade of content creation, plus a look ahead at 2024 goals.
What You'll Learn
Mike's background: English degree, a law school master's he's never used, and a decade of Adobe/creative tech deep-diving
Why he put his name in the podcast title against conventional advice, and why that still made sense to him
How Mike Murphy Unplugged led to a full-time job at Simplecast, later acquired by SiriusXM
The 2024 goals: launching Terrapin Textures digital products, reaching 50,000 YouTube subscribers, and a return trip to the Camino de Santiago
This episode covers: who Mike is and when and why he started his online business and this podcast, what his goals were then versus now, what the future holds for Mike Murphy Unplugged, and what would make 2024 a successful year.
Why His Name Is in the Title
Mike put his name in the podcast title for a reason, despite plenty of advice against it when he first launched: this is his personal show, his audio journal. After publishing over 150 episodes in a row, he put the podcast on the back burner while working a full-time job and shifting focus to YouTube — but he never considered shutting it down. It was always just a matter of time before regular episodes resumed.
Who Is Mike Murphy?
Born in Syracuse, New York, Mike graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in English and holds a law degree from the University of Denver he's never practiced with. He's lived in Missoula, Montana; Portland, Oregon; Concord, New Hampshire; Durango, Colorado; and now Naples, Florida, where he moved to help friends from Durango open a fine-art portrait studio. Over nearly 10 years there, he built deep expertise in tech, design, creativity, and the Adobe software he still uses today — learning constantly through podcasts, Lynda.com courses, and YouTube, a habit that hasn't changed.
In January 2015, Mike launched his own online business to share what he was learning. By August of that year, he launched Mike Murphy Unplugged to document the journey — the tools, resources, and steps toward making a full-time living as a content creator. Publishing episode one remains one of the proudest moments of his life, not because he had a podcast, but because it marked the start of something meaningful: creating the life he wanted on his own terms.
From Podcast to Career
Mike Murphy Unplugged — and teaching others how to podcast — landed him a full-time job at podcast startup Simplecast, later acquired by SiriusXM. It was a great three-plus year run, but the Zoom-and-Slack grind eventually pushed him toward burnout. The cure was a 40-plus day pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago across France and Spain, an experience so worthwhile it was worth losing the job over when he got back a few months later — and he wasn't sorry about it.
Goals: Then and Now
When Mike started, the goal was simply to make a living learning and teaching creative and technical skills — that North Star ha…
Episode 1 61, the 2024 Show. Happy New Year and thank you for joining me today. In this episode, I take a brief trip down memory lane to bring you up to speed about my content creator journey, and I will share a sneak peek of my plans for 2024. And you are listening to episode number 1 61 of Mike Murphy Unplugged. I. Learn, create, move forward. I am your host, Mike Murphy. I'm a one-man band. I'm a technology junkie and I love helping people figure things out, and I am really excited to be here with you today. The goal of Mike Murphy Unplugged is to help you learn what you need to know in order to create online content so you can move forward in business and in life. So first and foremost, hello. And if you have been with me on this podcast journey since the beginning or for some time now, I am truly grateful and I thank you for your support. And if you are new to Mike Murphy Unplugged, welcome in this episode 1 61. First, I'm gonna cover, who am I and when did I start my online business in this podcast? Two, what were my goals when I started and what are they today? Three, what is the future of this podcast? And finally, what would make 2024 a successful year? And before I get into all of it, just a little personal note or a disclaimer if you will. I put my name in the title of this podcast for a reason, despite many gurus telling me not to when I first launched. The reason is that this is my personal show, my audio journal. After proudly publishing over 150 episodes in a row, I reluctantly put the podcast on the back burner. Well, I took on a full-time job and turned my content creation focus to YouTube, but I have never once thought about shutting down this podcast. It's always been just a matter of time before I start publishing regularly. It may be this year and it may be next, but I promise that as long as I am creating online content, Mike Murphy Unplugged will always be a part of my content creation system. Good things come to those who wait. And for those who have been with me since the beginning, thank you from the bottom of my heart and as I see it, we're just getting started. Okay, onward. So who am I and why did I start my online business in this podcast? So if this is your first time listening to Mike Murphy Unplugged, or if it has been so long since the last episode, I wanted to do a quick introduction. My name is Mike Murphy. I'm a Scorpio, and at the time of this recording in January of 2024. I am 54 years old, but I still feel like I'm in my twenties. I was born in Syracuse, New York. I graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in English. A hint as to why I stink in business. I have a master's degree that I will never use from the University of Denver School of Law. I have lived in Missoula, Montana, Portland, Oregon, Concord, New Hampshire, Durango, Colorado, and now in the beautiful and sunny old Naples, Florida. I moved to Florida to help some friends from Durango open a fine art portrait studio. And I would spend almost 10 years wearing a lot of different hats and learning everything I could about tech, design, creativity, all of the Adobe software that I still love today, and marketing business and all those fun things I. I spent every waking moment figuring things out by listening to podcasts, watching courses on linda.com and YouTube. And honestly, things have not changed all that much as I still devour tutorials, articles, podcasts, books. I am always feeding my brain with things that I just want to learn and I'm curious about. In January of 2015, I decided to launch my own online business so I could share all the things that I was learning. I really had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I wanted to teach tech and creative stuff. Fast forward to August of 2015 of that same year when I decided to launch this podcast, Mike Murphy Unplugged. It was a way that I could document my journey and share all of the tools and the resources and the steps that I was taking to move myself forward towards a general goal of making a full-time living as a content creator. Launching episode number one was one of the proudest moments of my life, not because I had a podcast, which I did think was pretty cool at the time, but because I knew it was the start of something meaningful. Creating the life I want on my terms. I have always been a bit of a lone wolf, and why I've always used the tagline one man band. I knew making a full-time living as a content creator would not be an easy road for me. I. And I was right, but I also knew after launching the podcast that I would not give up until it became a reality. Almost nine years later, I am still struggling on the business side of things, but I am more determined than ever to keep moving forward with my initial vision of learning, creating, teaching, and inspiring others to move forward and live a happy life. Fast forward a bit, this podcast and teaching others how to podcast, it landed me a full-time job with a podcast startup company called Simple Cast, which eventually got acquired by SiriusXM. It was a great run for over three years. I learned a ton, but Zoom meetings and slack life took its toll on me, and I found myself on the verge of burnout. Luckily, I knew exactly what I needed. And that cure was taking a 40 plus day pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, starting in France and walking all across Spain. Walking the Camino was beyond words and easily one of the most magical experiences of my life. So much so it was well worth getting fired for it a few months later upon my return as I knew what happened, and actually I was relieved. I have not looked back and only look forward to my next Camino, which I plan to take again this summer, and I don't have to ask anyone for time off this time. So that's the history part of today's episode. Let's move on to the goals and the vision moving forward. So what were my goals when I started and what are they today? When I started my online business, all I wanted to do was figure out a way to make a living, learning and teaching creative stuff and tech nerd stuff. My North Star has not changed, and that is still my goal. Almost nine years later. I have improved leaps and bounds on the creative and technical skills, but I do still very much struggle with the whole moneymaking and business side of creator life. Fortunately, I am an optimist and I pride myself on being a very good problem solver, and I know it's just a matter of time before I crack the code. I am making progress and my time will come. The goal or the focus for 2024 is on courses, digital products, and narrowing the focus or the message of my personal brand and the value that I can offer to help other content creators. I still very much struggle with understanding what I am really good at or what services I can offer to others, but I am chipping away at this million dollar question. I know that I love making tutorials, teaching, writing, all the content creation stuff, so I am gonna stay on that road for as long as possible, and it will all come together just like I knew it always would. I cannot wait to become an overnight success. What does the future have in store for Mike Murphy's Co, the business side and this podcast Mike Murphy Unplugged? I would like nothing more than to regularly publish episodes of this podcast and document everything that I'm doing and share useful bits and knowledge and insights along the way. But I'm also realistic and I know how long it takes and the commitment it takes to maintain a podcast. So the best I can tell myself right now is that we shall see, and I'm gonna do my best. My priority right now is on business and generating income by launching courses. I have a new digital asset brand called Terrapin Textures I'm really excited about. All I can say now is stay tuned as I do have plans to release a few new episodes in the first part of 2024. Where I'm gonna go into more detail about the business and content strategy that I have for 2024, and I am also gonna share what is on my first ever vision board, which I am really excited about, and I am also very excited about how things are progressing, and the momentum is definitely headed in the right direction. More on that to come. Today was me mostly just wanting to say Happy New Year to you. Touch base and let you know that all is going well and good things are on the horizon, and I hope they are for you as well. And as I bring this episode 1 61 to a close, what would make 2024 a successful year in the big picture view one, I would like to publish two online courses. Two, grow and generate revenue with terrapin textures. This is a project that has me smiling from ear to ear. If I'm able to make this part of my business work, I am gonna be so happy. It's the perfect combination of all the things that I love to do, and I'm really hoping this one takes off three reach 50,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel. I'm currently at 31,000, so I'm pretty happy about that. And four is a personal goal and that is to walk the Camino de Santiago again, either in Spain or Japan, and that would be in August, September timeframe. More details to come in. Upcoming episodes. That's right. Upcoming episodes. So that's gonna do it for this episode 1 61 of Mike Murphy Unplugged. I thank you for joining me today and I wish you a very happy, peaceful, and prosperous 2024. If I can help you or if you have any questions, comments, or feedback for me, you can email me, mike@mikemurphy.co, or reach out on my social channels or on my website@mikemurphy.co. There will be links in the episode notes for this episode to everything that I have going on, and if you have not already done so, be sure to join my one man band by subscribing to my email list. And together we can learn, create, and move forward. Cheers.
