62. Welcome to More Than Ambition (formerly Voice Memos from Dusty)

PHEW. It's been a minute! I've had problem after problem with the tech end of the podcast. And it's FINALLY (almost) resolved! I explain what happened in the show today. Plus, I'm sharing more behind the name change and some general updates! It's a short n' sweet episode, and I hope it brings you joy today. :)

Website: https://dustyhegge.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dustyhegge

The Percolator: https://dustyhegge.com/percolator

Chapters

00:00 Podcast Transition and Technical Challenges
05:49 Navigating Podcast Visibility and SEO
09:47 The Importance of Podcast Naming and Branding
16:11 Future Directions and Community Engagement

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Transcript

Podcast Transition and Technical Challenges

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello and welcome to More Than Ambition Podcast. Formerly voice memos from Dusty, but you know that already, because more than likely, if you're here listening, you've been a longtime listener. Because, because, because. And maybe you already know this, but I have had problem after problem after problem with my podcast feed. And it all stems from two primary issues. The first is that I switched podcast hosts and too many times. And the second is that Substack was one of those hosts. So I do not recommend using Substack as a podcast host. If you're already there, I I don't think you need to rush to change anytime soon. But if you do, just know that you're going to need to be on support, probably the Spotify and Apple podcasts, because they don't have a 301 redirect to redirect your podcast. Um and what happened when I left Substack for a lot of reasons. They have limited stats, they have limited reach. It's not quite as great like as indexing within the various podcast platforms. They don't have as many like advanced level settings within Substack to be able to categorize your podcast, which is important for things like SEO and visibility, which as you know is a goal of mine and has been for a while, to grow this podcast and lean into visibility. And I have been saying that with my words, but not really living that out with my actions in a way that, quite frankly, I feel a little frustrated and embarrassed about. And so here I am showing up, I'm doing the thing. And so part of that meant for the last about two weeks, I've been back and forth in support in various formats. And we got Spotify sorted because here's the main issue, which I don't think I actually shared out loud. But what happened is when I left hosting my podcast on Spotify, or sorry, not on Spotify, on Substack, it created two feeds within both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. And I have been sending everybody to the wrong feed, which means all of the reviews, all of the ratings, like some of the stats still remain because for whatever reason, both feeds are being updated by the correct RSS feed, which if you're not familiar with the world of podcasting, is like sort of the home where like you're hosting the platform or you're hosting the podcast. I'm sorry, and it's like going out to the various like distribution places, right? And to different podcast apps. And for whatever reason, it was updating in both places. So every episode was updating, like any edits that I made on the back end, like with the title with the podcast cover, for example, showed those correct edits on both feeds, which made it really hard for me to identify that there was a problem in the first place. Um and because of that, all of the ratings, all the reviews that a handful of you have been very gracious to share with me are gone. And I have to be honest, it's not a lot. And I think part of that is like I've not done a very good job of asking for that, and I've not been very good about being consistent. So I am gonna work a lot harder to be consistent in that way. And I will say the few of you who have really shown up and rallied behind me and supported me and left ratings and reviews on the incorrect feeds, and then again on the correct feed when I asked for help via email and on Instagram and in various places has meant the world to me. Like truly, it feels like such a blessing and such an encouragement. Because I gotta be honest, I'm feeling really discouraged about this whole situation. We're 63 episodes in now. And granted, this podcast was private for a long time. For I want to say half of more than half of it was private, and it was a list-building tool. If you've been around since the beginning of when it was voice memos from Dusty and watching that grow, it was a list-bidding tool. And I have no regrets. Like that was the right way to go about it. It grew my list a little bit, which was such a blessing. And I, and it was the space that I needed to just like get routines built and start taking some sort of messy action that didn't feel like it needed to be polished. Because at the time I had some reservations about this format wherein I do a cold open and I just kind of chat with you, and it's like we get to hang out because I was really worried it would feel like a waste of people's time and like I'm sharing stuff that might not be, I don't know, it just felt uncomfortable in some ways, but I still wanted to pursue it. So I'm really glad I did it podcast privately. And it in a lot of senses, I kind of regret taking it off private in some senses. And so maybe that will be something that I bring back later. But but for now, for the goals that I'm in in this current season of life and really trying to lean into visibility, I need one podcast feed on every platform because what's happening is both of those podcast feeds are competing for SEO. And so it's reducing visibility in every sense of the word, and it's not being tracked or measured properly. It's just like a logistical nightmare. And I feel like kind of like the way that we always say it like, did you play Mario Kart as a kid? I'm sure you must have because who hasn't played Mario Kart, right? And we all know that Rainbow Road is like the hardest track, right? To do in Mario Kart. And my brother, when he was really little, did it because he would always fall off and then you die and you have to like over and over again. You get picked up by a little angel guy, right? And so we used to just make a joke that, like, when you just kind of say, like, fuck it, I don't care anymore, I quit. We always, I always say it as like, you're going backwards on rainbow road. Like you've just decided you don't even care. Because that's what my brother would do when he was really little. He was like, I don't care, I'm not gonna win. I may as well just have fun and go backwards on Rainbow Road. And that's kind of what I feel like it's been. I feel like I've been going backwards on Rainbow Road for 20, 30 plus episodes, which is almost a year of my time.

Navigating Podcast Visibility and SEO

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yeah, a moment for that. But I don't want to stay in this place of complaining. I don't want to stay in this place of moaning, but I do, and the reason why I felt like it was important that I share this with you is from a strategy perspective, like why I spent all of this time prioritizing sorting out that error. Um, because it would have been really easy to just ignore it. Like the content was still being updated properly, but like it was worth the two weeks. And I'm still actually in the process of it because I still have to sort it out with Apple Podcasts because their customer support support is utter garbage. Whereas Spotify's customer support, I had most of the stuff solved with Spotify within a day. Like it was a day of me having to be involved with it quite a lot, but like I'm so shocked and grateful for Spotify. And I highly recommend if you are ever going to start a podcast, host your podcasts on Spotify for podcasters. It's free. They have a really wonderful support. It's not it like it has a lot of the advanced settings. Right now I'm on Buzz Sprout and it's a paid-for platform, and I'm not moving because I just can't handle it anymore. But I just don't think it's necessary or worth it. Maybe I'll be singing a different tune if and when this podcast grows and has a higher reach, but I still wish I would have just stuck with Spotify for podcasters like I did in the very inception of everything and not moved around so much. But that's neither here nor there. Additionally, the name change back to more, it's not even back to more than ambition. And I know I explained this to you last week at the top of the show when we talked about ADHD as a Christian, which honestly is already quickly becoming one of my most downloaded and talked about podcast episodes. I had a wonderful guest on, his name's Christian, and such a fun conversation that I felt was really encouraging, a little bit more of a nuanced look at um ADHD and neurodivergence kind of in general, as a Christian and and as a person who really has high ambitions and big goals and doesn't want this to hold them back. But also, like we can't be ignorant and not like recognize that this is hard for us, right? Anyways, that's just a bit of a side change. If you didn't listen to that episode, I highly recommend going back and listening to it, whether you have ADHD or not, because more than likely you know and love somebody who does, or like maybe you're struggling with other things in your life, and it yeah, I really believe that it's gonna be encouraging to everybody. More than Ambition was my public podcast. So when I started Voicement from Dusty as a private podcast, I also had a public-facing podcast called More Than Ambition. And I love that name. I love it so much. It really embodies so much of why I'm doing the work that I'm doing and why I have been so persistent, even when I feel like I've been met with complication after complication to do this work because this is about more than ambition. This is about faithful obedience. This is about stewarding our skills and gifts and hobbies well. This is about recognizing that holy ambition, ambition that is felt and expressed in alignment with God's will, is a reflection of God's character. It is a way that we can worship him. It is a way that we can bless our families and our friends and impact the kingdom for the good of God's people and for the glory of the Lord. And so this is about more than ambition. And it's really, really important to me. And I love that name. And in all honesty, and we'll see what happens with this potential book opportunity, right? So like I submitted my sample chapter. I still haven't heard back from my literary agent yet. So I had time in a waiting period. But I would love for that to be able to be the title of the book. And so I do think that I'm like from a strategic standpoint, if I'm able to make that the title, this podcast could grow and the book could grow with that name recognition. So I'm hoping that is a kind of like a secondary layer. And even if not, though, I still love that name. Like I still want that to be the name of this public-facing podcast. Um, and I still think it really encapsulates the work that I do. It still is really important to me.

The Importance of Podcast Naming and Branding

SPEAKER_00 9:47

The reason why voice memos from Dusty no longer serves me in this capacity is because if you Google voice memos, you're gonna get content on how to send voice memos. You're gonna get Chat GPT telling you voice memos is a great way to connect to friends and family. And here's how you send a voice memo. And like, that's not gonna help me grow my podcast. More than ambition is recognizable. It's quick, it's easy to say, it's quick and easy to understand. We know I'm already gonna be talking about goals, about ambition, about hobbies, about career. The name is simple, it's poetic, it's beautiful, it's meaningful, and it's clear. And that really needs to be the priority in this season of life. And in really in in all seasons, I just don't want to speak negatively about the decision to call it voice memos and operate it the way that I did operate it, because it served me really well for a season. It's just no longer serving me, right? And so now this is voice memos from Dusty. Now that this podcast, formerly Voice Memos from Dusty, is called More Than Ambition, I had to delete the public-facing podcast that was once more than ambition that is no longer. And that also took quite some time to do. So now though, it should be gone everywhere. I hope, I think. I'm pretty sure. And this is the one true more than ambition podcast. Right now, it's labeled in your podcast player as more than ambition, formally voice memos from Dusty. I'm gonna keep it like that for a couple of episodes, and then I'm just gonna take it off and it's just gonna be more than ambition. And I'll probably keep formally voice memos from Dusty in the summary of like what the show, there's the show description, my apologies. Just for clarity purposes. But yeah, that's kind of my little 10-minute update about what the changes and what you're gonna set coming forward here, is is kind of more of of the same. And I hope to still allow this to be a space where you and I get to sit and chat on your morning run or or when you're dropping your kids off to school, or when you're on your commute to work, or when you're at home and you know, working on whatever mindless task you need to work on in business, whether that's editing or creating content or designing something, and you have this podcast on in the background. I hope that it feels like a warm hug. I hope that it feels like encouragement. I hope that it makes you laugh. I hope that it makes you think. I hope that it more than anything, I hope that it really challenges you to seek the Lord more and to invite him in to every aspect of your life, even your ambitions, your desires, your dreams, your goals, your pleasure, your fun, your play. Because all of that stuff is safe with God. There's so much intimacy, there's so much connection, there's so much depth of really beautiful relationship to be had there. And you're going to enjoy everything more when that relationship is healthy. You're just going to. It's just a fact of the matter. Does that mean you're going to have a booming seven, eight-figure business and you're going to reach all your goals and you're going to have every desire met? No, absolutely not. No. But it does mean you're going to be able to actually live in your calling, which is not a career. Your calling is not a career and it has never been a career. Your career might be a small aspect of your calling, but your calling has outlined very clearly multiple times in scripture, especially in, I want to say it's in 1 Thessalonians. And so I'm paraphrasing here, but I encourage you to just read First Thessalonians and get the actual verbatim, you know, scripture. But your calling is to be sanctified by the Lord. And what that means is you're allowing him to shape your desires. You're allowing him to shape your goals. You're allowing him to shape what brings you pleasure and joy, and you're seeking him. Sanctification isn't just make you better. That's not the goal of sanctification. The goal of sanctification is to live a more full, fruitful, healthy, beautiful life at the feet of your creator and your savior. And that's like really at the end of the day, what all of this is about. Like, yeah, I'm going to look at this through the lens of building a strategic plan and creating a thriving and profitable business. And I have tons and tons of episodes and content on how to do that really well. And I work with my one-on-one clients in building those types of things. I work with a group mentorship within the percolator, which is going to be reopening. I think, but within the percolator, which will be reopening for another cohort. So if you want to get in on that, I really do recommend getting on the wait list because although I don't have certain dates yet, I anticipate it opening up mid summer. Um and probably I'm going to start the next cohort in September again. And then it will be a more regular cadence. There's some stuff I want to do on the back end that I think would be really wise and strategic of me to really focus on before I launch another cohort because we've run two cohorts now of the percolator, and both were wonderful. And I implemented a lot of changes within the second cohort that I think were really incredible. And I have more things I want to implement and more things I want to change, a little bit more structure I want to add. And I'm really looking forward to it. And I've realized just how important the percolator is in my offer ecosystem. And I want to make it a little bit of a lower ticket offering than what it currently is because I want it to be highly, highly accessible to support Christian leaders like you and I in growing a really profitable, grounded, fulfilling business that's very much in alignment with God's will, that doesn't sacrifice your mental health, that doesn't sacrifice your relationship with God or your values or your family, but instead adds to all of that. That's not to say there won't be challenges, but there will be challenges within the confines and boundaries of safe, healthy community, within the confines and boundaries of safe, healthy personal rhythms and caring for yourself well, and most importantly within the confines of a safe and healthy relationship with the Lord. And so that sidebar aside, I guess. Yeah, those are the those are kind of the updates. Thank you for being here. Thank you for hanging out with me. I'm just gonna let this episode be like a short and sweet reintroduction to like what more than ambition is all about. I think another thing that I'm really looking forward to kind of leaning in on and sharing more of

Future Directions and Community Engagement

SPEAKER_00 16:11

is a lot more guest interviews. I really do enjoy getting to chat with a person with the goal of keeping it really conversational, still letting it have that sort of voice memos feel, but bringing on guest guests who can further this idea of what does it mean to pursue the Lord? What does it mean to build a business that glorifies God in every way? What does it mean to build a relationship with the Lord that's thriving and healthy? What does it mean to be a leader? What does it mean to be a neurodivergent leader? What does it mean to be a good parent? Like, and just kind of exploring all of these topics that we've already been talking about for what, 63 episodes, but like more and deeper. And I'm really looking forward to what this next chapter has to bring. And I am endlessly, endlessly, endlessly grateful for the way that you guys have stuck with me. Whether you're new and this is your first time listening, or you've been here since the beginning, or somewhere in between, words can't describe just how important you are to me and how grateful I am that you're here. And it just means the world to me. That said, if you could please leave a rating on Spotify or leave a review on Apple Podcasts. A lot of people actually don't know that within Spotify, you can leave comments on a podcast episode. And so, like you and I can have a little chat right within Spotify. So, like if you hear something in an episode and you're like, wow, that really resonated with me, let me know. Or if you hear something in an episode and you're like, hmm, Dusty, I'm not sure if that's true, challenge me on it. You hear something in an episode and you're like, Dusty, I want to know more about this. I have some follow-up questions, ask me. Whether it's in Spotify or in my Instagram DMs, like this is really meant to be an open dialogue, not just like me monologuing at you. And in order for it to be like the fullness of what I believe that God is inviting me into through the More Than Ambition podcast, I really need your participation. And I want your participation because what you have to say is really valuable and really important. And to be quite frank, it just brings me so much joy. Like it's just fun to chat with you. I love it endlessly. There's no question that's too big or too stupid or too small. Like, truly, I am an open book and I am here to chat with you. My friend, it would bring me buckets of joy. Buckets of joy. What a funny thing to say. Okay, that's all for today. A short little episode, a short little intro. I think next week I'm just gonna kind of give you a little bit of a life update if you aren't already aware of all the crazy life updates. And next week, we're also gonna talk about like what to do if you're feeling stuck. Like if you're feeling a lack of motivation in your business, in your personal life, you're just kind of feeling drained, like sort of like a sense of like depression almost, but maybe not so much that it's being diagnosed as a clinical depression, but you're just feeling like uninspired and like kind of run out and overwhelmed and exhausted. And you like don't, you want to move forward. You feel really eager and ambition and you want ambitious and you want to do good work through your business, through your life, and your relationships. Like you want to steward all of the wonderful roles God has blessed you with, with like a joyful heart, with cheerfulness, with delight, with great, with gratitude. And you want to do that like with faithful obedience, but you like don't really know what to do because everything feels important and you're feeling like a deer in headlights, and you're like not really sure where to start, and it all feels overwhelming, and also like you don't feel inspired or motivated to do any of it. If you're feeling like that, listen next week because next week's episode is going to be for you. And if you're feeling like that and you're like, no, I'm ready to take action like right now, and I will not be waiting another week. I love your ambition. I love your follow-through, I love your gumption. Shoot me a message. Let's talk about it. That's exactly what I work with one-on-one clients with through my mentorship program. It usually is a minimum of three months, but I really do recommend four to six at minimum for the best sort of results. And I'm gonna help you take a lot more faithful, faithfully obedient action. I'm gonna help you get out of your funk. I'm gonna help you move forward. It doesn't have to be something you do forever. Like you don't need to, in order to see big results in your business, you don't need to hire me for the rest of your time. Like I love that. I have a handful of clients that I've worked with for a few years now. And the kinds of like breakthroughs they've had have been incredible. And being able to be a part of their journey feels like such an honor and a blessing and a privilege to me. Shout out Rebecca and Amber. It just means so very much to me. And I and I'm and I'm thrilled and honored to be a part of their lives and their business journeys and in so many senses of that word. It means so much to me. That little sign tangent aside, you can still see big results with working with me within a four to six month container. It doesn't have to be an ongoing thing for it to be really impactful and powerful and helpful to kind of get you unstuck and get you moving forward and get you taking action and getting you following through on the promises you've made to yourself and to other people and pursuing some of these God-given dreams and goals. Um, and anyways, that's my like whole job. That's what I want to do. That's how I want to support you. And if you're not sure exactly what that looks like, definitely tune into next week episode, or just shoot me a message on Instagram and we can talk about what it might look like either to just get you a quick win right now, or maybe you need some more ongoing support. And I'm here for that too. I feel like I've given you far too many calls to action in this episode. But here's the main thing I want you to take away. Are you ready? If like I've lost your attention, focus up. We're wrapping this up. I have one last thing to say. This is the main point. Thank you for being here. Your ambition is beautiful, and you must seek God's will in your life because his will and his plans are so much better and more beautiful and fuller than what you could ever imagine. In an effort to support this podcast, would you pretty please take a few minutes to Leave a rating on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts. And next week, we're going to talk about how to get unstuck when you're feeling in a funk and you're not really sure how to move forward and you're lacking motivation. So tune in next week. Make sure you've subscribed. Leave a rating in a review. That's it. We'll talk next week. Okay, bye.