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How do you invest in your own personal development when time is short and training budgets are tight? It's a challenge we're all faced with.

How would you respond? What is your strategy?

Podcasts?

Think of podcasts as pre-recorded radio shows that you can download onto an MP3 player or listen to on the web. It's really no more complex than that, and programs such as iTunes make it as simple as "subscribe and synch."

What's the Big Deal?

I had the opportunity to interview Zig Ziglar a couple years back. Zig told me he calls it "Automobile University": tapping into free learning during your commute. Though he was talking about books on tape or CD, that's really what podcasts are for us: whether it's commute time, workouts, or other time when you could be pouring into yourself.

Rarely do I listen to the radio when driving these days. More likely than not, my iPod is plugged into the stereo system and I'm listening to music, teaching, or entertainment that I choose (as opposed to what happens to be currently broadcasting in my area at the time).

The big deal is you can take advantage of targeted learning when it's convenient for you. And in most cases the price is right on the mark: free.

How Do I Get Started?

The vast majority of people who subscribe to my People and Projects Podcast subscribe via iTunes. If you don't have iTunes on your computer, click here to download it for free.

Once in iTunes, click on the link for the iTunes Store. This is where you can purchase music, videos, and iPhone apps. But it's also where you can get easy access to podcasts. Look for the "Podcasts" link in the iTunes Store area on the left.

From there you can start browsing for podcasts that look interesting to you. Click on the name of a cast and listen to all or part of an episode. If you like what you hear, click the Subscribe button. This means every time a new episode is available, iTunes will download it to your computer automatically.

If you have an iPod, you can have it automatically synch your podcasts so you have the latest episodes with you.

You can find the People and Projects Podcast on iTunes by following this link: http://www.tinyurl.com/ppcast. We have episodes already published on topics such as social networking, project sponsorship, the myth of multitasking, and how to develop rapport and trust when you're presenting. New episodes are published regularly and you get it all for free.

What If I Don't Have an MP3 Player?

No problem. You can listen to podcasts directly in a tool such as iTunes. Or you can listen to most podcasts directly from a web browser. For example, you can listen to my People and Projects Podcast from the web at http://www.i-leadonline.com/podcast.

Visit sites such as Podcast Alley or other podcast directories to get access to countless opportunities to learn.

So, What Are You Waiting For?

If you're not currently using podcasts for personal development, now is the time to get started! Click here to subscribe to The People and Projects Podcast on iTunes.

If you are currently listening to podcasts, what are some of your favorites? Send me an e-mail as I would like to highlight the most popular in a future update.

To your success,

Andy Kaufman

One of my favorite books this year is Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini. Those of you who have participated in my workshops know I often refer to Cialdini's work on influence. This book is a must read! (Click here to get your copy)

What is just one of the ways you can be more influential? How about a lesson from the restaurant business.... Waiters have found that if they leave chocolates or mints with you at the table, tips are higher than if there is a basket or jar of mints at a table as you leave.

Tips go even higher if they leave you two mints! But what makes us dig even deeper in our wallets? Here's what the researchers found: Having the waiter leave us one mint, start walking away, and then turn back and flip another mint per person onto the table. That led to a 23% increase in tips.

What does this have to do with cards? The researchers found that your impact on another person is greater if it is perceived as significant, unexpected, and personalized (see chapter 11 of Yes!).

In an age where e-mails and e-cards are e-clutter, a real card stands out as significant and unexpected. And the ability to customize the card with your handwriting as the font, adding your signature, and even putting a picture of the person on the cover or inside means you have total control over the personalization.

Give Send Out Cards a try! Click on the banner with the moving arrow to send a couple free ones on me! It's just one more way to improve you influence.

Horizon Time is written by Andy Kaufman and is available via e-mail or on the Web for all who register.  You are invited to forward this to anyone interested in growing their leadership skills!

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For more information on Andy Kaufman and the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc., please visit our web site.

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You can contact Andy by phone toll-free at (866) 88 I-LEAD (866-884-5323), or by e-mail at andy@i-leadonline.com.

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