In this photo, Cliff is sharing his story from hobby to full-time career in podcasting at Michael Hyatt’s Platform Conference.

Cliff J. Ravenscraft
From Hobby To Full-Time Career!
In December of 2005, I started a hobby that, over time, had radically changed my life. My wife and I began podcasting about our favorite television show, Lost.

I had a love for technology and had already been sharing some of my theories about the tv show on my blog. When I learned that I could actually record my thoughts and people might be interested in listening to them like a talk radio show, I decided I MUST DO THIS! I asked my wife to join me, and she reluctantly agreed.One thing led to another, and before I knew it, we had created multiple podcasts. The topics range from Entertainment, Technology, Faith, and Family. The most valuable thing that has happened as the result of our podcasting efforts is that we saw the rise of a COMMUNITY of people who shared our same passions, hopes, and fears.

Prior to podcasting, I had been an extremely successful independent insurance agent licensed to sell property, casualty, life, and health insurance. I was employed, by my parents, in a family run insurance agency that had been in our family since 1937 and I was next in line to take over the business. While I had achieved much success in this career, I never felt fulfilled by the work that I did. I had made a great deal of money, yet I always had a feeling that I would one day enter into a life of full-time ministry and leave the insurance world behind.

When Podcasting Became More Than A Hobby
By mid 2007, I had become consumed with passion for not only creating content, but also building relationships with the individuals who listened to our shows. I found myself spending hours each day connecting with our audience and finding ways to connect them with each other. Have a listen to some of the audio testimonials from our audience by clicking here.

It was through these community building efforts and my sharing my life and heart through the podcasts that we were producing that I realized that my true calling in life was to Entertain, Educate, Encourage, and Inspire others. This is exactly what was happening in my life through the podcast content I was producing and the interactions that i was having with our community. For the first time in my life, I found something that brought a true sense of fulfillment.

I’d heard the question asked many times, “If money were no object, what would you do with your life?” I finally had an answer! I’d share my life openly and authentically through podcast content and build meaningful relationships that would benefit other people’s lives in a positive way!

I should mention also, by this time, I had completely lost all desire to even go into the insurance office. So much so that I eventually ended up being bitter about the fact that I was wasting my life in what now seemed to be a dead end job. Amazing how the promise of high six figure income when you take over the family business seems like a dead end, soul sucking career.

As I shared some of these feelings with my community, I started to receive encouragement that I should quit my career in insurance and do podcasting full-time. It was not until my wife actually suggested that I MUST QUIT MY JOB so she could have her husband back that I began to think about this prospect seriously.

When Podcasting Became My Full-Time Careeer
It was then that I read Dan Miller’s 48 Days To The Work You Love book and began listening to Dan’s 48 Days Podcast. During this time, I recall hearing the phrase, “Find something you love so much, that you would be willing to do it all day for free, then become so great at that one thing that people would be willing to pay you to do it..” That’s exactly what I did.

In January 2008, I left my career in insurance, after 11 years, to pursue my passion in podcasting full-time. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I honestly knew what it mean to LIVE BY FAITH. The first year was extremely difficult at times (Details Here). Though my wife got her husband back and my three children, got their dad back. The second year was much better than our first (Details Here).

Today, I make a very decent living as a podcast producer and as a Podcasting and New Media consultant/coach. I have produced more than 2,800 individual episodes of more than 20 different shows, and I’m effectively sharing my life and ministering to tens of thousands of people around the world.

I am a firm believer that if you Pursue Your Passion, The Money Will Follow!

Cliff J. Ravenscraft