Agi Keramidas' Journey from Dentistry to Podcasting

In this episode titled "Agi Keramidas' Journey from Dentistry to Podcasting" on "Conversations with Rich Bennett," sponsored by WHFC 91.1 FM, Rich Bennett engages in a fascinating conversation with Agi Keramidas, exploring Agi's remarkable transition from dentistry to the world of podcasting. Agi shares the pivotal moments that led to his career shift, emphasizing how a sense of unfulfillment in dentistry and a midlife awakening propelled him towards personal development and eventually podcasting. He discusses the launch and evolution of his podcast, the "Personal Development Mastery Podcast," highlighting its role as a platform for sharing insights on self-improvement and life enhancement.

Agi delves into the challenges and revelations of podcasting, offering valuable advice for aspiring podcasters, including the importance of understanding one's audience and seeking guidance. The episode also touches on Agi's book, "88 Actionable Insights for Life," which distills wisdom from his podcasting journey, underscoring the transformative power of personal development. Agi's story is a testament to the impact of pursuing one's passions and the profound connections and learning opportunities that podcasting can bring, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in personal growth, career transitions, and the art of podcasting.

Here are links for you to bookmark, save, follow, memorize, write down, and share with others:

Align Rehabilitation's grand opening is Friday, May 3 from 11-2. 

Explore our brand new amputee rehabilitation facility, equipped with the SoloStep overhead track system, and meet President, Michelle Jamin, amputee physical therapy specialist.

Heavy hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be provided!

While you’re here, stop by our neighbors at Real Life Prosthetics (STE D) and tour the expansion of their lab. You will get to WHFC 91.1 FM
It's all about community. WHFC 91.1 FM, Harford Community College Radio, is the college radio sta

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Rich Bennett 0:00
Thanks for joining the conversation today. I am thrilled to introduce our esteemed guest, RG Kilometres. Auggie's journey is a remarkable tale of transformation and personal growth from a master's degree in also the dentistry to becoming a passionate podcaster and knowledge broker, argues Path is truly inspiring. He's the host of the Personal Development Mastery Podcast, which if you haven't listened to, you need to. Where he delves into the realms of self-improvement and life enhancement, Auggie is not just a voice behind the mic. He's a mentor and a coach, guiding individuals and personal development, confidence building and public speaking. His story is a testament to the power of reinventing oneself and pursuing a life filled with purpose and fulfillment. So all of you that are into podcasting that 

want to become a podcaster, that are already doing it. This is an episode that you definitely want to listen to because Aggie knows what. He knows what he's talking about. Let's just say that he's got his podcast is phenomenal. So. RG First of all, welcome in. How's it going? 

Agi Keramidas 1:20
Rich Thank you very much. What can I say? After this delightful introduction? I feel I feel so, so happy to be here and I am looking forward to discussing. And yes, we were saying earlier the conversations between podcasters especially like that I say veteran broadcaster, so very prolific anyway. I mean they do bring out some beautiful qualities I found so looking forward to it. 

Rich Bennett 1:50
Well, when it comes to because well, let's face it, there are a lot of podcasters out there, but the ones that you can learn from and help with your podcasts are the important ones. I put you in that list. I put Dave Jackson in that list. Daniel J. Lewis, Adam Adams, who we talked about earlier, and the list can go on. But I would definitely have to say you are and are the ones I listen to. You are in those top ten, without a doubt. And the funny thing is, it's the way you got into it because you were a dentist at first, right? 

Agi Keramidas 2:27
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 2:28
All right. Explain to everybody why from being a dentist to podcasting. 

Agi Keramidas 2:35
Yeah. So thank you for this question. And I will. I will take you to the the transition moment, which was back in 2015 where I had just finished a master's degree in dentistry. And I found myself in a very strange situation instead of being very motivated, you know, to pursue what I had just learned and do some really high level and high quality dentistry that I found myself being very unmotivated, confused, and like, I really didn't want to do any of that. And I started wondering what's happening, what is wrong with me that coincided roughly with me beginning my forties. So I think all of them contributed to some kind of a midlife away weakening. 

Rich Bennett 3:29
Right. 

Agi Keramidas 3:30
Of of a kind, which led me really to personal development. It led me to, you know, start reading, going to seminars, eventually going to a Tony Robbins event, which really changed very much my trajectory. And, you know, back in 2020, actually, I will bring it to the moment that when I started my second podcast, Personal Development Mastery, this is my my second book used to have another one previous, and that was my, you know, my initiation in there in the field. This is the mastery. That's why I called it Mastery, because it, it took the learnings from that. But anyway, I was saying that when I started my podcast in 2020. Mm hmm. I started it just before the lockdowns started happening. So I used to do one episode When I launched, I used to do one episode a week right next to normalize in these cases. And then with the lockdowns, I found myself first having much more time, like most of us, of that period. And also I found myself more motivated to do the podcast. So I started doing two episodes a week, which I then carried on for a year. The thing with those two episodes a week was that it really started changing the way I was thinking about the podcast because it was clearly not a hobby anymore because you know very well how time consuming it is to to produce two episodes a week. I mean, even one is a lot of work, but to who it is, yeah, it is a very, very, you know, decent chunk of time. So I realized when I started doing that that it was not a hobby anymore. It, it was a real full blown passion of mine. And later on, because I carried on doing it, of course I tweaked my systems and things like that so that it would be more time efficient. Yes. But eventually, after a year or so down the line, I realized that this is really my 

excellent. 

Rich Bennett 5:43
All right. So for those of you listening again, I originally started recording back in November. We had some technical difficulties. And because he's a podcaster, a you know, for me, being a podcaster was like, No, I got to get him on. We have to get this done, and he's here. We're getting it done. But since that time that I talked to him briefly the last time, something new has happened with him and I want to hit that right off the bat. So, Oggy, first of all, welcome and tell me what's what has changed since our last brief discussion? You guys up the new app? 

Agi Keramidas 6:27
Yes, I do. Thinks it's interesting. Yeah, it is. It isn't. This is something new. And when you said the technical difficulties, I was thinking imagine we are both experienced podcasters and yet we do have daily difficulties. So that's, you know, it's never, you know, a very easy road without obstacles. There are always I'm just sharing that as an observation. But yeah, when we attempted to speak the previous time a couple of months ago, I was it was just before I was about to publish my first book. We'd say, I'm sure that we would have talked about it, but we didn't have time. So now the book is actually published. I will hold it here for you to see. It's 88 actionable insights for life. Yeah. So it is 

the important thing that I mean, but what I will think it's important is that it is content coming from the podcast, my podcast. So I start with I start with that because you mentioned the knowledge broker. I don't want to go into too many topics. At the same time, I'm just giving some things here because you asked me what's what's new, What has happened since last time? 

Rich Bennett 7:52
You know what? That's great though, because I've started a book myself, but a lot of podcasters, especially podcasters that interview people, they have a book, whether they know it or not. All the stories we hear all the time, it's I mean, of course, I would think you have to get permission from them first, but either now you do. Like the old TV series Dragnet changed the names to protect the innocent. I know that that's that is great. Yep. I'm. I'm excited. I can't wait to get that and read it because I know books like that are just going to help you help me and it's going to help the other people read it. Now, would you say this is something that all podcasters should also get? 

Agi Keramidas 8:40
I believe so, since you mentioned podcasts because the book has actionable tools. So it's not about theory, it's it's all of those 88 insights that you will find there, which I will add, each of them is quite short. One to top three pages, so it's quite easy to do read them, they incite. So each of them is an action that you can take, whether if that resonates and you feel like this is a good thing for me, I would like to try that. You take the action and then you basically improve your life, you know, in so many different categories, which we can discuss about if you want. But yeah, I would say it's for any person that is interested in their personal growth. 

Rich Bennett 9:32
Okay, Jonah. 

Agi Keramidas 9:32
Let's listen in here. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 9:35
Which is perfect. So it's not just for podcasters. I would say it's for everybody. It's a self-help book, right? 

Agi Keramidas 9:41
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 9:42
Okay. Yeah. And what what made you decide to write this? 

Agi Keramidas 9:50
That's a great question. The decision came to me as an inspiration, so it was like it came from from my heart. If you want to hear about a year and a half ago and it was quite sudden and quite, you know, aha. Like an aha moment because I was thinking about what to write for a few years, but I couldn't figure it out. And the idea just came to me. I was actually looking at my own, my books, my bookshelf, and I discovered a book that I had for years and on a completely different topic that was about property investing, some tips about property investing. And when I when I looked at that immediately, I thought, Aha, I can do this kind of approach that this guy has done online book and put tips about personal development. And so then the tips eventually transformed into actionable insights, which is so much, you know, more in-depth than ropes. It's really you know, it doesn't sound off the same value. It probably isn't. But the the answer to your question, I was inspired to do that. So then, you know, the decision when it comes to you, when the inspiration comes to you, a decision I don't even know if it's if it's ours, it's you feel compelled to do it. And it's so so I did. And I, you know, rolled my sleeves up and started. 

Rich Bennett 11:21
Nice. So how long did it actually. 

Agi Keramidas 11:22
Take you here? We at 

a that's a very interesting thing. And about 80% of the book I wrote in the first six weeks. 

Rich Bennett 11:38
What. 

Agi Keramidas 11:39
Seriously? Yeah. Yeah, I felt so much. It was a combination of factors, inspiration. I had time at that because it was the it was August, there were holidays, etc. and I really went through and picked up all the topics I wanted to distill from the podcast, from the previous episodes and edit them. So that was, you know, six weeks for about 80% and the rest 20% took another year and a half. So I'm laughing because it is, you know, when I think about it, you know, you know, I put all the transcriptions I had. There is that phrase that says that 80% of a task needs 80% of the time and the other 10% of a sorry, 19 and 90 and the other 10% of the task requires the another 90% of the time. So yeah. Anyway, it, uh, it took a lot a long time and much, much longer, but it doesn't, it doesn't matter because I did it. I published. It's done. Yes. And there the obstacles were the past. Yes, I self-published and it was also on Amazon Kindle. Yes. 

Rich Bennett 13:01
All right. So why 88? 

Agi Keramidas 13:05
I like the number. The number eight I like very much. If I let me flip it around. Also, the eight is, you know, the symbol of the infinite, if you have it, the. 

Rich Bennett 13:15
Infinity. 

Agi Keramidas 13:16
Infinity. And these are the is a very, you know, inspirational romantic reasons why I named it like that. There was one other practical reason that initially I thought that would put a hundred of them. And when I was, you know, collating them, I couldn't reach the number of handsets doing it. I couldn't pick up, you know, the same quality to do a hundred of them. And I thought, why do I have to have to do a hundred? Let me cut down a little bit. And then the 88 again, it just came as an idea to do 88. I thought, Wow, that's a great idea. So I did 88. 

Rich Bennett 13:57
And know that leaves it leaves your room for a follow up book, right? 

Agi Keramidas 14:01
Totally. Certainly does. And it was. 

Rich Bennett 14:05
Another 88 actionable. 

Agi Keramidas 14:09
Yeah it's so it's already they said he's planted already it is. 

Rich Bennett 14:16
Well and the thing is to with this helping for your personal growth I and this is just my opinion and those of you listen I haven't read the book yet I just found out when Oggi Oggi came out that it was releases like, well, what a surprise. But to me, any self-help book to me is for anybody. Well, of course, maybe not children, but like I would say, teens on up any and correct me if I'm wrong, but anybody that wants it because I think, you know, honesty. You know, when you I remember as a teenager reading how to win friends and influence people as a teenager, most people don't read it until they're an adult in the business world. You see. But correct me if I'm wrong, don't you think your book could do that, especially with kids nowadays and all the problems are facing in school and with their mental health. 

Agi Keramidas 15:18
What, 100% now that you say it, and because you mentioned how to win friends and influence people and I read it in my thirties, mid thirties, and I thought, Oh my God, this should be mandatory reading for high school. Why did I not know about that book then? So I agree with you. So you are very you're very lucky to have read it at such a young age. But to answer your question 100%, I agree with you. And the mental health that you mentioned, that is a big part of mental health elements in the book, not just mental health as such, but for example, mastering in your emotional state, which is, you know, closely correlated with mental health. Sure, there are in there's 

tools and knowledge and insights that even if you pick one or two out of the 88, because I don't want to claim that it's 88 for do all of them, it's for everyone. Absolutely not. Right. They are quite diverse and some would resonate with you more than with someone else. And that's absolutely fine. That's why I wrote the book like that, so that you don't have to go cover to cover if you don't want to. You go to the, you know, the chapter that you are most interested in learning about. For example, you know, setting goals or finding your purpose in life or something like that. And then you pick up the individual insights. So this is I certainly honestly, if I could, you know, give that book back to my teenage or 20 year old younger. So yeah, yeah, I think there would be some really 

valuable lessons in there. 

Rich Bennett 17:26
Yeah. Mm hmm. It's something you mentioned there, which I love, is you can start it like with one personal thing first, maybe in the middle book routine and then always go back to the beginning. So it's not your type of book where you got to start from the beginning and go through. You could pick an actionable item and do that. It doesn't always go back, which could actually help, and correct me if I'm wrong again, could actually even help more of your personal growth, because if you're looking for that one particular item that you really need help with it, you find it in your book and you do that, then you realize, Oh, what else does this book have to offer? Let me look. And then I mean my right there. 

Agi Keramidas 18:14
Yeah. You know, I suppose in the end it depends on each individual's reading and learning style. If I were now that you were saying that, I thought if it was me, I a read and I had never seen this book before and I picked it up, yeah, how I would probably go through it would be pretty much from cover to cover, provided I find it interesting of course. And Mark and Mark like I like to write down in books and highlight my books are, as you know, they're very heavily marked. That's how I learn. And then after I had checked all of it and go back really to the ones that intrigued me because reading it and not doing anything about it is pointless. So it won't do you much good, right? It's only when you implement some of the things that you read that that's when your personal development change. That's where your self-growth happens, not when you read it. 

Rich Bennett 19:23
Right, when. 

Agi Keramidas 19:23
You when you apply it, when you practice it. 

Rich Bennett 19:29
Yeah. One of the things I love about them self-help books, is you can go back at any time and pick it back up and read it, read the whole thing or just different sections again because it never gets old. Prime example the book re mentioned how to win friends and influence people that book I got, I don't even know how old that book is. It's old. But what he wrote in that you could still use today, 

it's just it's amazing. That's why I love the self-help book. So congratulations on that argument that it's awesome. 

Agi Keramidas 20:06
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 20:08
That is awesome. 

Agi Keramidas 20:10
It feels. 

Rich Bennett 20:12
I have to ask you. 

Agi Keramidas 20:13
Tell me. 

Rich Bennett 20:14
Go. I'm sorry. Go ahead. 

Agi Keramidas 20:17
No, no, I was saying I was just about to say that there is really not feel of, you know, reaching a milestone of that, something, you know, that only happens once in one's life to publish their first book. So now that's all I wanted to do at this. 

Rich Bennett 20:35
Saying now you're influencing me to get me so I can get off my ass and get back to writing my. 

Agi Keramidas 20:42
I'm glad to hear that. 

Rich Bennett 20:43
All right. So this question has been this question has been bugging me and I've wanted to ask you. Yeah. Like when we originally started recording 

and of course, then you hit that. You surprised me when we started this time with the book. But this question has been bugging me since November and I need to know what is a knowledge broker. 

Agi Keramidas 21:09
Yes, it's a great question. A knowledge broker in my personal definition or understanding of it is someone who can peek and actually take a step back. And to state the obvious fact in at times that we are drowning in information that we never had such an overload of information, never before the problem with this 

abundance of information is that it's impossible to figure out what it is that will really benefit us to read. It is so much that it's it makes it very difficult and so my role as a knowledge broker, that's how I look at it, is take a part anyway of that knowledge that it's out there. And in this particular case, in my case personal development or AM topics relate did to personal development or spirituality, which I also all these kinds of topics and still this knowledge into wisdom because there is a big difference. The wisdom is something more concise, more distilled and 

when we were talking about the book earlier, that is really and the result of me being a knowledge broker, distilling the knowledge into wisdom, into these actionable insights, because these 88 insights have come from 250 

podcast conversations that I had to choose from and to to distill those. So that's I'm using the word distill because I think it's quite 

accurate as a metaphor of how I see it. So that's, you know, that all how I perceive the knowledge broker to be. I don't know if that answers your question. 

Rich Bennett 23:26
Yeah, yeah. BE And with that, it correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what led up to you starting the podcast right? 

Agi Keramidas 23:37
The podcast. Well, I started it, first of all, as a curiosity, because I was very intrigued by it, but it was very, very quickly afterwards, I realized that I have a direct access to incredible knowledge I can have 1 to 1 conversations with some people that I can certainly learn from myself and of course transfer that knowledge to the audience of the podcast, which is, you know, the primary and a result of that. But, you know, and recording this conversation, learning and presenting it as a whole, 

in some ways it adds up to this information overload that there is. So there is another 300 podcast episodes. Which one do I listen to? Where do I start? So that's what I mean at the end. This is my effort to condense them to, to do small things. Wisdom, right, that one can actually do something with. It's not theoretically. 

Rich Bennett 24:52
Hmm. Okay. Now with with the podcast and those of you listening, I want you to 

just listen to this very, very closely. 

Oggy 

was a dentist, but he's also he went from I don't understand how you did this because you're an introvert and shy, right? So how in the world do you do that and be a dentist and then go on to be a public speaker and podcaster? Because I was I mean, being a dentist, first of all, you're seeing people all the time, and yet you are an introvert and shy. 

Agi Keramidas 25:39
Look, I was I well, let me start by saying I was a lot worse than my self. Yes. Look, the element of being an introvert is always and always will be my dominant, let's say, side. But I consider more a an ambivalent maybe right now. So at times when I need to be an extrovert, I do become but my you know, my natural disposition is of the introvert, but the shy. No, I'm certainly not shy anymore. I was at that time, and that was all my life until, you know, I decided to turn it around. And I did that as my own and journey of growth of something that I realized that was holding me back in my life because I was shy, I wouldn't speak out people. I wanted to share my opinion or nothing. I would just keep to myself. And that's a really limited, 

you know, my interactions, my opportunities, who knows what else. And I decided that I don't want to live my life like this. I need to change it. So that's where I started. And public speaking was you mention was a rather abrupt shake to this foundation of me that I'm shy in to. What will people have to say about me, and do I have to say something that is good enough and blah blah, all these, you know, negative in as dialogue or limiting beliefs that I had, the public speaking was, for me, the ideal way to break all this. And it did, because it's, you know, completely you break free from a fear which correctly the last time I read it was I think it was the either the first or the second thing that most people feared about the other one being death. So public speaking and death. So it's I was also like that's I was terrified of it. But you know what? When I finally did it, I realized that not no harm came to me, on the contrary. 

So, yeah, that's really it was a period of time that I shifted my direction that at its end it was deliberate because I yeah, I wanted to to do something different in my life. I was, you know, I was lost at that time. I was confused. I needed it was maybe I can call it my midlife awakening or something like that. 

Rich Bennett 28:32
Yeah, I was the same way. Believe it or not, my daughter doesn't believe that 

I changed. I tell her how shy I was growing up. She's like, You are not. How can you be shy? You're deejaying the clubs. And I said, I was you. I overcame it. So but the podcast, Personal development, MASH, Mastery, when did you actually start that. 

Agi Keramidas 29:01
Is four years ago. Next month. So it's almost four years old. Mm. 20, 20. 

Rich Bennett 29:10
Nine, yes. So with that, what's been the most challenging aspect of hosting that and how do you overcome it? 

Agi Keramidas 29:23
Hmm, great question. That is 

the thing that came to my mind first was, you know, keeping up for doing this twice a week for four years there, the consistency. But then again, I wouldn't call that a silence. Assad's certainly not the big the biggest silence because I have the internal motivation to do this. I mean, no one is forcing me to do that podcast. It I do it out of it's a labor of love, of passion. I 

assure. I mentioned that as you know, the consistency was in a way is of course I do have a strong element of self discipline, which, you know, there are times in one's life that no matter how motivated and driven you are, something takes over and you say, I don't want to do this anymore. I want to, you know, but whatever. So but the self-discipline, will it put pull me over the the other side, As I said, silence. 

I think rates there have been at different stages of the podcast. There were different challenges. It's difficult to, you know, isolate one and tell you that this has been really a big one. What I am, and maybe it might be more relevant if I related to my current situation with a podcast, which I have 

362 episodes. As we've just speaking today. 

Rich Bennett 31:07
Nice. 

Agi Keramidas 31:08
The challenge is to maintain the growth of the podcast and maintain it and accelerated also because inevitably after four years there is a lot of momentum that our listeners that is this the growth this is happening 

a lot maintaining and maybe not so much maintaining, it's improving or accelerate 18 the growth is let's say at this moment the number of 

challenges that that they face at previous times. In the past, at different stages there were different challenges. So many I mean, we could discuss for 2 hours about them. 

F1 S3 32:00
They change. 

Rich Bennett 32:03
Yeah, but you, you started so four years ago, so you started doing COVID, right? 

Agi Keramidas 32:12
Yes. February 2020. It was one month before COVID hit. That was I had another podcast before then for another couple couple of years. And this was the second one, the then matured one. The first one was, you know, my first one, which taught me all the essentials, but which I picked them up. And for this podcast I really put the knowledge ahead there and build from it. Because you mentioned COVID. What's interesting about that was that when I started to because the fact that COVID happened the next month defined 

the trajectory of the podcast, because when I started it, the intention was to do one episode a week, and when the lockdowns started, I had lots of time. Like most people, they all of a sudden there was plenty of additional time. So here we are, do twice a week and two, I mean two episodes a week. So once I started doing that for years ago, actually it was, you know, very, very shortly after the the podcast had started, I found out, first of all, how long it takes to produce, to episode, to record, to prepare to produce two episodes a week because I was doing everything on my own. The second thing I learned was that I was absolutely passionate about it. I hadn't realised how passionate I was until I started doing it's frequency or it's amount. And the third thing that came as a result of, you know, the it was after maybe a year or a little bit over doubling its was that it became the podcast, it became part of my mission. So it's not like a rush on a project. It is part of, you know, what I want to do and with my own personal mission, you know, to contribute and inspire positive change and these kinds of things. I believe the podcast is one of their 

and core shows, you know, Cornerstones Foundation. So my whole mission and that's I believe it really started when I went from one episode the week to two. So that was just an interesting observation. When you were talking about it. 

Rich Bennett 34:50
How has it actually contributed it to your own personal and professional growth? The podcast. 

Agi Keramidas 34:57
Wow, 

How. 

Rich Bennett 35:01
How not And that's the way you got a book out. I mean, that. 

Agi Keramidas 35:04
One thing that comes to mind that it's 

yeah, I, I got a book out of Africa 

conversations 1 to 1 conversations with over 200 and esteemed people. 

Rich Bennett 35:21
Yeah. 

Agi Keramidas 35:21
You know, some of them people that of of of great, you know, fame like. Brian Trace your doctor John Demartini. There were some people really well known globally the personal development world world. So you know having 1 to 1 conversation with that person and asking them whatever it is that you want to learn, I mean, that's like having 1 to 1 coaching in a way. 

Rich Bennett 35:51
Yeah. 

Agi Keramidas 35:51
With someone that, you know, most likely wouldn't have this conversation with you or you wouldn't be able to access that person for the conversation. But with the podcast it became so you know, easy, easy to invite people, even people who I thought were that person come to my podcast. And yes, they did. Yes, they did 

show. That's one thing out of the I don't know how many things I will tell you. Another one that comes to my mind, 

a communication. Yeah, improved communication skills. I learned how to listen better because I believe communication starts with listening, not with speaking is the the second thing. So I became better at listening and better also at articulating my my thinking and expressing, you know, my questions, my responses, my. So in terms of personal development, if you want to call it in such a way, which I suppose. Yeah, you can, because that's what your question was about, there are very few areas that it hasn't really been, you know, affected my growth rates in any. And it's I mean, the things that I have learned and firsthand from the guests and then the things I have learned as a entrepreneur and area enterprise also to put it out and, you know, make a business out of it. All this it's a beautiful it's in so many learnings I could probably write a book about about that or not. So it's a great question. Thank you for asking. 

Rich Bennett 37:52
Yeah it's I've been doing this is what, 1215 and I love it and just, you know, meeting the people like yourself and the you also I mean, you make friendships doing it as well. And I'm always learning some stuff and I'm getting surprises too, by people coming on a bridge. I got a book now, 

but for for those just starting in podcasting, what key piece of advice would you offer to help them find their voice and audience? 

Agi Keramidas 38:33
A The foundations before you start a podcast? I believe they are their way and the hope and I mean, why? I mean, why do you want to have a podcast? And that is a question that I will invite someone listening now, thinking of having their podcast to really reflect on it and write down a detailed answers why they might. There are many reasons why one could have a podcast show. I believe it's a very important foundation. 

The other one is Who? Who are you doing the podcast for? 

It is, I believe, and I've probably learned that also from my own personal experience, that when you first start doing podcast for yourself, it limits the way that the audience perceives or interacts with it and this show to bring it back to what I was saying when I say the Who, who are you doing the podcast for? I mean, I will rephrase the question. Who will benefit from listening to your podcast? What kind of people should I believe these are questions that give a lot of clarity in the following steps. So once you have those two, I will say the third. I really don't try to figure it out on your own. So I find either a course or a mentor or some kind of 

other person or resource that can guide you through it. And don't waste your time trying to do everything on yourself. And, you know, like like I did. I mean, I know that now from personal experience that this is a this no painful way that has you know, there's a steep learning curve. 

Rich Bennett 40:46
Right? 

Agi Keramidas 40:47
This it's better if you are guided these are my you know top three advice for someone who wants to do a podcast. 

Rich Bennett 40:57
And you actually help businesses start. 

Agi Keramidas 41:00
I actually do work with with people. 

Rich Bennett 41:04
That's what I thought that now. Yes. No, no, no, no. That's because I thought I was going to ask you. You know, if you help businesses and people start a podcast and actually, wow, why I brought that? Well, you know why we said that. How do people get in touch with you if they want, you know, you to help them start a podcast? 

Agi Keramidas 41:31
You can simply find me on social media wherever you Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, send me a message. Otherwise, if you go on my website, which is my name, I get, I mean, you will find this all the show. It's up to you. You who you will find me. As far as I know, there is no more that I get. I mean, this show I have a very unique name because I'm Greek originally, and I had to convert it a little bit to sound more easy for English people, English speaking people. So I get I mean, this, this. Yeah. If you. 

Rich Bennett 42:26
I have to ask you then Oggy is short for what. 

Agi Keramidas 42:30
The full name is. Agathocles has an ancient Greek name. 

Rich Bennett 42:40
Yeah, I'll stick with you. 

Agi Keramidas 42:43
That's what I mean. Believe me, I've. I've tried. Believe me, I've tried that. Good. Some faces so far. What are you talking about? What name. 

F1 S3 42:52
Is I? Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 42:55
So 

another thing with podcasting. How do you envision Because since you've started it, I've started. We've seen it change a lot. But how do you envision the future of podcasting and what role do you see yourself playing in the evolving landscape of it? 

Agi Keramidas 43:16
MM I believe first of all, that podcasting is here to stay and oh yeah, the role of it is going to be more and more because there are and even though video podcasting is becoming a big players as well, however this the purely audio element of it is for me the equivalent to the radio and the radio 

had always a different an audience than someone watching TV. So and different situations that you can listen to one or the other. So I do believe that the especially the audio podcast can never be substituted with. It's it's going to be here all the time because when you are walking your dog, you can't be watching a video on YouTube or I think you shouldn't do anything anyway. You probably can, but you should. So I'm looking forward to to see, you know, podcasting because you you've have been in the game longer than, than me. And, you know, I'm sure very well at the time when you said that I have a podcast and people will say what they had, didn't even know what that is. And that was not so long ago. Yeah. So now, now most Americans I was reading a you know, in a paper, it was saying most Americans know where the podcast is. Now, even, you know, some 80 year old lady somewhere still knows that, which is great. 

Rich Bennett 45:01
Oh, yeah. 

Agi Keramidas 45:03
And that's push my own how I see myself in the podcasting world. And 

as I told you, I have a 362 episodes. My intention is a thousand. So I will go to the thousandth. It will take a few more years, but I'm not in inside of it all, so I want to keep playing the game. I want to, as I was saying earlier, to 

grow the podcast. Yeah, as well and improve it, you know, and reach more people, have my methods, more coherent, all these things that come with, you know, when you master your craft over a period of time, you get better at it and better at it. Yeah. So, yeah, that's how I see myself. I love the question. Thank you. 

Rich Bennett 45:57
Aggie. I got news for you. You'll probably hit that thousand episodes well and won't even realize. And then when you log, you'll be like, Oh my God, I'm at 1500. I somebody asked me the other day how many episodes I've done. I thought I was like 200 and some. I think I'm like 500. I had no idea. 

Agi Keramidas 46:17
Wow. 

Rich Bennett 46:18
Because, you know, I don't list them by episode number, but I just have so much fun doing it. It just I don't pay attention to that stuff. It's just I look at, you know, what countries I'm in, I and my listeners, that's what I focus on. I don't even look at downloads. I, I and I'm sure you've gotten this as well, where a listener has contacted you and thanked you for an episode. And to me that's the biggest reward I give from it. 

You know, when that. 

Agi Keramidas 46:55
Happens, it's certainly one of the most fulfilling things when someone appreciates you for, you know, what you're putting out that in one way or the others. 

Rich Bennett 47:05
Now, before I get to my last question. Mm. I got to ask you, of course, if there's anything you'd like to add. 

Yeah, I know there's a we could come to. 

Agi Keramidas 47:20
A what I will add, this is an open invitation. Actually, I think it's very appropriate since you just found out about the book and because we had a wonderful conversation, I would like to offer it to your listeners as I present my book, that the electronic version of the book. 

Rich Bennett 47:43
Right. 

Agi Keramidas 47:43
So if they go to our dot com slash 88, you will be able to to download the book. And I really hope that you can find in there the actionable insights that will support your personal development journey. So that's what I will add my my gift to you. I hope it helps your path now. 

Rich Bennett 48:11
Now, how would they go ahead? Because I have had listeners that want autographed copies. How would they go about getting an autographed copy from you? Because I know they can't get that off of Amazon. 

Agi Keramidas 48:22
Hey, the autograph. No, but to get an autographed copy and the best way I can think about right now is get the copy from Amazon in paperback, send me proof of purchase, and I will send you an autographed copy because that's the only way I don't have a separate autographed copy. So Amazon, I have to actually do it myself and post it right. But it would be with pleasure. 

Rich Bennett 48:55
So my last question I love to ask all my guests this. And you do you even know how many times you've been interviewed? 

Agi Keramidas 49:06
A 50 something? Oh, no, no. It's more than that, actually. 

Rich Bennett 49:11
And it's like. 

Agi Keramidas 49:12
50 and yeah, Anyway, let's say 60 or 70, something like that. 

Rich Bennett 49:18
It's I. So out of all these interviews, is there anything that a host has never asked you that you wish they would have asked you? And if so, what would be that question and what would be your answer? 

Agi Keramidas 49:34
And 

it's a great question, and there are many things that I have not been asked yet. And in a way. Mm. I don't know them because Exactly. Because I have not been asked about them because I don't know if it happens to us. Well many times during the interviews when I'm a guest, 

I do come up with a unique way of articulating a response to some question that I hadn't thought about previous. Really. So right now I'm trying to find some 

clever, 

clever way to answer your question, because I don't have immediately a question that comes to mind aside. 

Rich Bennett 50:32
That's why I don't do this like Foggy. 

Agi Keramidas 50:40
A 

It's, it's yeah, it's difficult to isolate. Well, you know, one that came to my mind was 

a question of the day for which one very important not not re one because questions that are what is the most important are very difficult to to answer but one of them what I consider to be the cornerstones shall we say, of my 

evolution, my personal level, my journey of growth and transition. And you know, from shy, as I said, you broadcasted into the also now and so on. 

So it would be a question of what is or to what I attribute a big part of this. That is the question. 

Rich Bennett 51:49
And what would be your answer? 

Agi Keramidas 51:54
I was waiting for it. It wasn't 

one thing. And I will say a practical a practical thing that I have implemented when I started my self-exploration, my personal development journey was daily journaling. I had never journal before I started in 2017 and I have been journaling every single day, you know, about very few exceptions, Christmases and so on every single day for what is that, six, six, seven years now. So that is a complete game changer. It was for me. No other people saw. I consider that to be one of the most important things that I did at that time that I wasn't doing before. And oh my God, the things that the benefits that came from that are endless. 

Rich Bennett 52:55
Yeah, yeah, I agree. I'm glad you brought that up because that is so the very important and we've mentioned that a lot. You know, all my episodes, especially when we're talking about mental health, how journaling helps a lot. That's which is something I need to get back to doing. So thank you for bringing that up. And, you know, call me in in a month if I'm not doing it. You have my permission to kick me in the ass. 

Agi Keramidas 53:23
You have until the end when the episode goes live. That's your deadline. 

Rich Bennett 53:30
All right, So, Rich, make note to self. If you haven't started yet, push it off. If you haven't thought. 

F1 S3 53:35
You. 

Rich Bennett 53:39
Agree, I want to thank you so much. It's. It's been a true pleasure. I'm glad we were able to finally get this done and congratulations on the book. That is awesome. I can't wait to read it. I'll make sure I had that link in the show notes for the listeners as well. And for those of you listening, when you buy his book or even after you read it, make sure you leave a full review all of it, because that's just going to help him sell more books. And also when you listen to his podcast, leave a review about the podcast as well. If you listen to it on good pods, feel free to leave a review about each episode that you listen to. Thanks so much. It's been a true honor. Thank you. 

Agi Keramidas 54:29
It's an absolute pleasure. Thank you.