This episode of The Cliff Ravenscraft Show is an unplugged audio journal.

I’m recording this one week after returning home from PodFest 2026. My voice isn’t fully back. My energy isn’t fully restored. And that’s exactly why I wanted to hit record.

Rather than teach or present a framework, I wanted to bring you into the lived experience of the past few weeks. The lead-up to PodFest. The physical toll of not fully recovering before traveling. The emotional weight of reconnecting with people who have been part of my journey for nearly two decades. And the clarity that began to surface only after I came home and slowed down.

Being back in rooms with people I influenced, who stood with me as we were shaping the podcasting industry, stirred something I didn’t realize I had set aside. The conversations we had reminded me why this work has mattered to me for so long.

Coming home also brought reality with it. A full inbox. Dozens of follow-ups. Hundreds of new and renewed connections. And the recognition that one of the offers I brought back, Podcasting A to Z, no longer matched the people I was now in conversation with.

In this episode, I share why I chose to pause group enrollment for Podcasting A to Z, what that decision clarified for me, and how one unexpected conversation led to the return of the Next Level Mastermind.

This is an authentic, behind the scenes episode that provides a snapshot of a moment where recovery, discernment, and alignment are all happening at once.

If anything in this episode resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you. You can email me at Cliff@CliffRavenscraft.com. I read every message and reply personally, even if it takes me a little time.

Thanks for being here with me.

In this episode, I share a deeply personal and wide ranging conversation I recently had with Greg Gerber, host of the Forward From 50 podcast.

Greg originally came into my world more than a decade ago as a Podcasting A to Z student. Today, he hosts a show dedicated to people over fifty who know their best work is still ahead of them.

The conversation became a powerful reflection on identity, ambition, reinvention, and what it means to step fully into the work you were made to do.

This conversation tells the story of my journey from insurance agent to podcaster, from Podcast Answer Man to mindset and business strategist, and now into this next chapter where everything is coming together with more clarity and alignment than ever before.

• Your voice and desire to communicate are not accidents. They are clues to what you are here to do. Mine started with CB radio and a toy microphone long before podcasting ever existed.
• Leaving a career that works is often harder than leaving one that fails. Walking away from insurance, and later from Podcast Answer Man, required trusting who I was becoming more than what I had already built.
• Podcasting A to Z did far more than launch shows. It revealed that most people were really looking for business clarity, confidence, and a way to create income and impact from what they already knew.
• The difference between a hobby and a business is not a podcast. It is having a clear ideal client, a real problem, and a way to solve it that people are willing to pay for.
• Your identity is not the role you played. Losing a job or retiring does not mean you lost who you are. It just means one chapter ended.
• Journaling is one of the fastest ways to reconnect with who you are, why you are here, and what you actually want.
• Desire is not something to be justified. It is something to be listened to. The 50 Things I Want exercise is a way to let that voice speak again.
• The people you surround yourself with either expand your vision or quietly shrink it. Choose wisely.
• The return of Podcast Answer Man is not nostalgia. It is a strategic move made possible by new tools, better leverage, and a deeper understanding of how I serve people best.
• The first fifty years of my life were preparation for the work I am doing now.

If this episode stirred something in you and you have been thinking about starting a podcast or finally taking the one you have more seriously, I invite you to join me for my next session of Podcasting A to Z.

This is my four week live coaching experience where you and I work together to turn your idea, message, and voice into real impact.

You can learn more and register at PodcastingAtoZ.com

Twenty years ago, I launched my very first podcast with no idea where it would lead. What began as a hobby eventually changed the trajectory of my life, my work, and my family. It also led to the creation of Podcast Answer Man and Podcasting A to Z, two things that played a massive role in the early podcasting industry.

If you’ve followed my journey for any length of time, you know that I eventually stepped away from that brand and that work. And for years, many people assumed it was gone for good.

In this episode, I share the full story of why Podcast Answer Man is back, why Podcasting A to Z is returning.

The spark came during a Hot Seat inside my Green Room Mastermind. I share how a simple technical question about podcast gear led to a realization that everything that once made Podcast Answer Man unsustainable has changed.

With tools like Notion and AI, what used to take hours can now be done accurately and with integrity in a fraction of the time. Combined with clearer boundaries, daily meditation, nervous system regulation, and a very different life stage, the conditions that once led to burnout no longer exist.

This return is about integrating everything I’ve learned since leaving.

Stephanie joins me in this conversation to reflect on what she has witnessed during this season of renewal. We talk about why the version of me who stepped away from Podcast Answer Man years ago had to do so in order for the version of me today to bring it back.

We also explore how Podcast Answer Man has always been the easiest entry point into my world. It is how thousands of people first discovered me. From there, many went on to launch podcasts, build businesses, and eventually work with me in deeper ways through coaching, masterminds, and long-term relationships.

This return is about bringing everything I have learned over the past two decades into a more integrated way of serving. Podcasting, business strategy, mindset, and personal growth now live together in a single ecosystem, with Podcast Answer Man once again serving as the front door.

From there, there are many ways I serve today. Podcasting A to Z. Business strategy and mindset coaching. Mastermind groups. Long-term client relationships. This return reconnects all of it.

Podcast Answer Man returns as a weekly show focused on podcasting, gear, tools, industry insights, and listener questions. You can find Podcast Answer Man at PodcastAnswerMan.com, where you will also find links to all the major podcast apps and a place to submit your own podcasting questions.

The Cliff Ravenscraft Show will continue as a weekly show. This podcast is a space for mindset, personal personal development, and deeper behind-the-scenes conversations about building meaningful work.

If you want to work with me personally and be guided step by step through launching your podcast, you can join me for my next live session of Podcasting A to Z at PodcastingAtoZ.com.

In this episode, I share the honest moment when I reached the end of September and realized my business was not heading in the direction I wanted.

I walk you through the course correction that followed, the clarity that came from a deep review of my life and work, and the renewed alignment that shaped the path forward.

You’ll hear the full story behind how I realigned my business and the exact process I will now use for my quarterly reviews.

Episodes Mentioned in This Conversation

• TCRS 514, TCRS 518, and TCRS 519 (Not as important as the following)
• TCRS 537 – Six Months After The Big Leap
• TCRS 565 – Success & Failures: What I learned from my first year after The Big Leap

What story am I telling myself about who I am and the work I'm doing in the world?

Does this story empower me to show up, meet a need presented in the marketplace with validated products and services, and do so in a way that feels aligned and fulfilling?

Have I drifted or slipped back into a hypnotic rhythm in any of the following categories?

• Physical Fitness
• Intentional Eating
• Business Income and Profit
• Nurturing existing client relationships
• Planting seeds to establish and nurture new relationships
• Content production

If drifting has occurred, what can I learn about the cause of the drift? What patterns can be observed and disrupted?

For each area that needs improvement, use this strategy:

1. Describe the current results.
2. Create a mind map of the perfect system that created the undesired result(s).
3. Describe the desired outcome, moving forward from here.
4. Create a mind map of the ideal system that will achieve the desired outcome.
5. Create a strategy to implement and track this new system.
6. Identify any limiting beliefs, or a narrative in my mind, that may be blocking me from taking action in this new system.

If you’d like help walking through this process in your own life and business, I currently have an offer available for those ready to realign, reset, and move forward with clarity and momentum.

This offer is described at the end of the episode. Learn more and sign up here: https://www.cliffravenscraft.com/offers/Vo7qVDhe/checkout

In this episode I talk about something I’ve seen a lot lately. People tell me they want to move forward. They want to start the thing, launch the idea, reach out to the person, publish the content, say yes to the opportunity.

But they’re stuck because the unknowns feel too big and the confidence simply isn’t there.

The problem is that confidence doesn’t show up at the beginning.

Confidence is the reward for taking action.

It only comes after you’ve stepped into something new, realized your worst fears didn’t come true, and built enough real experience to trust yourself in that environment.

Even after all these years, I still feel that tension when I’m introduced to someone new. Especially when their online presence is polished, impressive, and perfectly curated.

My old patterns pop up.

Who am I to talk with this person? Will I bring value? Will I land with their audience?

There are three important words that I share in this episode: Courage, Confidence, and Curiosity.

Courage. The willingness to say yes even when the outcome is unknown.

If I am courageous enough to take the step, then something interesting happens. My worst fears usually don’t come true. I learn something. I grow. And over time, with enough reps, I develop confidence.

But the confidence never comes first.

Recently, though, I’ve added a third ingredient. And it has been the biggest shift of all.

Curiosity.

Curiosity dissolves fear.

It lets me walk into a new room without the burden of needing anything to happen.

Instead of pressure, I enter with wonder.

Why was this introduction made?

What could come from this connection?

What can I learn from this person?

How might I serve?

Is there resonance here?

And if not, what clarity does that give me?

Curiosity brings me back to presence.

It clears the anxiety that shows up the day before a call, or the hour before it starts, or the five minutes before we go live.

Curiosity lets me move forward without being attached to any particular outcome. I don’t have to prove myself. I don’t have to impress. I simply get to explore what is possible.

In this episode I break down how these three ingredients work together.

Courage gets you moving.

Curiosity keeps you grounded.

Confidence grows from experience and repetition.

If you have an area in your life where you’ve been waiting for confidence before you take action, my hope is that this conversation frees you from that waiting.

You won’t feel confident before you begin.

You’ll feel confident because you began.

I’d love to hear what this brings up for you.

You can email me at Cliff@CliffRavenscraft.com.

I have a special Black Friday coaching offer. It includes three ninety-minute one-on-one coaching sessions with me, plus full access to both my Free the Dream online course and my Building an Online Business course.

If you want direct support, clarity on your next steps, and momentum heading into the new year, reach out and put “Coaching Offer” in the subject line.

In this episode I return to my Podcast Answer Man roots and share an in-depth review of my newest and most unexpected favorite piece of podcast gear. The Zoom PodTrak P4next!

This tiny device delivers almost everything I rely on from the Rodecaster Pro 2 at a fraction of the size and a fraction of the cost, coming in at only $179.

I'll walk you through how I discovered it, my initial skepticism, and why seeing the Zoom name made me give it a chance. I'm so glad I did.

I'll share what the Zoom PodTrak P4next does, how I'm using it, why it has already earned a permanent place in my travel setup, and why I might even replace my Rodecaster Pro 2 in the studio.

I recorded this episode from the front seat of my car to demonstrate how powerful this device is for portable recording. You'll hear the quality of the preamps and the impressive noise reduction capabilities in action.

I talk about the power options, multitrack capability, four XLR inputs, mix-minus support, sound pads, four independently controlled headphone outputs, built in audio recorder and more.

I also share the story of why this little recorder solves technical problems I have carried for years.

If you have been looking for a reliable way to record multiple microphones on the road, or if you want to build a complete podcast studio that fits in a backpack, this episode will show you how simple, and inexpensive, it can be.

Many listeners and viewers ask for my current recommendations for a complete portable recording setup. Here's the list with affiliate links.

Zoom PodTrak P4next - https://amzn.to/4rA85fY

Heil PR-40 - https://amzn.to/4iofavZ

If you want something more portable, my long-time favorite was the Audio Technica ATR-2100. It is no longer manufactured, so my best current guess for a quality budget dynamic mic is the Rode PodMic Cardioid Dynamic Broadcast Microphone found at https://amzn.to/4rgUIBf

Three foot XLR mic cables - https://amzn.to/43UbqMC

Portable mic stand options - https://amzn.to/3MmDMJf

Sony MDR-7506 - https://amzn.to/3M0apwo

Replacement ear pads for the MDR-7506 - https://amzn.to/3M0gj0z

If this episode inspires you to pick up the Zoom PodTrak P4next, I would love to hear about it. Send me an email and let me know how this episode inspired you. My email is Cliff@CliffRavenscraft.com.