Gissele Taraba is co-owner of Maitri Centre for Love and Compassion and the Host of the Love and Compassion podcast with Gissele.  She is a trained therapist, as well as a mindfulness and compassion teacher.  She offers coaching services to individuals and workplaces looking to introduce compassion into their organizations.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Of course!  I have two Masters, one in research and another one in social work.  I was introduced to compassion by accident really. I was looking for a long-lasting, and effective solution to the suffering I observed at work while I was in leadership at a not-for-profit.  I was already a long-term meditator but I was unaware of the concept of compassion. Once I started learning about the power of compassion and then self-love, I went all in! Now we have a centre where we focus on reminding people of their own self-love and self-compassion and helping them unlearn everything that prevents them from being their authentic, most loving selves.  

What inspired you to start your podcast?

I think I should start by admitting that I did not think that I was ever going to be a podcaster. It was nowhere in my conscious awareness. I had never listened to a podcast nor was I aware it was a “thing”.  I was a Director of Administration at the time, and was chatting with my friend, Lara Naughton, who does work on compassion in the prison system.  She was helping me figure out how to introduce compassion into the child protection system when, unexpectedly, I asked her if she had published a book.  She had, and the book is called “The Jaguar Man.”  Long story short, this book is about her experience of being kidnapped and raped at gunpoint while on vacation and her journey of finding compassion for herself and her assaulter during and after the assault.  This story shook me to the core and I thought, “I have to share this story with others as an extraordinary example of compassion”. Someone suggested I start a podcast, and the rest is history.

How did you start it? What were the first steps you took?

I honestly did not know anything about podcasting but the universe aligned everything to make this happen.  I’m very lucky that my partner is super supportive and so he dove head in to help me find the microphone, programs I could use, and to help me perfect my craft.  At the same time, the university I graduated from was offering free podcast support, which had just started the month before, so I took the opportunity to learn what I could from them.  I have also joined Facebook groups for podcasters and have met some amazing people in the podcasting world by hosting other podcasters on my podcast, and by being a guest on their podcast.  I love being able to share podcasting stories with my fellow podcasters. We all have that story of being afraid that we didn’t record the session, or that the audio was terrible, or the video didn’t download.

For those just starting out, get yourself a decent microphone, use Zoom or Zencastr (both free), and record both audio and video. You never know how you will repurpose your content later on. I wish I had done a video of my first three podcasts, as much later on, I started a YOUTUBE channel.  Also we strongly suggest you use Descript to transcribe of all your material.  Descript makes transcribing a breeze. Uploading transcripts enables your audience who require subtitles to access your podcast and it also helps with your SEO.

 What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your podcast?

Honestly, it has been word of mouth. It has been heart warming for me to get emails from people who listen to the podcast and share how they feel inspired, motivated, moved, and how it has helped them find hope during these challenging times.  Our listeners have shared how it helped them have conversations with others about sometimes, taboo or challenging topics. I have done all the traditional things: marketing, social media and so on, but nothing is more powerful than friends sharing their favorite podcast with their friends and loved ones. 

It means so much to us that people find our podcast so transformative and impactful.  

What have been your biggest challenges when launching your podcast?

I like to think that challenges are opportunities either for re-direction or for growth so for me challenges are “feedback”.  My first challenge occurred in attempting to find more extraordinary stories of compassion.  Sometimes, the people who are the most compassionate, are not always the most comfortable sharing their stories publicly so I had to refocus my podcast more on bringing stories of how love and compassion have impacted people’s lives.  We have discussed stories of forgiveness, parenting, health, and so much more.  I think part of the challenge is that we are not looking for stories of kindness.  While stories of kindness are amazing and should be shared, generosity is not the same as compassion.  Compassion and unconditional love are about looking at all the aspects of ourselves and others that we do not like and finding a way to accept and love those aspects.  It is about how we lean into each other’s suffering, and help ourselves and each other in a way that doesn’t deplete us but recharges us.

My second challenge was finding our audience.  In the beginning, we didn’t get many downloads.  Our downloads primarily came from my family and friends who have been very supportive about our podcast.  I didn’t realize that listeners will wait until you have a good number of episodes in the bank, before they commit to your show.  We were also releasing our episodes one time per month, but we heard that it was too long to wait for the next episode, so we have moved to every two weeks due to our work schedule with the business.  I would love to be able to do something once a week but right now, every two weeks is what we are aiming for. The longer between episodes, the longer it will take to gain momentum in gaining listeners.    

How do you monetize your podcast? What are your best tips to monetize a podcast?

We currently don’t monetize, as the podcast is not our main source of income but my aim is to start monetizing this year.  We have had people approach us about monetizing but for us, it has to be the right product, and right messaging! I believe that the right opportunities will present themselves at the perfect time.

In general, there are a number of ways to monetize. You can use Patreon and have people fund your podcast. I have a number of friends who use this approach successfully.  Alternatively, you can charge your audience to get access to special episodes.  Although we have a Patreon account, it has never felt right for us to charge our listeners because we feel, especially right now with COVID19, that the world could use greater compassion and love! We want to offer our content free of charge for as long as possible, and offer it as accessible as possible. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new podcasters?

The best advice I received from my fellow podcasters when I was starting out was: #1- don’t wait and #2-the riches are in the niches.  Don’t wait until you get it perfect, or because you feel you don’t have anything original to share.  If you are feeling motivated to start a podcast, and the thought excites you, go for it!

#2, going too broad will make finding your audience challenging. The more specific you get about the purpose of your podcast, the more likely you will get people who are truly invested and committed to listening every week, or month. 

If you show up as your authentic self, have fun and keep producing podcasts consistently, your people will show up!

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

If you do not mean books related to podcasting, then my favorite book right now is Parallel Universes by Frederick Dodson.  It’s mind blowing. I love to stretch my thinking beyond the known. 

I am an avid reader and my “favorites” usually change depending on what my interests are currently.  There are so many amazing books out there.  My favorite blog is my own, because it is therapeutic for me to write about my experiences with compassion. 

Apps? I love TikTok. I never thought I would. I love how influencers are making an impact.  They are so bold, and it seems that they are having so much fun creating! It’s fun to see. We have started a TikTok account but you won’t see me dancing or acting, or cooking on it (laugh.)

If it is related to podcasting, then absolutely anything by Pat Flynn. He’s such a generous soul regarding podcasting.

What's your favorite business/podcast tool or resource? Why?

I love Pat Flynn’s podcast Smart Passive Income because it is super informative.  I think we all have this desire to have freedom.  We desire to be free to explore our passions, do what we love, and have experiences in life that bring us joy and happiness.  Pat’s podcast helps you find ways to make income in a way that doesn’t feel like work.  I definitely believe the future of work is not “the grind”, rather it’s more inspirational and it comes from multiple sources not just one job for example.   

What projects do you have planned for the next six months?

Oh so many exciting projects! With respect to the podcast, we are still looking for extraordinary stories of compassion so if anyone has one, please reach out to us.  I would love to have people who are actively working on bringing more love into the world like @realdaryldavis or @valariekaur on the show.

My dream is to get funding to travel the world in search of extraordinary stories of compassion and love to show that our true nature is truly compassionate.  Once we unlearn all the barriers we have to our compassion, we return to being our true, most loving selves.  I am also interested in exploring spirituality more, the power of the heart and mind, and truly diving into the concept of unconditional love in the podcast.

Regarding Maitri Centre, we now have a self-serve section and we are working on getting some of our self-serve modules on compassion at work uploaded on our website. Even though we love cohort based courses, and group work, it is not always possible for members of our community to be able to complete learning synchronously so we are offering our clients greater options.   We believe compassion in leadership is the next big thing in the workplace.

How can our readers connect with you?

We love to hear from people.  Our email is info@maitricentre.com or if you want to personally reach me, g.taraba@maitricentre.com.  If you want to check out our podcast or our centre, our linktree is here: https://linktr.ee/MaitriCentre

Thank you so much for the opportunity to podcasting journey!