I hosted my first Podcast at the Pyramid Club in Center City Philadelphia this past week. The Podcast is called “Trophy Moments & a few Firsts, with Keith Baldwin.” On the Podcast I cover two topics with my guests for 30 minutes. One is looking back at the “Trophy Moment” of my guest’s life for the first half of the program. The second half of the podcast is a look forward to Firsts they have always wanted to do but have not done yet – inspired by my book A Leap Year of Firsts
My FIRST guest and THE inspiration for my book “A Leap Year of Firsts” was LuAnn Cahn. I thought it appropriate to ask LuAnn to be the first. LuAnn challenged me and an audience of over 100 attendees on December 5th, 2019, to “DO THE NEW.” Ms. Cahn is the author of the inspirational memoir I Dare Me. She was there to DARE her audience, and I took her dare to do the new, dare to do something for the first time in your life, or a first in my case.
I Dare Me is a look back on a year that changed everything for her. The book grew out of a blog, “Year of Firsts,” which chronicled this veteran journalist, mother and cancer survivor’s daily adventures as she pushed herself to try something new every single day to get “unstuck.” She was inspired by her daughter, to go on this year-long adventure while working her full-time “day job” as an eight-time Emmy award-winning journalist with NBC10 News in Philadelphia. Cahn’s journey eventually led to a major career change. In December 2014, she left her 40-year career in broadcast news to dare audiences across the country and help launch the next generation of communicators at Temple University. Cahn is currently the Director of Career Services for Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication.
LuAnn’s Trophy Moment was winning her first Emmy Award for her NBC on air story “Breast Cancer: My Personal Story.” She even brought her broken award she won in 1991-92 to the recording. It was held together with duct tape around the base in an attempt to hold it together. It had fallen and broken. She could have gotten a new one to replace the original, but to LuAnn “it wouldn’t be the same.” The worn broken piece of plated metal was recognition and a symbol of achievement. But it was much more. She shared that it represented the life-threatening passion of the journalistic piece which helped many. It represented the bags of hand-written thank you letters from her viewers that she still has. It represented the emotion of the time, which made its way to the surface as she shared. Being in the award business my whole life, I sometimes take for granted the impact of the award and the recognition it provides.
The “First” that she is now looking to do is travel related. I turned the tables on my guest and asked her to take a piece of paper and write down the first she wanted to do. To make it a committed goal, as she had done with her audiences and with me on December 5th, 2019 when I wrote “fly a plane.” LuAnn wrote “Australia.” It is a place she has never been and has always wanted to visit. She shared that she will be slowing it down career-wise after the next upcoming semester at Temple in June 2024. She committed to me that she will look to travel at that point with Australia the goal. She even asked me to help her book it and maybe join her. Hmmm, maybe I will? I thanked her for inspiring me to “live life like I’m dying” as I continue to pursue firsts. I shared a number of my current and future firsts I have planned. I am a disciple of daring myself to “do the new.” Lu Ann whispered at the end of the interview that having me do my firsts was a “trophy moment” for her. Humbled and forever grateful. A cherished first for me.
What is your “Trophy Moment?” What is a First you have always wanted to do, but haven’t gotten to do yet? Will you write it down and commit to find the time and a way to do it – NOW? Will you?
If you would like to listen to this first it will be distributed via Simplecast (Apple, Spotify, etc…) AND on my personal social media (LinkedIn). It will be out within the next month. I hope that you will join me in listening to future episodes.