Posted by Keith
The questions I ask myself
I always struggle with the thought that I have no place doing what we are doing. After all, who am I to be doing this podcast? What makes me special that people should listen? I fight the urge to let this idea consume me. It got easier, but now we are selling product. Asking people to spend money for us to fund our project. This addition to our effort makes it more real. It makes it harder to not ask the questions. Really, who am I do be doing this podcast?
Original Idea
Recently we have been getting more interest in who we are. A concept that seems like a simple idea but I have resisted. I sprinkle nuggets throughout each show, but I really don’t let it out. The reality is, it has been our goal to make this less about us. Not put too much of us out there. Make the idea of More In Common bigger than Rodney and Keith. We simply represent the mission rather than being the mission.
What has changed.
While that has been a goal, this thought of being more personal has really resonated with me of late. Why wouldn’t I fight the idea? Who am I to be doing this podcast anyway?
We settled on our approach. But, if I believe so much in the mission, then I should be willing to be more vulnerable, right? We ask our guests to do just that, and they deliver. If you don’t know much about me, then really, who am I to be doing this podcast?
My abridged journey…
If you don’t already know me personally, my name is Keith Richardson. You likely know I am from New Hampshire, that I graduated from Purdue and have a lot of opinions about things. We talk a lot about this in Episode 1: Shoot Ninja.
The more…my parents divorced when I was 2 years old. I did have both my parents in my life. My childhood was really good. Most of my time was with my Mother. She was a single mom who worked full time, got her college degree, and raised me. As I have gotten older, she has become someone I truly admire. My dad remarried when I was six, and that certainly wasn’t easy on me.
It really wasn’t until I became a dad in December of 2016 that I realized the influence of my childhood. After all, it really was a good upbringing. It shaped my independence…my desire to be the best dad…to never get divorced…how I socialize and look at society.
My parents were wonderful and worked hard to ensure I had what I needed. I do believe the divorce impacted me socially. Being a rule following athlete who knew stuff, I didn’t really know where I fit in. As an only child, I spent a lot of time alone entertaining myself. That certainly didn’t help me find a social group. I’m sure a lot of these things played a role in my depression. But they also played a huge role in how I see other people. They helped me see that being a good person matters. They taught me to be patient and wait for the right partner in life.
Moved away from N.H. at 20. Graduated college in 2004. Lived on my own from Rochester to Chicago for almost 10 years. After some years of patience I turned to match.com at 30 and two weeks later found my wonderful wife. We got married in 2015 and now have the most wonderful daughter. Being a dad is absolutely the best job I have ever had and my true passion. It really does change you.
Belief System
Who am I to be doing this podcast? I had to learn to fit in with many different groups because I didn’t fit in with just one. Learning about different personalities and cultures helped shape my perspective that all people matter. Having a mother as a role model taught me the power and greatness of women. Traveling and living in new places has helped me be open minded. All of these things have helped me realize my privilege (more on that later).
And this confluence of experience and exposure has led me to a core belief system. We all exist and share space. We should treat each other with respect…limit our judgements…and make every effort to coexist peacefully. As people we have a really hard time doing this. Hell, I struggle with it more often than I would like to admit. But it is this foundational belief system that says to me…who cares who I am to be doing this podcast…just do it because the idea does matter.
Who am I to be doing this Podcast?
People deserve to be heard. People deserve to be understood. We shouldn’t fear judgement as we all have a journey littered with mistakes. While we don’t always agree, we can at least make an effort to find out why. In the end, we build each other up or tear each other apart…I choose the former.
This is why I think is important to at least know a little more about me. It’s not a book, so can’t fit it all in. But, if the goal is to have others be heard and share experiences, then I should share mine. If nothing else, it at least helps ME answer the question…who am I to be doing this podcast.