Brian Hurlburt’s podcast Magnifying Excellence is an hour-long edited interview show that asks its guest pool of successful people what “excellence” means to them. A shrine to the meritocratic mindset, Magnifying Excellence feels like a LinkedIn meme at first. There’s the structure of something familiar, but with the trappings of something corporate draped over it. Each episode Hurlburt’s guest, usually a successful athlete, is walked through their professional life story on the way to finding their personal definition of what they qualify as “excellence.” The word excellence starts to lose what little meaning it inherently has if one listens to multiple ME episodes in a row. 

The hook of every person having different definitions of what “excellence” actually is isn’t the sexiest idea on paper, but in the end it functions as a jumping-off point to interview people about what they’re most proud about, which can be a welcome change for those used to the same tired Tonight Show-style tired celebs doing guest spots on podcasts they’ve never heard of to promote some new project. Magnifying Excellence is solidly-edited offering with deft deployment of post-interview narration from Hulburt’s made-for-radio voice to stitch everything into one handy package for most commutes.

We were fortunate to talk with Hurlburt about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Podchaser

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

HURLBURT: I have been a writer, author and content creator for three decades, and one of the questions I ask many of my interview subjects while working on other projects has been, “How do you define Excellence?” More often than not, the person pauses and says, “that’s a great question; I have never been asked that.” And then they take careful time to ponder the answer and share their thoughts. They each seemed to think it was a very interesting topic and it was also interesting to me, so I thought other people would also find their responses interesting and a podcast seemed like the perfect outlet for these conversations.

Over the years I have asked Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam, Brandi Chastain, Lebron James, Greg Maddux, Bill Walton and others this question, and each has a different take on it. Now, I want to be clear, all of these people haven’t been on the Magnifying Excellence Podcast–yet–but I have asked the question in different settings. But, I have been very fortunate to have Bill Walton, Greg Maddux and Annika Sorenstam (release for her is May 18) as guests, and many others, who have spent 30-40 minutes with me candidly and exclusively discussing their paths of Excellence. It’s been very rewarding to hear how open they are, especially about the failures, challenges and other bumps that come from pursuing Excellence. I know it makes me feel good to hear some of the world’s Excellent and interesting people discuss that it isn’t always easy, even for them.

I am guessing that for you or anyone reading this, you have never thought about the answer to how you define Excellence, but I think it is interesting for us all to compare our personal answer to what the guests say. And I do think their thoughts have been very enlightening and inspiring and have made me a better host, business person and human.

All I know is that it has been fascinating hearing the definitions, from Tiger Woods’ “Excellence is winning” to Walton’s stunning 16-minute definition, which is a must-listen. Again, to be clear, Woods hasn’t been a guest but I asked him during a press conference prior to his $10 million match with Phil Mickelson in Las Vegas. But Walton was a terrific guest and for those who enjoy his broadcasting, be sure to listen to his episode.

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to Magnifying Excellence?

HURLBURT: Well, I am always very grateful for anyone to choose the podcast because there are so many terrific choices, but I think this is a very unique line of questioning. Each episode is only about 35-45 minutes long.and are a nice pick me up for the week. And I think each of our guests are extremely interesting, even if you aren’t a fan of them or don’t know much about them prior to listening.

But, I also want to be very clear: this isn’t a glorification of Excellence, but a true, raw examination of it. Yes, we talk about the Excellent moments and how the guests have achieved a high level. But what I have learned is that Excellence is a journey, not a destination, and each guest has these indelible moments in life that I don’t think they have shared like this before.

For example, hall of fame baseball player Greg Maddux discussed overcoming his “failures” in great detail, more candidly than I ever thought he would. He was our first guest and when he shared so openly, I thought we might be onto something with the podcast. He talked about seeing a sports psychologist and also having to be very honest with himself with what he had to improve. So, if Greg Maddux has experienced some lows, it kind of inspires the rest of us that it is OK to fail as long as we grow. I really appreciated him speaking like that and he gave the podcast a huge boost and credibility from the start.

And the guests come up with pearls of wisdom, like Naval Academy graduate and former Raiders running back Napoleon McCallum, who said, “you have to know what Excellence looks like” and then shared what that means.

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?

HURLBURT: I think that during these crazy and turbulent times, people appreciate having a podcast that is positive and inspiring, but also that is doing it in a real way with storytelling and personal anecdotes from our guests. Again, the episodes aren’t just a bed of roses and talking to the guest about how great they are. This is real stuff and each guest has really offered up a lot of knowledge and inspiration about how we can all get better. And that is a recurring theme; that we can all improve, no matter what levels we have reached.

I know each day I get up trying to be better, and no matter who I have spoken to as a guest, he or she is each still searching and improving and these are some very high-level people. I am not sure I am qualified to be talking about Excellence, but I think we all kind of feel that way at times, and the listeners appreciate that about the episodes. It’s a few interesting moments spotlighting the journey of Excellence and bringing some levity to the world in our own, small way.

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?

HURLBURT: I utilize a home studio setup for recording and podcast production, and utilize ZOOM for the interviews. At some point, we will do in-person interviews but we launched during the pandemic and it has been pretty easy to use ZOOM and the quality has been pretty good, for the most part. My producer, J Hurly, uses Ableton to create the final product. During the podcast recording, I use a Focusrite Audio Interface and the microphone is a Audio Technica 2020 with a pop filter. The overall hosting site is Buzzsprout, which has made it very easy to get the podcast on all the major networks plus we have added some others, including the nationally-respected MorningRead.com Podcast network.

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?

HURLBURT: The biggest challenge right now is to continue to grow the audience. We are seeing solid growth, but it is a constant effort to share the podcast and get the word out. It means a lot to me that you are taking the time to share the Magnifying Excellence Podcast story. I hope that if people listen once, they will want to listen again, no matter who the guest is. As I say, this might be the podcast you didn’t know you needed!

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?

HURLBURT: I think with our track record of quality content and quality guests, we are positioned to create unique partnerships with companies that share the same vision of spotlighting Excellence. I think it would be very compelling to work with like-minded companies and interview those associated with their brands. Since our line of questioning is pretty unique, I think it would be a huge opportunity to align a brand with Excellence.

I don’t really have a specific number about the overall audience we are seeking, but 50,000 downloads per episode is our goal after the first year. It seems like a huge goal at the moment, but I think people will enjoy the podcast and I hope people give it a chance. And then share the episodes. These are straight-forward discussions about Excellence and I know I learn a lot from each guest. Again, I am not sure I am qualified to talk about Excellence but I know I am being inspired each episode and continuing my way down the path of Excellence to an unknown destination. And that is really what it probably is all about; keep moving and keep striving, no matter what hurdles are in the way.

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?

HURLBURT: I listen to Jordan Harbinger and he has been a nice inspiration for me and also Colin Cowherd, who I think does a great job on the radio and now having started his own podcast network … so Colin, when you read this, let’s talk about Excellence.

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?

HURLBURT: Thanks again for the spotlight on the Magnifying Excellence Podcast. For those just learning about us, a great first episode is our “10 Most Intriguing Moments from Season 1”, which is only about 20 minutes in length. It includes what I thought were the most intriguing moments from each guest combined into one, tigth episode. It really gives a nice idea of what the podcast is all about and I think makes people want to listen to the full episodes.

Related posts:

Podcast Spotlight: Improv Is Dead Podcast Spotlight: Rational Ignorance Podcast Spotlight: The Future of Data Centers
Tags