With over 1,500,000 podcasts and 34 million episodes available, it has never been easier to enjoy content in quick, consumable bites. Podcasts offer expert advice, storytelling, and an opportunity to escape into your earbuds anytime, anywhere. One of the most downloaded genres is self-improvement, and since podcasters listen to 7 different shows per week on average, I thought it might be helpful to share a roundup of the 10 Best Self Improvement Podcasts to check out for your next walk, workout, or road trip.
10 Best Self Improvement Podcasts
The following podcasts are guaranteed to improve your life, one episode at a time.
1. Tony Robbins Podcast
Listen to the famed motivational speaker’s powerful words that support a community of healing and unity. Millions of listeners in several countries have created meaningful change in their lives using the strategies and insights discussed in this program.
It includes timely topics and personal stories, including resiliency for small business owners, instilling personal discipline, scaling your ideas, and practicing gratitude.
2. Optimal Living Daily Podcast
A curated selection of the best blogs is narrated for your daily consumption on personal development, minimalism, finance, health, and business. Speakers include Dr. Neal, who responds to questions from people struggling and wanting to address their issues.
This podcast is perfect for walking and listening!
3. Happier with Gretchen Rubin Podcast
Get happier with this deeply personal podcast on topics covering human stories and current issues affecting people and relationships.
Check out Gretchen Rubin speaking on how to create powerful habits that make you happy on another podcast, The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete.
4. The Tim Ferriss Show
With millions of listeners, Tim Ferriss’s podcast episodes are regulars on the shortlist of popular Apple podcasts. The Tim Ferriss Show includes conversations with all types of people, including Olympic athletes, start-up founders, investors, and chess champions. The conversations can provide information that you can apply to your daily life.
5. The Marie Forleo Podcast
Oprah Winfrey named rising entrepreneur Marie Forleo as a thought leader. Forleo’s lively podcast can help you become a better version of yourself.
Guests on the program share strategies for greater health, love, happiness, motivation, productivity, and success. Topics range from business savvy and entrepreneurship to a discussion about how peace is a new success.
6. The Brendon Show
Brendon Burchard takes you behind the scenes as a world leader in high-performance coaching. His podcast provides an intimate and inspiring look into his own life and shows how each of us can live an extraordinary life.
Available on multiple platforms, this popular podcast claims that expert guidance, real consistency, and inspiring community are ways to take accountability for your growth.
7. Kwik Brain
Kwik Brain is a quick coaching podcast for busy people who want to learn and achieve anything in a short amount of time. Listen to motivational podcasts with bite-sized brain hacks for people who want to think quicker. The podcast offers simple, actionable tools to sharpen your mind.
Hosted by Jim Kwik, the podcast’s fifteen-minute episodes include high profile personas and best-selling authors and topics such as becoming an incredible listener and getting better sleep. Check out this clip from Art of Charm where Jordan Harbinger interviews Jim Kwik—fascinating!
8. The Overwhelmed Brain
Affirmations and positive thinking can only take you so far if you’re working through life’s toughest challenges, such as a substance abuse problem that may require treatment at alcohol and drug rehab centers.
This podcast offers industrial-strength resilience talks to help you increase emotional intelligence, express who you really are in this world, and hack dysfunctional relationships. You can find new levels of happiness and personal fulfillment on a day-by-day basis.
9. Impact Theory
Tom Bilyeu’s fast-paced, wake-you-up podcast explores the mindsets of the world’s highest achievers to learn their secrets of success. His interviews include conversations with professional athletes and his topics include practical suggestions for managing high-protein diets.
If you want boisterous encouragement to motivate yourself for personal growth and live the good life, this podcast might be for you.
10. Jordan Harbinger Show
Decode the stories, secrets, and skills of the world’s most fascinating people. This podcast offers in-depth conversations with people at the top of their game such as astronauts, entrepreneurs, spies, and psychologists.
Interviews on this podcast dive deep into topics such as American economics and its effect on people around the world.
How to Listen to Podcasts
Now that you have a list of podcasts to add to your queue, you can listen for free from any device – just choose from one of the apps below.
Apple Podcasts
A built-in iPhone app that allows you to stream and download podcasts, as well as set your favorites to download automatically so you never miss an episode.
Google Play Music
A built-in Android app that does everything that Apple Podcasts does, so you can start listening in seconds and subscribe to keep it up. Google Play also has a browser version.
Spotify
While Spotify only features podcasts with which it has a partnership on its platform, it does offer podcast playlists so you can find new faves. You’ll also have to contend with ads, unless you’re a premium subscriber.
Castro
Castro allows you to auto-queue your top shows so you never miss an episode, or limit the number of shows that show in your queue, to keep things streamlined. While you will need to subscribe to access some of the higher-tech features, they might be worth it for dedicated podcast fans. Subscriptions will run you $19 per year if you decide to level up.
Overcast
A clean and super-functional app that lets you sort your podcasts into playlists. Plus the ability to remove ads if you pay $10 a year to subscribe. You can also upload your own audio to Overcast’s servers when you subscribe if you want to try your hand at podcasting yourself.
Interesting Podcast Facts
Source: Podcast Insights
- 75% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting” – up from 70% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 2020)
- 50% of all US homes are podcast fans (Nielsen, Aug 2017)
- 55% (155 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast – up from 51% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)
- 37% (104 million) listened to a podcast in the last month – up from 32% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)
- 24% (68 million) listen to podcasts weekly – up from 22% in 2019 (Infinite Dial 20)
- 16 million people in the US are “avid podcast fans” (Nielsen Q1 2018)
- 51% of podcast listeners are male – same as US population (Infinite Dial 20)
- 45% of monthly podcast listeners have household income over $75K – vs 35% for the total population
- 27% of US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree – vs 19% for US pop
- 63% of podcast listeners are white – vs 58% for US pop (Infinite Dial 20)
- Age of monthly podcast listeners versus US population (Infinite Dial 20):
- 12-34: 48% (vs 37%)
- 35-54: 32% (vs 40%)
- 55+: 20% (vs 23%)
- 49% of podcast listening is done at home, down from 51% in 2017
- 22% listen while driving (in a vehicle), same as 2017
- Podcast listeners subscribe to an average of 6 shows in the last week (Infinite Dial 20)
- Podcast listeners listen to an average of 7 different shows per week, up from 5 in 2017
- 80% listen to all or most of each episode, down from 86% in 2017
- Podcast listening on a computer went up from 29% to 31% (smartphone listening went from 71% to 69% respectively)
- 19% of listeners increase the speed (listen faster)
- 65% of monthly podcast listeners have been listening for less than 3 years
- Comedy is the most popular podcasting genre, followed by education and news
Recap – 10 Best Self Improvement Podcasts
Things do not grow better; they remain as they are. It is we who grow better, by the changes we make in ourselves.
Swami Vivekananda
I hope this list of the 10 Best Self Improvement Podcasts inspires your own journey in self-discovery and health tips including a review of the teeth whitener products on the maret. Remember, you cannot pour from an empty cup – so fill it wisely.
Pin It – 10 Best Self Improvement Podcasts
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What we call our destiny is truly our character and that character can be altered. The knowledge that we are responsible for our actions and attitudes does not need to be discouraging, because it also means that we are free to change this destiny. One is not in bondage to the past, which has shaped our feelings, to race, inheritance, background. All this can be altered if we have the courage to examine how it formed us. We can alter the chemistry provided we have the courage to dissect the elements
Anais Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934