Did you make a number of new year’s resolutions?
Sticking with your resolutions requires the endurance to turn your goals into positive habits. On average, it takes a little more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes part of your behavior.
Habits are a big part of self improvement and personal growth.
Here at Optimal Living Daily, we’re honored to be able to share and narrate some of the top self-help and personal development blogs online.
In no particular order, here’s a list of personal development podcasts hosted by some of the authors and bloggers we’ve featured over the years. We’ve also included our show on the list for new visitors and listeners reading this post.
If you’re not already familiar with these podcasts, you’re sure to find some new favorites. Listen to these personal development podcasts regularly and you’ll always have inspiration for your personal growth journey, this year and beyond!
1. Optimal Living Daily (OLD Podcast)
Who: Hosted daily by award-winning podcaster, Justin Malik, since 2015
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: Justin reads you the best content on personal development, productivity, and related topics with author permission. The success of OLD Podcast led to the creation of four additional shows covering topics like health and personal finance. All the podcasts have received over 100 million downloads and have been listened to from almost every country on the globe.
Fun Facts:
- Mentioned on Oprah Magazine.
- Created a “Listener Photos” page in 2019 for listeners to submit and share photos of where they were tuning in from.
- Started a new show late last year (Optimal Living Advice, for your questions on life and living).
2. 10 Minutes to Less Suffering
Who: Hosted by Allison Carmen
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: Allison Carmen is a business consultant, attorney, and bestselling author. As the title states, Allison presents and explores different techniques to reduce your stress and anxiety in 10 minute episodes. Because 10 minutes is all you need to start making big changes.
Fun Facts:
- Allison blogs for Psychology Today, Huffington Post, and Thrive Global.
- Uses the concept of “Maybe” for a more grounded perspective when it comes to parenting and helping children move forward.
- Her book, The Gift of Maybe, includes several exercises you can try to help you apply the philosophy of Maybe into your life.
3. Break The Twitch
Who: Hosted by Anthony Ongaro
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: Anthony describes “the twitch” as an unproductive and impulsive response. Think of mindless scrolling or making an impulse purchase. Break the Twitch is where he shares tips on building a conscious mindset and better habits.
Fun Facts:
- Popular blog posts include 10 Minimalism Tips To Kickstart Your Decluttering and 9 Ways to Overcome FB Addiction.
- Podcast focuses on deep conversations with outstanding and diverse guests.
- Runs an online community to support better habits and attention.
4. The Chalene Show
Who: Hosted by Chalene Johnson
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: The Chalene Show shares practical tips for fitness, diet, and self improvement. Chalene is a celebrity fitness trainer whose show covers personal development, nutrition, and more to help you create more health and happiness in your life.
Fun Facts:
- Is a New York Times best-selling author and lifestyle expert, and top health podcaster with over 20 million downloads of her show.
- Huffington Post recognized Chalene as one of the “Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017.”
- Creator of the 131 Method: a revolutionary “anti-diet.”
5. The James Altucher Show
Who: Hosted by James Altucher
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: James started his podcast in 2014 in the category of personal development podcasts. It's a top-10 rated podcast that has since gotten nearly 40 million downloads. He has spoken to 500+ peak performers that include Mark Cuban, Suzanne Somers, and Sir Richard Branson.
Fun Facts:
- Entrepreneur, writer, and angel investor.
- Author of the Wall Street Journal best-selling book “Choose Yourself.”
- Started 20 companies, 17 of which have failed.
6. The Better You with Kacie Main
Who: Hosted by Kacie Main
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: The Better You Podcast is a space to discover hidden parts of ourselves and our stories. Kacie has real, honest conversations with people from all walks of life so we can become better versions of ourselves.
Fun Facts:
- Self-described “jaded, hopelessly romantic, health-conscious, party girl searching for meaning” with a simple mission: to make life better.
- Interviewed our very own Lee Rankinen on “how to optimize your life.”
- Frequent contributor to Thought Catalog and PopSugar.
7. Unstoppable with Kara Goldin
Who: Hosted by Kara Goldin
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: Kara interviews innovative change makers in the fields of wellness, business, and life. Kara is the CEO of Hint, Inc., which she founded in 2005. Unstoppable has an entrepreneurial focus within the niche of personal development podcasts.
Fun Facts:
- When Kara was with AOL, she built the ecommerce business to a billion-dollar division. Upon leaving, she recognized she needed to make a change by putting down the diet soda. Hint was a brand created from a personal need.
- Kara speaks to executives and big teams at companies that include Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others.
- Named Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.
8. Think Better, Live Better
Who: Hosted by Marc & Angel Chernoff
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: Marc and Angel are NYT bestselling authors and professional coaches. On their podcast, Marc and Angel lead us through relevant and helpful topics about self improvement, happiness, relationships, family, motivation, and discipline.
Fun Facts:
- Holding a conference in February in San Diego, involving some of the brightest minds in personal growth.
- Recognized by Forbes as having “one of the most popular personal development blogs.”
- Site has attracted over 200 million page views and 100 thousand subscribers since its establishment in 2006.
9. The Minimalists Podcast
Who: Hosted by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: The Minimalists podcast is all about living a meaningful life with less. The podcast has over 50 million downloads and 7,000 listener reviews and sometimes charts in the Top 10 of all shows. True to the show's name, each episode title is usually just one or two words long.
Fun Facts:
- The Minimalists were monumental in the success of the OLD podcast. They also hired Justin to record and produce three audiobooks, which Justin is always grateful for.
- The Minimalists Podcast is often the #1 Health podcast on Apple Podcasts.
- You can watch Joshua and Ryan in Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things (created in 2016 and available on Netflix).
10. The Lavendaire Lifestyle
Who: Hosted by Aileen Xu
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: Aileen is a content creator and entrepreneur in lifestyle design and personal growth. She inspires her tribe to build their dream life and reach their full potential. New episodes are released each Sunday.
Fun Facts:
- Her YouTube channel Lavendaire has close to 1 million subscribers.
- Her personal development podcast, The Lavendaire Lifestyle, has over 3 million downloads.
- Her podcast was named iTunes’ New & Noteworthy Podcast in the categories for Personal Journals and Philosophy.
11. BONUS – Meditation Minis Podcast
Who: Hosted by hypnotherapist, Chel Hamilton
Where: Website | Spotify | iTunes
What: In this award-winning podcast for stress and sleep, Chel offers short, guided meditations to calm anxiety, overcome negative thinking, increase your confidence, and more. Most episodes are 10 minutes or less.
Fun Facts:
- Every effort is made to present the meditation techniques in a non-dogmatic, non-religious based way.
- A reviewer says that the meditations are “long enough for me to get value from them, but not so long that they’re intimidating.”
- A favorite from the archive is an episode on turning fear into fun and excitement.
- Justin Malik of OLD Podcast did a Tonglen meditation episode on Chel's show in January.
