Motivation isn’t something that just comes to you. It’s a learned habit that can sometimes be difficult to achieve. Whether you want to improve your productivity, start that new art project, or even create a website, maintaining motivation is a valuable skill in all areas of life. So what can you turn to if you’re stuck in a rut and could benefit from a boost? Motivational podcasts.
Podcasts are not only free and easily accessible, but they’re also genuinely uplifting and inspiring. They can remind us that we’re all human. For sure, doubts, issues and crises will inevitably come, but we have the power to turn them into opportunities. And sometimes, we only need this perspective, along with some practical tips, to make us feel better and move forward.
13 best motivational podcasts
We’ve hand-picked some of the best motivational podcasts just for you:
Starting a podcast? Use this podcast name generator to name it.
Gary Vaynerchuk (a.k.a. Gary Vee) has a voice that everyone needs to hear at least once— beyond the fact that he’s intimidatingly successful. His podcast not only provides valuable marketing tips for your business, but can also help you find empowerment in your daily life.
The origins of his motivational podcast are rooted in Gary Vee’s personal story. Born in Belarus, he moved with his family to the U.S. when he was just three years old. His parents ran a discount liquor store, which he took over when he graduated college. From there, he completely rebranded the store to focus on wine, and turned a $3 million per year business into a $60 million per year one. This was just the beginning of his route to success.
Today, Gary Vee is primarily known for VaynerMedia, a social media agency. As such, you can imagine that his social channels are filled to the brim with fresh content that he produces every day. He also started a podcast, The GaryVee Audio Experience, which releases episodes almost on a daily basis. The tone is very “go get ‘em,” which is helpful when you need an extra push.
In a nutshell: GaryVee’s high energy and matter-of-factness may sometimes be hard to handle, but only because you need to hear it.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
Tony Robbins needs absolutely no introduction. His very own website details his experience as “an entrepreneur, number 1 NY Times bestselling author, philanthropist and the nation’s number 1 life and business strategist.” While that’s all very impressive, it’s almost too modest. Tony Robbins is a legend.
His name has been synonymous with the term “motivational speaker” for decades, and he inspires listeners without full-on preaching to them. The podcast tackles subjects like finance, happiness, how to become an entrepreneur and many others—all while providing a perspective that you can only get from the man himself. It allows you to get the same wealth of knowledge found within his books, but in a more relaxed and easily digestible format.
In a nutshell: Robbins’ natural talent for speaking makes his inspirational podcasts straightforward and easy to understand.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
03. The Art of Charm
A.J. Harbinger and Johnny Dzubak, the founders of this motivational podcast, have over 11 years of coaching experience from their ‘elite emotional intelligence’ boot camps designed for advanced social skills training. In addition to starting a blog, the busy duo also finds time during their days to record episodes for their podcast, which boasts a catalog of over 700 episodes.
The Art of Charm covers a variety of podcast topics, including relationships, happiness and productivity tips. They also offer a nice selection of in-depth and inspiring interviews. This motivational podcast serves as a mini bootcamp of its own, helping you boost your confidence skills when approaching challenges in life ranging from your personal relationships to career. It’s nice to see this is a team that’s interested in paying it forward by empowering others after truly learning how to empower themselves.
In a nutshell: Whether you’re moving to the next stage of a relationship or starting a business, this is a podcast that helps improve your people skills, with a dedicated ‘toolbox’ of episodes to help you do just that.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
Interested in more podcasts like these? Check out this list of leadership podcasts.
04. The Minimalists
Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus make an inspirational podcast that so many people need to hear. The Minimalists is all about how to live a meaningful life with less. In a world of excess, this podcast is like a breath of fresh air.
The episodes on this list are a great source of motivational quotes and ideas. They also aim to make the listener want more, which is quite clever. The Minimalists strive towards allowing one to be happy with what they have and leave out the extra stuff.
Just like everything surrounding this podcast, from the website design to the selected topics, the episodes are refreshingly simple and straightforward. Each focuses on a particular subject and answers the big questions. For example, in one episode titled “Nostalgia,” they ask, “‘Is there a healthy form of nostalgia, or is it inherently useless to hold onto the past?” The insight these two bring to the table is eye-opening and original, and they’re consistently on the top charts of Apple Podcasts.
In a nutshell: It’s good. Listen.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes is hugely popular for many reasons. Not only is it a high-quality podcast with inspirational subject matter, but it’s also very real. At times, unapologetically so, Lewis Howes is open about his life’s hardships and how he moved past them—which is a boost of motivation in its own right. By doing so, he offers up a way of seeing things that many people can appreciate.
The School of Greatness is a very palatable podcast which covers topics on relationships, business, health, successful people’s habits and more. Lewis Howes seemingly has an uplifting answer for anything, so this should definitely be on anyone’s list if they’re searching for a mental ‘pick me up.’ Plus, if you’re not looking to invest in one of the longer interview episodes, you’ll enjoy the much shorter “5 Min Friday” episodes, which can pack a surprising punch despite their short length.
In a nutshell: The path to greatness starts with The School of Greatness.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
The Good Life Project stands in a league of its own. Hosted by Jonathan Fields, this motivational podcast is a series of interviews by those who have risen above it all, and have come to share their stories with listeners. The captivating insights they provide will sink in deeply, as if you’ve been waiting to hear them for a very long time.
Defining the subject matter on The Good Life Project sounds easy enough, but it’s something that needs to be listened to in order to be understood. Simply saying that it’s an inspirational podcast that shares stories of incredibly brave people just doesn’t do it justice.
The podcast’s own page describes itself as follows: “Every week, we share inspirational, intimate and disarmingly-unfiltered conversations about living a fully-engaged, fiercely-connected and purpose-drenched life.”
The podcast is just a fraction of the Good Life Project, too. The website also offers a quiz to discover your unique Sparketype so that you can find your true calling.
In a nutshell: Go out and conquer the world after listening to an episode, or share it with your colleagues for a quick boost of team motivation.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
07. Hidden Brain
This fantastic podcast is part of NPR (National Public Radio), an enlightening space for those who love to learn. Hosted by Shankar Vedantam, Hidden Brain specifically helps people understand the depth of mind-boggling thought cases through real-life stories and scientific facts. They do so in a way (in their words, not ours) that “reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, and the biases that shape our choices.” While the format may seem simple, it’s anything but that. It’s full of inspiring, intriguing and important stories about life, love, science and the world.
Hidden Brain has won several awards, from a Webby to The Kavli Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It’s also consistently on the top charts of the Science and Medicine section of Apple Podcasts.
In a nutshell: An interesting podcast with a ‘big picture’ vibe, which shouldn’t be surprising, given its podcast name.
A few episode titles:
Tim Ferris is responsible for the insanely successful book, 4-Hour Workweek. His impressive, unique take is expanded in his other published titles, but is also found in his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show. Back in 2016, The Observer called Ferris ‘The Oprah of Radio’—some intimidatingly big shoes to fill.
While one could say that this motivational podcast stands firmly in the ‘business’ category, it’s often very inspiring to get Ferriss’ point of view, no matter what your interests or goals are. It’s fascinating to hear how he deconstructs everyday things and turns them into tools that the listener can use to improve their lives and themselves.
Ferriss offers in-depth insight while sharing details like his morning routines, exercise habits and time management tips. His guest list is also very impressive, with the docket including people like Neil Gaiman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James, Ray Dalio, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Edward Norton, Tony Robbins and several more.
In a nutshell: Come for the enthralling interviews, stay for Tim’s unique perspective.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
09. Kwik Brain
Kwik Brain is a podcast all about learning things more efficiently. It was created and hosted by Jim Kwik, a speed-reading and memory expert. He discusses a variety of topics in a fun, fast-paced manner, as you’d expect. Also something that should come as no surprise: The podcast itself is quite quick, with most episodes lasting a mere 20 minutes. Sometimes, the episodes are even shorter and come in the form of bite-sized challenge sessions of around eight minutes.
At the age of five, Kwik suffered a head injury that left him struggling in school. Eventually learning to read through his love of comic books, he later on sought to ‘fix’ his brain and discovered something even more spectacular.
In the words of Kwik himself: “I discovered that, no matter the circumstances, we can rebuild our brains. And after working on myself, I realized my brain was not broken…. It just needed a better owner’s manual. This shattered my own limiting beliefs—and over time, it became my passion to help others do the same.”
Kwik could have retrained his brain and never looked back, but he took it upon himself to use his skills and knowledge to help people. That alone is a reason to give this a listen. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s incredibly stimulating content.
In a nutshell: A fascinating listen if you like to learn, or if you have a short attention span.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
Sometimes, we all need a dose of perspective. It’s challenging enough to deal with stress at work and life, which is often so personal that it can feel very isolating. The Mental Illness Happy Hour creates a sense of solidarity by reminding people of the real obstacles people face everyday. Hosted by comedian Paul Gilmartin, the podcast isn’t afraid to speak up about what’s important—and also has fun while doing it.
It’s always interesting to see how a podcast describes itself. This one in particular says: “The Mental Illness Happy Hour is a weekly online podcast that interviews comedians, artists, friends and the occasional doctor. Each episode explores mental illness, trauma, addiction and negative thinking.” The notion may not be flashy, but it does portray a podcast that’s both self-aware and transparent.
In a nutshell: This is a podcast that takes on a serious subject while remaining humorous and helping people.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
Financial troubles are anything but motivating, but Dave Ramsey is here to help. Author of seven best-selling books, this is a guy that knows his way around a dollar. He tells it like it is and is responsible for empowering people to get out of debt, take control of their money and put it to good use.
This is a podcast that not only helps you define and build your goals financially, but also to stay motivated while you’re on the journey. The podcast covers several financial topics, such as debt, investing, small business accounting, raising money, retirement and insurance.
In a nutshell: Dave Ramsey knows how to manage his money and you will, too, if you listen up.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
12. The Ziglar Show
Inspired by the late motivational speaker and salesman Zig Ziglar, The Ziglar Show is one you can’t miss. Host Kevin Miller conducts interviews with leading personal development experts, each detailing their own personal strategies and how to apply them to your everyday life. Listeners are also invited to ask questions that will be answered during the show.
From topics about becoming the best team player to building a personal brand, The Ziglar Show has something for anyone who is looking to be inspired. This is a podcast to help kickstart the journey of discovering what’s best for you in your life and how to reach out and grab it while you can.
In a nutshell: This motivational podcast is straightforward and to the point. It cuts the fat and focuses on what you want to hear most.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
13. How I Built This
If you’re looking for inspiration from leading brands, then How I Built This will be right up your alley. The NPR show tells the stories of some of the most popular companies around, reminding the listener that they were all simply ideas at one point. From the show notes, How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.”
So whether you’re an entrepreneur yourself or are just curious to see how some of the biggest names in the industry came to be, How I Built This is both motivational and completely fascinating.
In a nutshell: This motivational podcast is empowering to listen to, showing that anyone can create a very successful business empire with just an idea.
We liked these episodes, and we’re sure you will too:
Now that you've looked at these motivational podcasts, try starting a podcast of your own. You can read up on podcast hosting and find the best option to suit your needs, including the ins and outs of podcast advertising too. Don't forget also to think about how to monetize your podcast as well. We can't wait to hear what you've got to say.
Why should you listen to motivational podcasts?
Motivational podcasts can be a powerful tool for personal growth, inspiration and achieving goals. Here are some compelling reasons to incorporate motivational podcasts into your routine:
Boost motivation: Motivational podcasts inject you with positive energy, uplifting stories and actionable strategies to enhance your motivation, overcome challenges and believe in your capabilities.
Expand your mindset: These podcasts expose you to diverse perspectives, experiences and success stories, broadening your horizons, challenging limiting beliefs and empowering you to approach life with a more open and growth-oriented mindset.
Develop resilience: Motivational content can help you cultivate resilience in the face of setbacks, foster self-discipline to stay focused on your goals and develop the mental fortitude to overcome obstacles and persevere through tough times.
Enhance productivity: Motivational podcasts provide practical tips, strategies and inspiration to boost your productivity, set clear and achievable goals, and develop the mindset to consistently work towards achieving them.
Improve emotional well-being: By focusing on positive thinking, personal growth and overcoming challenges, motivational podcasts can contribute to your overall emotional well-being, fostering a sense of optimism, happiness and fulfillment.
Learn from experts: Motivational podcasts often feature interviews with experts, coaches and successful individuals in various fields, providing valuable insights, experiences and actionable advice that can be applied to your own life and goals.
Convenience: Motivational podcasts are easily accessible through podcast apps, allowing you to listen on the go, whether it's during your commute, workout or while doing chores.
Source of inspiration: When feeling discouraged or lacking motivation, listening to motivational podcasts can provide a much-needed dose of inspiration and encouragement, reminding you of your potential and the power within you to achieve your dreams.
Companion on your personal growth journey: Motivational podcasts can serve as a supportive companion on your personal growth journey, providing consistent encouragement, practical advice and a sense of community as you strive to become the best version of yourself.
Motivational podcasts FAQ
Can podcasts motivate you to change your life?
Yes, podcasts can motivate you to change your life by providing inspiration, information and support. They can help you set goals, overcome procrastination, develop a positive mindset and learn new things.