Recap of Podfest 2026

In this episode, I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes look at my experience attending PodFest 2026—for the second year in a row—and how different it felt coming back with a year of podcasting under my belt. From being a brand-new podcaster last year to being invited to speak this year, the growth has been real, humbling, and incredibly rewarding.

I talk about what truly made this year different: being intentional with my time, focusing on high-value connections, honoring my energy, and really feeling what it means to be part of a podcasting community. I also open up about listening to your body, navigating big-conference energy, and why relationships—not just information—are what move the needle forward.

Episode Highlights:

[0:02] – Welcoming listeners back and sharing a quick personal update after being sick over the holidays
 [0:23] – Reflecting on attending PodFest 2026 for the second year and how different it felt this time
 [1:30] – Comparing my first PodFest experience as a brand-new podcaster to this year’s growth and milestones
 [2:20] – Being invited to speak, celebrating downloads, and expanding to an international audience
 [2:55] – How I intentionally balanced sessions, networking, and rest this year
 [3:12] – The importance of scheduling rest and managing overwhelm at large conferences
 [4:10] – Navigating high-energy environments as a sensitive, energetic person
 [4:55] – Why podcasting communities create deep, lasting connections
 [5:45] – Trusting alignment, the universe, and meaningful connections that don’t happen by accident
 [6:58] – Following up with new connections and keeping momentum after the conference
 [7:35] – Exploring the idea of hosting webinars and engaging more deeply with my audience
 [8:40] – Asking listeners for feedback, topic ideas, and ways to stay connected
 [9:13] – Where to find me online and what’s coming next

Links & Resources:

Be sure to follow, share, and leave a comment if this show resonates with you! Send me a message at podpage.com/themusicoflife to share your experiences, or to leave a comment. I'd love to feature it in a future episode.

Transcript

Caryn Portnoy: 0:02

Hi everyone, and welcome to the music of Life. I'm your host. Karen Portnoy, before I get into this episode, please comment, ask questions, share some of your experiences, and don't forget to subscribe. You. Marc, hi everyone, and welcome back. Happy New Year to everyone. I'm sorry that I haven't been on in a couple of weeks. I was sick throughout all the holidays, and I'm finally feeling better. So I just wanted to share with you guys. I just came back from pod fest 2026 this was my second year attending. Last year I was a brand new podcaster. I think I was out for maybe two months before I went there. I had no idea about anything. I knew nothing. I knew no one. I really just loaded up on everyone's presentations from morning until like 6pm and then there would be happy hour, and then there would be dinner, and I would pass out by the end of the night. So, you know, four days worth of doing that was a lot, and you know, I didn't really get to network as much as I wanted to last year, but, you know, it taught me a lot. I you know, eyes wide open, I took in as much information as I could, and here I am. A year later, I was invited to speak this year. This is episode 57, episodes into my podcast, which is amazing, and I think I'm over 4800 downloads at this point, which is exciting. I'm being listened to in five other countries, which is amazing. So a lot's happened and grown and changed in the last year that I'm really proud of, and I've been working my butt off all this time. So, you know, I'm really enjoying everything that I'm doing. So what? What happened this weekend and this year, going down to Florida for pod fest, I balanced my time amazingly well this time. And you know, you learn from your mistakes, and you course correct and all of that. So this year, I selected a handful of presentations throughout the day. I put time aside to network. So the people that I was meeting and really sitting and talking to were high value people that I will definitely, in fact, I have, I have a couple of zooms already on the calendar to follow up with these people and different conferences coming up in the future that I plan on attending and enjoying and contributing to. And so the quality of the people that I was networking with was very high and really happy about that. Great people. I can't wait to work with them and just to connect and establish a relationship. And then the other third piece to this pie is about scheduling my naps in because let me tell you something, these conferences are overwhelming. If you really putting the pedal to the metal. I mean, you really, you burn out quick. So it was very important. And after, you know, coming off of being sick for the last few weeks, I really had to listen to my body, and when it needed rest, I had to give it rest. And I'm so glad that I did, because it made me so much of a more pleasant person to be around during the other times. And also, you know, there were over, I think there were over 2000 attendees there, which is, you know, the pod fest, I think is the biggest conference in the industry. And, I mean, the energy is just off the charts. It's amazing. And being a highly sensitive, energetic person, I feel everybody's energy. So if I'm around large groups of people, I can get very easily overwhelmed energetically. And I kind of need to, like, dispel that and just, you know, get it out of me, you know. So I do certain things to to help myself release some of the extra energy that I've taken on, and then I rest and recuperate and refresh myself, and then I'm good to go. But the amazing thing is that, you know, being in a community of people like this, you know, it started with my producer, Marc Ronick, who had his own conference back in September in North Carolina, where I spoke there too. And you know, it was a smaller conference. So the beauty in that was that it was more intimate. You got to meet people and see the same people. People over and over and talk to them and get to know them. And because of that, it's like, you know, when you meet up with them again at other events and other conferences, you've established a baseline friendship already. And, you know, keeping in touch online and over text and whatever, it's just, it's great. Just, just keep building these relationships, and I feel so much more ingrained in a community that I've embarked on. It's just I love it, and the fact that people come from all walks of life, different education, different income levels, different careers, different whatever it is, the one thing that people, that these people, all have in common is podcasting. And so that kind of like is that string that goes through every single person there that unites you. I mean, if you have nothing else to talk about, you always have your podcast to talk about. One of the things that I'm really very intentional about is being open to whatever the universe sends me so people that show up that I align with, that I connect with, whatever it is. I don't believe in coincidences. I don't believe in accidents. And I really, truly feel like the people that I'm connected to this weekend were were very obviously intentional. I believe, through the universe, you know, you you find common things that kind of blow you away, and you're like, wow, how weird is that? Like you like this, I like this, or you do this, and I do this. And it's really amazing when you can align with a total stranger, and the deep connections that you know make sense once you once you uncover them, it's very cool. So you know now that I'm back, it's Monday, and I've had some things going on today, but I, you know, I'm gonna sit down. As soon as I'm done recording this episode, I'm gonna sit down with all of the business cards and all of the notes I've taken and things that, you know, I really want to remember and be able to follow up with. You know, while it's still fresh in my head. I really want to take advantage of these new connections and stuff. So you can't help but leave a conference like this on such a high it's like, it stays with you for, I don't know how many days, but it's it's amazing. And then when you see these people again, it's like it just deepens it that much more. So I just wanted to switch it up a second and just let you know that I'm considering doing a webinar for you guys, for all of my followers and subscribers and people who listen to me each week. And I just wanted to get some feedback from all of you to see whether that's something you'd be interested in. As an added bonus, I would only ask for you to please go on my website and just fill out your contact information so I could send you the link. Whether it's something I do once a week, once a month, I don't know. Is that something that you guys would want. And do you guys want to submit topics for me to cover, or do you want me to pick topics? And either way is fine by me, but I just, I want to engage with you guys more. So what are your thoughts about that? Please let me know. You can leave comments on my website. You can you can email me. So we'd love to hear from you. We'd love to engage with you guys. And you know, want to have a relationship with my audience, too. So I'm gonna wrap it up for now, but I will be back regular time next week, next Thursday, and yeah, I've got some more topics to cover. So have a great week, and I'll see you next week. Please join me every Thursday for a new episode. You can reach me at my website, which is pod page.com/the, music. Of life, and you can find all of my social media platforms on my website. So that would be Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook. Thanks again for listening. I'll catch you next time you.