We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, what do you attribute your success to?

I first started the Tea with Mike podcast in January 2019 as a College project where I was required to sit down and record myself talking to another person. What started; as something done to pass a class has turned into something meaningful that I want to do for the rest of my life. The number one factor behind the success of the podcast has been consistency. I’ve put out 148 episodes of the podcast since January of 2019 which, has allowed me to build a community around my podcast and interview amazing people with powerful stories both face to face and virtually around the world.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I want people to know that with enough self-belief, patience and consistency you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. These are all reasons why I’m still podcasting and starting to see things happen with my podcast for example getting the opportunity to interview Gary Vaynerchuk face to face at a recent event I went to. The journey from starting the whole Tea with Mike concept as a college project to interviewing one of the biggest entrepreneurs on the planet is mind-blowing. I built my network and podcast from zero and I firmly believe anyone can accomplish their biggest dreams if they believe in themselves. Patience and consistency are two key lessons I’ve learnt along the way. Sometimes it can feel like you’re not making any progress at all and you can feel discouraged. These are the moments where you need to lean on people you trust who can help you through the obstacle that is in front of you. Social Media is a great place to find others who you can resonate with. I want people to know that we need to keep the conversion and the stories going no matter how powerful technology gets.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

I would take a best friend to the Edmonton Fringe. The Edmonton Fringe is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America. My favourite part is meeting people – artists, staff and patrons. It’s a great place to start conversations, listen to people’s stories and make new friends. For me, there is nothing more powerful and thrilling than losing yourself in the amazing live performances. As someone who values storytelling, I would definitely be taking my friend to see the festival’s street performances where the artists share their stories and talents using only limited production elements supporting their work. This is storytelling and entertainment in the rawest form. Nothing comes close to the goosebumps and emotions evoked from these interactive, engaging performances. Between performances, we would sample some of the great food offered by local food vendors on-site or at any nearby restaurants. Nothing beats supporting local businesses. And then, after grabbing a few hours of sleep, we would do it all over again.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

The first shoutout goes to Jonathan Strome for helping me discover the world of social media, podcasting, and entrepreneurship through a guest lecture at College.

The second shoutout goes to Eric Chow and Isaac Mashman. I connected with both gentlemen on Twitter. Both have helped me grow as a person and have always been there for me when I’ve needed someone to bounce ideas off.

The third shoutout goes to the team at Back of House Media. (https://backofhousemedia.com) They have and continue to support the production and research component of the Tea with Mike show.

The biggest and final shoutout goes to the Tea with Mike community and the guests on the podcast. Without listeners and guests, there would be no podcast. For that, I’m thankful for those who believe in the Tea with Mike vision which is to spread the power of storytelling, conversation, connection, and communication worldwide.

Thank you SHOUTOUT LA for the opportunity.

SHOUTOUT LA website https://shoutoutla.com