Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cassian Bellino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Cassian , so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.
Believe it or not, I used to hate speaking in public. 8 years of professional classical training as an opera singer, yet here I am paralyzed with fear when asked to present in the company all-hands. It was weird for me and worse for everyone else who had to endure it. I was a Business Development Manager and would look at a 60-minute client call and shake with anxiety, wondering how to fill that time with conversation.
Do you know what broke that habit? Podcasting. I was forced to lead a conversation with a stranger, on a recorded line, maintaining engagement and momentum while reacting appropriately and queing up the next question. I thank the Lord above for gracing me with such pleasant and patient guests on my show for those first conversations. To say it was rough is an understatement.
Do you know what the #1 tool that ensured success? Going into these conversations overprepared. Fear drove me to map every minute of the conversation, to know the direction we were headed, arming me with follow-up questions if need be, as well as sharing them ahead of time with the guest so everyone would be on the same page. It paid off.
Although preparing every word a conversation ahead of time is not at all what real life looks like, it helped. It gave me a familiarity with time and pace. It gave me confidence in myself to chat about topics I was not fully comprehending, and most importantly it gave me the data I needed that proved to myself that I could handle 60 minutes with anyone about anything.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
The most important story you will learn about me is my walk with God. I wasn’t sheltered from faith, actually spent my entire first 18 years at church every Sunday, but I acted in my adulthood like I didn’t know Him. I pride myself on being as authentic and honest as possible. (I truly believe that if you can’t admit you’ve done something openly then you shouldn’t have done it) So given my actions and my upbringing, I was experiencing a massive cognitive dissonance. If I was raised around Jesus, why didn’t I love Him? Why didn’t I want to obey Him? I knew He was great, but I didn’t have the desire.
It hit me in the Fall of 2018 in a food court in Thailand: I didn’t want Jesus because I didn’t know Him. If only someone explained Him to me (the why, when, where, what, how), then my logical brain would have no choice but to love the best person in the history of humanity.
So what were my options to learn about this allusive and wonderful God? Seminary was off the table (I did not like school), but I convinced myself that surely this idea (a simplified explanation of the Bible) was too obvious to not already exist. I knew I’d probably find a YouTube video or podcast that would suffice and that would be enough to disway me from my sin.
My prayer was simple, “Lord, I want to want you.” Then began 5 years of softening. Slowly finding books that I actually wanted to read that made a gentle but profound shift in my heart posture. Ficitonal books like Redeeming Love and The Book of Longing, or gut punches like Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. I started going to bible studies with women that were mature in their faith walk and willing to be prayer warriors for me. While my external stimulations were improving, I’d still yet to find an intellectual resource that sufficed for my questions. Looking back, it was really just a period of long-term preparation.
2023 I moved to Hawaii. Young, naive, and still lukewarm in faith. I’d been looking for that podcast and still hadn’t found it. Then my sister Maggie said, “Well maybe it doesn’t exist because you’re supposed to make it.” And with that gentle idea I began to fight the Lord, reminding Him of how bad I was/am and how I’d misrepresent the faith. That it was a good idea but improbable, given I had no idea how to produce a podcast, any scholastic guests to host, or willingness to be so public about my faith (by no means was my circle of friends Christian).
For four months I fought the Lord. For every excuse He provided a response: no guests? Suddenly my friend meets a few scholars willing to come on. No equipment or tools? My other friend told me exactly how to start a podcast with no upfront costs. Then I met a pastor on a plane and the situation became dire. He said that this wasn’t an ask, it was a command from the Lord, and to not do it is to be disobediant. So I agreed to start a podcast, knowing that if no one listens to it and it fails (which it probably will), atleast no one will know it failed.
But it didn’t fail. October 2023 I posted my first episode about demons. January 1, 2024 (about 75 days later) a video went viral, gaining 50,000 new followers in a week. My inbox was FLOODED with messages from people literally around the world asking if I can post my podcast on YouTube so they can watch in their country. People who said that they were also a Christian their whole life and wanted to know the answers to these questions. I spent an entire day screenshotting these messages and I keep them in a folder in my phone. I recieved hate comments and spiritual warfare. I felt egotistically successful and self-made. I felt ugly and insecure. I felt unworthy and like an imposter. But the reality was I was never in control of this plan – itwas never mine, so I will continue to obey in the last command God gave me: make a podcast. He will take it from there, however far He wants to go.
To date, the Biblically Speaking podcast has 125,000 followers on social media and 40,000 monthly listeners in 120 countries. We are almost 2 years in and have hosted about 40+ renown biblical scholars with PhDs. I’ve personally been hosted on 20+ podcasts sharing this story and have no plans of slowing down. Do I have a clear understanding of what is to happen next? In five years? The end goal? No absolutely not, but God does.
To see what happens next, listen to the show, follow on social media, or support please go to www.bibspeak.com
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I believe there have been many factors unique to my upbringing that have made me particularly qualified for the success of this podcast and its future acheivements. However, I think the following are some that anyone can prioritize and employ:
1. Humility – I am okay with paying the price of looking dumb in exchange for learning something new.
2. Collaboration – This is actually how most people get the most done. It is not noble and also kind of exhausting to do everything on your own.
3. Curiosity – In a world that fears offending people, I have never been misled when leading with genuine curiosity for things I do not understand, know, or agree with.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
One thing about me is in November of 2024, I was laid off from my dream job at my dream company. I think any normal person would’ve simply enjoyed the unemployment benefits for a month then started reapplying to jobs. I did not do that. I was emotional and panicked and spent 7 months with high blood pressure trying to make the podcast successful. I spent about $10,000 on podcast coaches, Skool courses and a team to help build monetization models, and a comprehensive podcast ecosystem. I learned so much so fast and worked harder than I ever had in my life, committing 10+ hours every day to managing everything.
It all worked – I quickly mastered social media, gaining 50,000 more followers in 3 months, monetizing on YouTube, building an email list of 1,500 and making a few sales. While I am so grateful to that moment of panic leading me to grow and learn so much, it taught me a valuable lesson in patience and trust. I wasted a lot of money doing things that did not work out. I ended up cancelling tools I’d spent hundreds of dollars on, breaking contract with teams that had worked hard to build my communities, and firing people I’d spent time training.
I wish I moved slower. But there are no regrets here – even my failures led to fruits. I needed to go through that massive “waste” of time and money or else I wouldn’t have arrived at my peace and understanding today. I wouldn’tve been able to move slowly today had I not seen what a futile effort that it was to know the price you pay for moving fast. But now I know: moving slowly allows you to work from a place of authenticity, not compulsion or guesswork. I can create value as a response to demand, not a spray-and-pray overcoverage approach. I now appreciate the push and pull of creation that responds to needs while innovating from my unique niche.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bibspeak.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisbiblicallyspeaking/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassian-bellino/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@biblicallyspeaking2024
Image Credits
Mike Slebodnik
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
