A meaningful life doesn't look the way you think. Here are the people who prove it.
For 30 years, I made a living asking people questions. Executives, CEOs, physicians. Busy people who didn't owe me a minute of their time.
What I learned is simple. Ask a good question, then stop talking. People will tell you things they've never told anyone. Usually, it's the thing they're proudest of. Sometimes it's the thing they've been carrying around for years. Something they always wanted to talk about but never had the chance. On this show, they get that chance.
Later I hosted a podcast called Defining Health Equity, sitting down with the people on the front lines of health care. That's where I learned something else. The people I admired most were the last ones to see what their own lives had meant.
The hospitality worker who wasn't
I recently sat down with Dave Fay. Dave spent his career in the hospitality industry, at one of Washington's most prestigious hotels working the largest and most exclusive events. Early in our conversation, he told me hospitality work didn't carry much meaning, not like nursing.
I didn't argue. I let it go.
About an hour later, after story after story about the people he'd looked after, I handed his own stories back to him. I asked him if he thought he'd been the epitome of a meaningful career.
He paused. Then he said, "I never really thought about it that way." We both learned something amazing.
That moment is why this show exists.
Why I started it
Most of us measure a meaningful life against the wrong people. We look at the famous ones, the rich ones, the ones with a million followers, and decide meaning must belong to somebody else.
It doesn't. The definition of meaningful is not always a brain surgeon or a super famous person. Sounds cliché, I know.
But I wanted to prove that with real people. Not by telling you, but by showing you. How they got there. Who believed in them. The wrong turns, the low points, and what kept them going when quitting would have been easier.
"Sit down for this" is what you say right before you tell someone something they've got to hear. That's what every episode is.
What you'll find here
One person, one conversation, one moment that changed everything. Uncut, unscripted, the good, the bad and the ugly.
You'll meet an ER doctor who practiced for more than forty years, served in the state legislature, and still dedicates his life to helping others. A rabbi who told me, "If you wake up in the morning and you don't know why you woke up, that is the worst thing that can happen in your life." A hospitality leader who never thought his work mattered. And a young woman who once said, "I never thought I would make it this far." Wait until you hear how far she's come.
I'll warn you now. I sometimes tell my guests I'm looking for dirt. What I'm really looking for is the moment near the end of every conversation when they finally say what they've wanted to say for a very long time, and see how meaningful their life has been. If you stay with us, you might find a little of what you've been wanting to say too.
My goal for the show
If you are like me and in constant search for what a meaningful life looks like (is mine?) and need a little insight from people who have found it, start here. Watch how real people got there. Steal what works. Notice the mentors, the setbacks and the stubbornness with every one of our guests. And who knows, maybe you can pick up a tidbit that may help others.
What we learned - don't give up. Success and meaning are never a straight uphill path.
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— David Chernov, Host, Sit Down for This Podcast
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David Chernov
Sit Down For This with David Chernov
