Who Would You Be If You Lost It All?

Who would you be if you lost it all? I save great questions in the back of my journal. When I start a new one, that’s the first page I copy over to the new journal–every question, every line. I use these questions in times of self-reflection, and when I’m doing spiritual direction with others. This question is going on the list.

Who would you be if you lost it all: the spouse, the job, the career, the family, the house, the 401k, the respect of colleagues, the status in your community, your health, your choices, your sense of purpose? What would remain?

David Gregory was a White House correspondent for years. He spent twenty years with NBC, a career that culminated in his being named the host of Meet the Press on NBC, a job he held from 2008 to 2014. He’s written a new book that tells the story of his firing at NBC, and the humbling impact it made on his life. Gregory admits that he might have come off a little arrogant. Gregory was certainly a hard driver who was driven to succeed, driven to get the story, and there were times when it seemed he would say and do nearly anything to make it happen.

Jewish educator Erica Brown put this question to Gregory just before the surprise of his life: a humiliating and sudden firing from NBC. It was a down and dirty deal. Gregory actually found out while listening to the radio news. Ratings were falling. Business was changing. Gregory was out.

So, Gregory was given a chance to answer that question–who would you be if you lost it all?–during the time follow his ouster at NBC. I think his perspective could be important. He’s written a book called, How’s Your Faith: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey.

I’m not usually big on books like this, but I might have to actually pick this one up. It seems like a Shrink kind of story.

“This is really the story about the larger journey of my life: the journey to answer, ‘Who am I, and what do I believe?’ …and a sense that there had to be something more; that there was more expected of me.”

“Everybody has an instigator that leads them to faith.” – David Gregory

Here’s a video interview of Gregory talking about the book and his experience.