S2 E1: What Do You Want Your Service in 2026 to Mean?

Season Two is here. In Season One, Rob circled one big idea: What do we owe each other? The finale landed on a working definition of service: To serve is to recognize that your life is not solely your own — and then to act like that truth matters. In this opening episode of Season Two, Rob stays with that definition and pushes it deeper. Inspired by a line near the end of Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, he asks: When you reach those moments where you have to give an account of yourself, what do you want your service in 2026 to have meant to the people around you? From there, Rob: Shares honestly about his current season outside of school leadership, serving through Project Uplift, Evans Strategic Consulting, fatherhood, friendship, and this podcast. Reflects on the difference between staying busy and actually helping people breathe easier. Reframes service not just as sacrifice, but as a place where awe and joy show up: the “this is good work” moments that quietly fill someone’s days with meaning. Season Two will follow that thread with guests who are serving in schools and beyond—people whose work often unfolds offstage, but deeply impacts the communities they’re part of. Next episode, Rob is joined by Christopher S. Dennis, PhD, Assistant Head at Campbell Hall, for a conversation about where service feels like joy in school communities and how to lean into that more in 2026. Questions for you: How do you serve right now, in real life? When you imagine giving an account of yourself one day, what do you hope your service in 2026 will have meant to the people around you? Where have you already seen awe or joy show up because you showed up for someone? If you’re open to sharing, send Rob a short voice note or message with a story where your service helped someone’s days feel a little more bearable, meaningful, or joyful. Some reflections may be woven into future episodes (with permission).