#59: Funeral Homes, Staying Fit, and Hollywood Magic with Chris Meyer
No matter where you’ve come from or what you’ve done, you’ve experienced things no one else has. And those stories are worth telling. Luckily, today’s guest gets to hear from all different kinds of people in his role as the owner of a funeral home. Chris Meyer channeled what he’s learned from those folks into his book Life in 20 Lessons: What a Funeral Guy Discovered About Life, from Death. It’s a non-fiction story of love, loss, and living our best lives, and it’s got some truly touching moments mixed with an irreverence that’s needed for this type of profession.
Prior to his experience with funeral homes, Chris spent more than a decade in Hollywood as a screenwriter. And he discovered a fun lil’ secret about the town that he channeled into another work, The 'Wood.
We’re also getting THE SCOOP (and you know I love scoops) on Chris’s latest business venture. Funandmoving.com targets an underserved market to help keep them fit. We’re covering it all and having plenty of laughs along the way.
Highlights of our conversation include:
How Chris found his way into the funeral business in Northern California after spending more than a decade living and working in Los Angeles. (3:41)
Whether the show Six Feet Under is an accurate depiction of running a funeral home. (7:52)
Some of the lessons Chris learned from running a funeral home and meeting with grieving families. (9:21)
Chris’s favorite lesson from his book Life in 20 Lessons: What a Funeral Guy Discovered About Life, from Death. (11:35)
What it’s like to live in Hollywood, how movie scripts are conceived and made, and how that’s reflected in Chris’s book, The ‘Wood. (13:40)
A look inside the writing process and how it differs when writing non-fiction vs. fiction. (18:35)
Chris gives us a sneak peek of his third book, Four Months and a Lifetime, which focuses on basketball and coaching. (22:04)
The latest project for Chris: funandmoving.com, a website for people 65 and over to help them exercise and stay fit. (25:08)
The most surprising part about running a business. (28:26)
Chris (kind of) answers the age-old question of “what’s the meaning of life?” (31:00)
The top candy bars according to Chris and me. (33:00)
Where to find Chris Meyer
Visit Chris at chrismeyerauthor.com and check out copies of his books Life in 20 Lessons and The ‘Wood.
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