This Conversation Will Change How You Think About Your Entire Life
episodePreviously titled “If You Feel Lost in Life, Listen to This One Conversation to Find Purpose & Meaning” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
Transcript
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What insights does Ocean Vuong provide about feeling lost in life?
Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. Have you ever read something and thought, how did they know exactly what I'm feeling? Well, that's what happened to me when I read the remarkable bestselling book, The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vaughn. It is one of my favorite books of all time because Ocean could just put words to emotions and experiences I didn't even know I had. It held up a mirror to the moments I've buried. It softened me in ways I didn't expect. And it reminded me, line by line, that beauty can still exist even in the hardest moments of life. Ocean Vaughn writes like no one else. He just has this ability to capture grief, love, identity, and hardship with a kind of honesty that doesn't just land, it lingers.
If your life doesn't look the way you thought it would by now, if you feel stuck, if you've been stretched thin and you're hiding how tired or lost you feel, if you've been quietly wondering, Does any of this matter? You are exactly where you need to be right now. This conversation will help you reconnect with yourself. You'll hear what it means to build a meaningful life in the middle of uncertainty, hardship and struggle. You'll understand that you don't need to become someone else to be worthy. And you'll walk away with a deeper sense of peace, purpose and permission to be exactly where you are and who you are.
Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. I am so excited you're here. It's such an honor to be together and to spend this time with you. And if you're a new listener or you're here because somebody shared this with you, well, I just want to take a moment and personally welcome you, the Mel Robbins Podcast family. If you feel lost in life, today's guest will help you find purpose and meaning. Ocean Vuong is a bestselling author and an award-winning poet. His debut novel, On Earth, We're Briefly Gorgeous, became an instant New York Times bestseller. It earned him the American Book Award, the Mark Twain Award, and the New England Book Award. That same year, he received a MacArthur Genius Grant.
He's also the author of two celebrated poetry collections, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, which won the T.S. Eliot Prize, and Time is a Mother, a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize. His newest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, was chosen as Oprah's book club pick and debuted on the New York Times bestseller list. And it's one of the best books I have ever read. I give it to people as a gift over and over and over again. And after I read the book, I started researching more about Ocean and was so moved by some of the things he was sharing in interviews and some of the stuff he was writing about online, I knew that I had to get him here on the podcast. Ocean is currently a tenured professor of creative writing at NYU, where he teaches in the MFA program for poetry and poetics.
But what truly sets Ocean apart isn't the accolades. It's the way he writes. He puts words to what the rest of us only feel. And somehow, he turns our quietest pain into something meaningful. even beautiful. I cannot wait for you to meet Ocean. So without further ado, please help me welcome Ocean Vaughn to the Mel Robbins Podcast. Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to meet you. I loved your book so much. I've given it to so many people. And I was absolutely honored when you said yes and said that you would come on and talk about purpose and feeling lost and about... your work and the themes in your work. So thank you for being here.
Oh, thank you so much for recognizing what I'm trying to do. It's a deep, deep honor to be here and to share with this beautiful audience all around the world about what, at the heart of what I'm trying to do.
Well, let's talk about that. Let's talk about what is at the heart of what you're trying to do. And if I really listen and take in everything that you will teach me today, how could my life change?
I hope people realize that if they don't already, that a meaningful life is It's not a life that you use to prove to yourself or others that you are valuable.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What insights does Ocean Vuong provide about feeling lost in life?
0:00–6:24
2
How can we find meaning when we feel stuck or behind?
6:24–8:47
3
What role does grief play in finding beauty and purpose?
8:47–9:44
4
Why is it important to reconnect with our true selves?
9:44–11:28
5
How can we cultivate a calmer mindset during uncertain times?
11:28–12:45
6
What practical strategies can help us shift our thinking positively?
12:45–13:05
7
How does Ocean Vuong redefine success and personal worth?
13:05–36:57
8
What final thoughts does Ocean Vuong share about living a meaningful life?
36:57–1:28:13
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Mel Robbins Podcast
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