Taking the Risk: Season 3 Premiere Ep 51
Highlights from the episode:
What’s new in TNOTY for season 3
The strange mix of fear and excitement that comes with beginning something new
The season 3 conversations I’m especially excited to share
A simple message for anyone standing in the middle of a transition
Podcast show notes:
Season 3 is here, and before jumping into a new round of conversations, I wanted to take a minute to catch you up on what’s ahead and what’s been happening in my own life.
I share a preview of some of the guests coming this season, plus a look behind the scenes of two new chapters for me: working on Game Day Murders, a true crime and sports series executive produced by Shaquille O’Neal, and joining CBS Sports HQ.
But the bigger theme is something I didn’t fully recognize until a life coach pointed it out years ago. Nearly every major career opportunity I’ve taken has involved some kind of risk. The uncertainty terrifies me, but somehow it also lights me up.
What You’ll Hear:
Why Things No One Tells You exists (00:49)
A preview of Season 3 guests (01:26)
Behind the scenes of Game Day Murders (04:15)
Why risk can be both terrifying and energizing (08:12)
This episode is a reminder that we don’t always need to know exactly where a new path leads before we try it. If you’re standing in front of something new and wondering whether you’re ready, this one is a reminder that readiness doesn’t always arrive before the opportunity. Sometimes you simply have to try the thing.
If these conversations resonate with you, subscribe to Things No One Tells You and consider leaving a rating or review wherever you listen.
Mentioned in thIS episode:
Ep 21 What Our Kids Need More Than Rules with Bridget KerMorris
Jalen and Sandra Brunson’s episode coming up soon - check out a teaser clip here
Be sure to subscribe to Things No One Tells You—Lindsay’s podcast all about the real, unfiltered conversations we don’t always have but should. From big names to everyday voices, each episode dives into the moments that shape us. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Follow along with Lindsay below!
Full Transcript
[00:00:00] Lindsay Czarniak: Hello, TNOTY friends. If you're like, "What is TNOTY?" Things No One Tells You, okay? That's what we love to call our little acronym for all of our friends within this community. We are so grateful that you are here. I'm Lindsay Czarniak, and to get you up to speed, this is our third season of Things No One Tells You, and I am so excited and also just proud of that because of the team that we have that is amazing.
[00:00:27] But what that means is we've got more than 50 episodes that you can go back and listen to. And I wanted to give you guys a little taste of what's to come, also catch you up to speed on some things in my life, and just what's on my mind in general. But one thing I wanted to start with is, when we started this podcast, the thought was: What is the theme?
[00:00:49] It is: we're talking about the things no one tells you. We are talking to people that are well-known. We're talking to some everyday Joes. We're talking to experts. All of it, and we're talking to people about the things that they have learned on their journeys that you don't really know until you get there.
[00:01:08] So the things that they're wanting to share, and I think in the vein of making everybody a little bit better, or sharing that information so that you know about that, and sometimes it's just really interesting stuff, or it's things that people have never said before, and I love that. And sometimes it's really thoughtful information.
[00:01:27] Two examples. Coming up in season three, one of the guests, the duo, I should say, that I'm most excited about is Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson and his mom, Sandra. So that whole conversation is one that, you know, especially after they won the championship, it just took on new meaning 'cause there was so much to talk about and unpack, and there are so many things in that conversation that I guarantee you didn't know, you haven't heard.
[00:01:53] But I think the thing no one tells you from Jalen's perspective is just a really awesome insight into athletes and the makeup of a professional athlete, especially someone that makes it to the highest level. So that was really cool. Plus, talking to him and his mom together, they finish each other's sentences basically, but that was just a really cool dynamic.
[00:02:15] And, another example as I'm talking about the things that have been most important to me is stuff that I've taken away from these conversations, even in terms of parenting. One of my all-time favorites is my friend Bridget KerMorris, who is a parent coach. She's basically an expert in the field of middle school kids and helping to coach them, but also coach their parents on how to really raise them.
[00:02:41] And I am flat out there because I've got a middle schooler and an elementary school daughter. But I have taken so much away from that conversation because there are things no one tells you about what really is going on for these kids and how we can be more present as parents. So those are just a couple of the things I'm really excited about.
[00:02:58] I also wanna share that we've got Sheinelle Jones, co-host of the fourth hour of the Today Show, Today with Jenna and Sheinelle. She is a friend. She has so much to share. She is embarking on a brand new career, but also navigating the loss of her husband, Uche. So that is a really powerful, just informational episode that I'm excited about.
[00:03:22] We've got Katherine Legge, who is an IndyCar driver. She did the double this past year at the Indy 500. I've got a lot of IndyCar coming up in my life. This season is ending in just a few weeks, and so I'm excited to share more about what I'll be doing there. But besides that, Jayson Werth, an MLB star, won the World Series, and now he's turned into a horse racing aficionado who has created a company to get professional athletes involved in horse racing, which is awesome.
[00:03:49] So I cannot wait to talk more about that with him, as well as some baseball as we're coming down the home stretch of this season. So- those are some of the things that we've got to look forward to. I wanted to update you guys a little bit on my life just because I have taken on a new gig, and what's funny is, sometimes when you're starting something new, do you ever feel like multiple things just converge at once for whatever reason?
[00:04:15] So that's what happened to me this summer, which was such a blessing. I, for any of you out there that love true crime, I, have worked on a series called Game Day Murders that is now on ID, which you can watch, and it is executive produced by Shaq, Shaquille O'Neal, and that has been such an awesome just endeavor to be able to work with him and to be a teammate, so to speak, of his in this process.
[00:04:42] The focus is true crime and sports, which are two things that I wouldn't necessarily think would go together, but I had so much fun working on this series because the team is incredible. And one thing that I have found that was fascinating is just the process of how all the producers, A, find these stories that are true crime stories, especially in the world of sports, but also the way that they do their job, how they talk to families and convince them to open up about the loved one that they lost, how they just figure out who hasn't spoken before, how can we get this footage, et cetera.
[00:05:20] It really blew my mind. And it was really interesting to take part in that series because my role was more like I was a host, but it was like a host navigator. I was basically in charge of being a voice in this series that is bridging the world of true crime and sports culture. So I was giving the context of what the culture of a sport might look like in the NHL, in college basketball, et cetera.
[00:05:48] And that for me was just really fascinating because it made me think a lot about my journey and the things that excite me about my jobs. And what has always excited me has been the same thing from day one, which is really the storytelling and getting to have a conversation with someone, and then being able to take that conversation and share it with you guys, right?
[00:06:14] So I've started paying a lot of attention to that because that is one of the themes that has come up. I realized my journey. Actually, I'll just share this with you. I did some life coaching, and this was a few years ago when I had just left ESPN, and there was stuff on the horizon.
[00:06:33] I was about to start freelancing with Fox and doing some different things, but I was like, I know that there are these parts of me that I have not tapped, and I wanna figure out more about what I could do." So anyway, a girlfriend of mine recommended this amazing coach, and I went and spent a couple days with her down in Nashville, and she took all of my stories that I was telling her about my path, career path, life path, everything, and they literally wrote it on this big grease board.
[00:07:02] Her name is AJ Vaden. She's amazing. And she, at the end of it, as I went through this whole story of how I started to do what I was doing professionally, she said, "Lindsay, do you realize every single new job you've ever taken, there has always been a really significant element of risk?" And I thought for a moment, and I was like, "What?"
[00:07:25] And then I looked back, and I literally was looking at this grease board, and I'm like, oh my God, she is exactly right. Every single job that I've ever taken or new opportunity, there's never been, like, a sure thing about what the role was, and I realized this going back through all of it with her, 'cause I started in local news, and then I got this crazy break to start in sports, which I would have never thought I could really do, but I was always intrigued.
[00:07:52] And that path really opened up for me. And then from there, it was, like, all these different doors. There was always someone on the other side, even at SportsCenter before I took that job, who was like, "Listen, we know that we want you for one of these SportsCenters. We cannot tell you what time. We don't know, but just get here, and we know it's gonna be really good."
[00:08:12] And I think it's just interesting when you take time, whether you work with someone to help you get there or not, or you're just reflecting on your own, to realize the patterns in yourself. So for me, it drives my husband crazy, because he's like, "You're just whimsical, and you da-da-da." But I'm telling you, unfortunately or fortunately, that is how I am made up.
[00:08:32] I am wired to be excited at the element of risk and the element of the unknown, of uncertainty. It is both the thing that absolutely terrifies me, but it's the thing that also gets me off my feet, or on my feet. I guess on my feet's the way to say it. Anyway, that's a sidebar, but I just thought that was, it was really interesting to me, and it has been interesting now that I started The Game Day Murders, but also I have begun a new gig with CBS Sports HQ, which is much more like an ESPN-type vibe. We're doing live sports. You're covering all the things. I'm gonna be working a lot on the NFL, but all sports.
[00:09:11] And I've realized, oh my gosh, what lights me up is I don't really know what this is gonna look like. But what I know is the people are so awesome. The team that I've known now for a few weeks, they are so energetic. They're so excited to be there. They're really excited about putting out this content, and I'm really so pumped because it's this new space.
[00:09:32] We are streaming. We are on YouTube. We are on the app, and it's like this is very much where things are going, but it also gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of breaking news and what we're able to really talk about. Anyway, take from that what you will. But I just wanted to say that if you're in a transition phase, or if you're scared about something, or if you're thinking about doing something new, I am right there with you, and I am your person to say, "Just go try the thing."
[00:09:57] And I'm hoping to be able to talk about that more on this podcast this season with some of my friends and some other guests just about what that looks like. So there's that. And, additionally, I just wanted to say, as we get ready to launch season three, that we're so grateful that all of you are here, and we love to hear from you.
[00:10:18] So any questions, any thoughts, any ideas that you have, don't be shy. Let us know. And, until we actually see you, I'm gonna be getting my life in order. I just ordered a Skylight calendar because I've realized that we really have to have all of our stuff in one place, and I'm gonna see if my friends are right and this is easy to use.
[00:10:39] I have a friend that's really good at organization, and I said, "I'm gonna come over to your house, I'm gonna bring you a bottle of wine, and you're gonna teach me." Not while drinking the bottle of wine, 'cause that would be counterproductive. Anyway, that's all. Good luck with all the things that are starting at the beginning of fall, and we can't wait to see you here.
[00:10:57] I also wanted to share that I put some lip plumper on my mouth before I started talking, and I am still feeling the tingling effects. I think that's good, but I'm not sure, Charlotte. Anyway, see you guys soon. Thank you. Stay tuned. We can't wait to share our next season.
