About
POLINA RUBIN
For the last 20 years, I have had countless conversations with my friends about finding the balance between meaningful work and paying the bills. I have spent hundreds of hours with close friends, over countless wine glasses, trying to crack the code and find a way to earn a living while enjoying work and feeling like the work mattered.
Within a few days of listening to my first podcast in 2015, I fell in love with the medium. At the time, I had two young kids under five, so finding time for reading, socializing or any intellectual activity was highly unlikely. Once I discovered podcasts, the entire world of information and conversation I craved so deeply was only a few clicks away. I could be washing dishes, running errands or shopping at Trader Joes while in a different world listening to fascinating people discuss anything I felt like listening to. Great podcasts were my magic carpet ride, my time machine to great conversations and explorations on any topic I was curious about.
My first step in podcasting was a partnership with Briane Burrowes, founder of I Want Her Job for sharing career advice and life stories with women leading the future of business in a variety of careers. In 2021, I rebranded the podcast to Meant For It, to share stories about people following the paths they meant for and to inspire listeners to think differently or trigger a change in their life.
As a first-generation Russian immigrant from Minsk, Belarus my parents insisted I follow a practical path. Although I tried to follow their advice, my heart was elsewhere so I stumbled repeatedly. It took me nearly twenty years to get the courage to follow a path that made me feel excited and able to focus on work I found meaningful and aligned with my strengths. I have always been inspired by Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning to “repair the world”, and with that philosophy, I am always attempting to give back. I hope you join us as we explore unforgettable ideas, career paths and life stories that inspire us to think differently, to feel more hopeful and to make the world a little better.
Amber Greene
It sounds simple: do what you love and you will never work a day in your life. My inherent passion for people-their stories, the details and nuances of their path to the present, their hopes and aspirations for the future, and their paths to realizing full and actualized lives has found its natural expression in interviewing subjects from a diverse group of professions who have found their true calling. I derive great joy from eliciting the stories of how these remarkable professionals have achieved their success, and hope that their stories will help and inspire our listeners as they seek their own path toward the sweet spot that allows them to transcend the barriers between a “good” life, and truly defining and achieving a life where their aspirations become reality. I am forever grateful that my longtime, amazing friend Polina, invited me to be her partner in rebranding the “I Want Her Job” podcast and continuing to share people’s amazing stories as the now “Meant For It” podcast.
My own path has been shaped and informed by my childhood in a small outdoors town in Oregon, my formal academic training at the University of Penn and UC Davis in psychology, and focused through the lens of the perspective gained personally and professionally as a business consultant to Fortune 500 companies and major academic institutions, a real estate investor, as a writer and reporter for a major news network, as an open ocean sailboat racer, as a ranch hand, as a wife, and as a mother. I hope that you will find our conversations with other seekers, dreamers and do-ers to be as informative and enjoyable as we do. Thanks for listening.
Yelena Mugin
I’ve always been interested in everything — drawn to building, creating, and exploring different paths. Whether it was technology, real estate, media, entrepreneurship, or connecting with fascinating people, I’ve always been driven by curiosity and new opportunities. I never confined myself to just one lane; instead, I followed what excited me and shaped my life along the way.
Amidst the fast pace of work and exploration, I did something that surprised even me: I had four kids. While I continued pursuing my interests, parenthood added a new dimension to my journey. It made me reflect on the kind of impact I wanted to have, not just professionally but as a person. Stepping away from my 20+ year career in technology after my youngest was born gave me space to reimagine my goals. I wanted to take everything I had learned—about business, leadership, creativity, and human connection—and use it to inspire others to carve out their own meaningful paths.
That’s what led me to Meant for It. I love being part of a podcast that uncovers the real journeys of people who took bold steps to create lives they love. Titles don’t define us — our impact comes from the way we bring our individuality into everything we do. My hope is that these stories inspire our listeners into action to shape their own paths with confidence and purpose.
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