Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.
(Jim Rohn)

For today’s Something Significant feature, we are sharing an interview with David Clymer, President and CEO of MyMedLab. Physical health and the pursuit of significance are vital to happy living. David focuses on both of these important elements – we think you will find his story informative and inspiring!

David founded MyMedLab in 1993, with the mission to help consumers make informed healthcare choices. The company offers convenient, online solutions for claiming personal responsibility of one’s healthcare. Users order medical tests through the website, then visit one of the 2,000 local patient centers in the country. Results are securely uploaded to their confidential health record online, usually within two days. Each test result includes an explanation, along with the opportunity for an expert review.

We use MyMedLab for our personal medical testing and have partnered with them for our upcoming Happy Living Health Challenge. To receive information about our health challenge, click here. To learn about MyMedLab, visit their website.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you got where you are today?

I am a 47-year-old dreamer, scientist, and digital health pioneer. I live in the Midwest with my wife of 22 years and two teenage kids. The internet and technology have given me the freedom to be my own boss for more than 20 years. I love what I do.

My dad gave me a love for travel and adventure from an early age. His job as a professor at a religious college involved preparing students to take up posts around the world after graduation. We spent nearly every summer traveling and staying with his students and friends in far away places.

My mom gave me a love for wide-open spaces and the virtue of living a simple life. These were lessons she learned from her own childhood growing up poor on a farm. She taught me the importance of family and showed by example the joy that comes from helping others.

I began my career in a medical lab at the age of 18 while in college. My mentor was a doctor and pathologist in the twilight of his career. He challenged me to always see the person at the center of the health care experience — to put myself in their shoes, and never stop trying to make it better for them.

I am passionate about solving complicated problems and then watching people use what we’ve built to improve their own lives. Finding significance for me has been about helping others help themselves and healthcare provides that opportunity every day.

How has significance played a role in your journey?

The importance of family and community is what drives the human experience. Significance to me has been about building a life around these five simple rules of happiness: free your heart of hatred, free your mind of worry, live simply, give more, and expect less.

Was there a specific moment or situation when you became aware of those things that are most significant to you?

For me it was the days I became a husband and father. Those were life-changing moments. I still remember being amazed that a hospital would let you just walk out the door with a newborn baby. Health care provides those life-changing moments every day for people all over the world.

What obstacles have you faced in your pursuit of significance? How did you overcome them?

Health care has tons of obstacles for innovation because the stakes are so high and the demand for its services never ends. Lives can hang in the balance for even small decisions and straight answers can be nearly impossible.

I‘ve had the opportunity, along with some really smart and talented people, to work on new ways to put YOU at the center of the process — providing people with the tools and support to make smarter choices.

What is one thing you wish you knew 10 years ago?

That it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be your best and getting better every day. Socrates said that the secret to change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. I have learned that I cannot fix health care, but if I can get you involved, I can make it better for you.

What is one hope you have for the next 10 years?

That science and technology will continue to improve our lives while still making the world a smaller place. Connection to each other is still the key to happiness.

Are there any books or resources you would like to recommend to our readers?

From a healthcare perspective, I love the Innovator’s Prescription by Clayton Christensen. It is one of the most elegant and logical explanations of what the future of healthcare looks like. From a business perspective, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries provides a fascinating look at innovation and continuous improvement.

Images via Unsplash and MyMedLab

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