The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives

335 Pages·2011·1.15 MB·English

by  Katie Couric

Copyright © 2011 by Katherine Couric All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a
division of Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
The source notes and permissions acknowledgments begin on this page.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Couric, Katie.
The best advice I ever got : lessons from extraordinary lives / by Katie Couric.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-679-64386-9
1. Life skills. 2. Social skills. 3. Social ethics. 4. Lifestyles. I. Title.
HQ2037.C68 2011
646.7009′045—dc22 2010053892
www.atrandom.com
Jacket design: Tom McKeveny
Jacket photograph: Brigitte Lacombe
v3.1
To my mom and dad, John and Elinor Couric,
for raising me with patience and humor
and my daughters, Ellie and Carrie Monahan,
for teaching me the importance of both
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
INTRODUCTION: Born on a Sunny Day
PART 1: YOU’VE GOTTA HAVE MOXIE
On Courage and Self-Confidence
Mario Batali, Life Is Not a Recipe
Gail Collins, Ask, and Ye Shall Receive
Bill Cosby, Don’t Be Your Own Worst Enemy
Anna Quindlen, Courage Is the Ultimate Career Move
Helen Mirren, Beware of Fear
Arianna Huffington, A Lot of Greek Chutzpah
David L. Calhoun, Develop Your Own Brand of Self-Confidence
George Lopez, Fortune Favors the Bold
Maria Shriver, Don’t Be Afraid of Being Afraid
Susan Stroman, What’s the Worst That Could Happen?
Tony Hsieh, Be Lucky
PART 2: THE BANK OF EXPERIENCE
On Hard Work and Tenacity
Apolo Ohno, It’s Not About the Forty Seconds
Chelsea Handler, Pay Attention!
Michael Bloomberg, The Real Eighty Percent
Jeff Immelt, Be Humbled by What You Don’t Know
Donald J. Trump, Know Everything You Can
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, No Job Is Small
Jimmy Carter, Always Do Your Best
Larry King, Learn How to Listen
Muhtar Kent, In Good Times and in Bad
Ryan Seacrest, The Hardest-Working Guy in Showbiz
Robin Roberts, Determination Makes the Difference
Steven Spielberg, Listen and Learn
PART 3: NEVER GIVE IN
On Pluck and Perseverance
Drew Brees, Use Adversity as an Opportunity
Michelle Kwan, Fall Down and Get Back Up
Christina Applegate, You Don’t Have the Luxury of Negative Thought
Ken Chenault, Face History and Make History
Matthew McConaughey, You Were Just Having Trouble
Morgan Freeman, You Quit, You Fail
Raúl de Molina, Against Apparent Odds, Never Give Up
Tavis Smiley, Fail Better
Valerie Plame, Life Is Unfair
PART 4: BE UNREASONABLE
On Passion and Dreams
Biz Stone, Think About What Is Valuable
“Dr. Phil” McGraw, Get Excited About Your Life
Alicia Keys, The Question
Barbara Walters, Follow Your Bliss
Ina Garten, If You Love Doing It, You’ll Be Very Good at It
Joyce Carol Oates, “Here Is Life …”
Chris Evert, Get Off the Sidelines!
Hugh Jackman, Trust Your Gut
Marc Shaiman, Oh, Miss Midler …
Matt Goldman, I Don’t Want to Be Reasonable
Phil Stanton, Inspiration Lives in Unexpected Places
Thomas Friedman, Be an Untouchable, Do What You Love
Wynton Marsalis, Commit with Your Whole Heart
Vera Wang, Life by Design
PART 5: MINUTE PARTICULARS
On Doing What’s Right
Bob Schieffer, Momo’s Rules
General Ray Odierno, Real Success
Rania Al Abdullah, Through Other Eyes
Jay Leno, Be Open to Other People
Gloria Steinem, Top Ten Pieces of Advice I Just Made Up for Myself—See If
Any Help You
Madeleine K. Albright, Never Play Hide-and-Seek with the Truth
Nia Vardalos, Be Polite
Suze Orman, Do What Is Right, Not What Is Easy
Beyoncé, Take Time to Know Yourself
Mehmet Oz, M.D., Take Time to Really Listen
Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas, Remember Where You Come From
Sheryl Crow, Do the Best You Can
Thomas Friedman, Be a Skeptic, Not a Cynic
Whoopi Goldberg, Do Unto Others
PART 6: DON’T LET THE TURKEYS GET YOU DOWN
On Rejection and Resilience
Kathryn Stockett, Don’t Give Up, Just Lie
Malcolm Gladwell, Don’t Turn on Your Greatest Asset
Davis Guggenheim, Don’t Listen to Can’t
Tyra Banks, SMIZE … with Your Booty
Salman Rushdie, Angela’s Asterisks
Colin Powell, It Doesn’t Matter Where You Start
Laura Linney, Never Read Your Own Reviews
Martha Stewart, Gather the Good Things
M. Night Shyamalan, Sadness
Soledad O’Brien, Push Beyond Prejudice
PART 7: EVERYONE NEEDS A CHEERLEADER
On Mentors and Encouragement
Christiane Amanpour, Thank You, Colonel Shaki
Al Roker, Willard’s Way
Wes Moore, Have Faith, Not Fear
Alex Rodriguez, The Power of Words
Curtis Sittenfeld, My Other (Less Neurotic) Half
Jay Leno, In Defense of Class Clowns
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Please
Ellen Levine, Get Over Yourself
Craig Ferguson, Hurry Up and Take Your Time
Maria Elena Salinas, You Never Stop Learning
Mo’Nique, Not Going Through It … Growing Through It
Melinda Gates, The Sky’s the Limit
PART 8: LOOK OUTSIDE YOURSELF
On Commitment and Contribution
Ken Burns, Do Something Lasting
Jacqueline Novogratz, Commit to Something Bigger Than Yourself
Meryl Streep, Empathy Opens Doors
John Wood, Not Every Path Should Be Linear