The Best Advice I Ever Got

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
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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

Lisa Ling,
Give of Yourself

Maggie Doyne,
Everything You Need Is Everything You Have

Mitch Albom,
Giving Is Living

Michael J. Fox,
Be Grateful

Scott Case,
You’re Sitting on a Winning Lottery Ticket—Invest It Wisely

William J. Clinton,
Be a Good Citizen

PART 9: WHAT BOATS ARE BUILT FOR
On Taking Risks and Seeking Opportunity

Ellen DeGeneres,
Be True to Yourself

Condoleezza Rice,
Find Your Next Adventure

Matt Lauer,
Sometimes You Gotta Go Off Course

General David H. Petraeus,
Be Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

Fareed Zakaria,
Run Fast, but Don’t Run Scared

Indra Nooyi,
Opportunity Will Find You

Jane Lynch,
Life Is a Series of Happy Accidents

Marissa Mayer,
When There Isn’t a Right Choice …