Katie Couric The Best Advice I Ever Got, Part 33

2msmom · 2014-06-05 07:01:07Z

Katie Couric The Best Advice I Ever Got, Part 33简介

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   I love telling this joke, because it never fails to make me appreciate the collective power of the many wonderful women in my life. As women, we are all each other's fairy godmother, watching over one another, suddenly appearing when we're in dire straits, coming up with something to wear to the ball or on a dreaded blind date, picking the best photo for – horrors! - Match.com. I know that without my girlfriends my life would not be as rich or as rewarding – or nearly as much fun.
    But before all the men out there flip to the next chapter with a collective groan or head to a sports bar to drink a beer and watch a game, wait a second. While fairy godmothers may be female, sometimes the best cheerleaders are men. In my case, the most vocal supporter with the biggest megaphone was none other than Tim Russert, one of the finest people I have ever known. It was 1989, and I was still recovering from my disastrous on-air debut at WRC when Tim called upstairs to the local newsroom in Washington and said he'd like to see me in his office. Tim was, of course, the Washington bureau chief and beloved anchor of Meet the Press. It was a very exciting day. He told me that he admired my work, especially the way I'd hounded Marion Barry, the controversial mayor of Washington, D.C., at the time, “like a pit bull hot on the trail of an alley cat.” He told me that I had spunk, and that, unlike Lou Grant, the gruff, cantankerous boss on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Tim liked spunk. He offered me a job as a deputy Pentagon correspondent. Six months later, I was substitute-anchoring for the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News. Having Tim as my cheerleader was so meaningful – professionally and personally. Perhaps no one was more respected at NBC News than Tim – for his integrity, work ethic, and humility. His Buffalo roots were so integral to who he was, and he always thought about people like his dad, Big Russ, watching the show alongside inside-the-Beltway pundits and policy wonks. And his dogged preparation kept every politician on his or her toes, in a way that was appropriately challenging but never overly combative. He was the E.F. Hutton of NBC: When Tim talked...people listened. With him in my corner, opportunities started coming my way, and without those opportunities I would never be where I am today. When Tim died suddenly of a heart attack, it was the entire nation's loss.
    The object lesson from this experience is this: It takes one person – just one – to see something special in someone else, to lift her up and give her a chance. My mom used to say, “Everyone needs a cheerleader.” In my career, that was Tim – he changed everything. So find yourself a cheerleader, and perhaps even more important, someone you can cheer for.