1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:08,360 Intro: On today's show host, Adam Outland is joined by award-winning American journalist, author, and television host Joan London. 2 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:18,529 Joan was co-host of ABC's Good Morning America from 1980 through 1997, making her the longest running female host ever on early morning television. 3 00:00:19,325 --> 00:00:27,635 She is also the author of 12 books and is currently a special correspondent for NBCs Today, as well as host of the PBS program. 4 00:00:27,635 --> 00:00:30,935 Second Opinion Two fun facts about Joan. 5 00:00:31,355 --> 00:00:37,805 Her birth name is actually Joan Blendon, but she changed it because it sounded too close to the word blunder. 6 00:00:38,345 --> 00:00:40,505 Also, Joan is a pro wrestler. 7 00:00:40,835 --> 00:00:54,545 Not exactly, but she was presented the WWE E'S second Annual Warrior Award at the 2016 WWE E Hall of Fame induction ceremony for her unwavering strength and perseverance in the face of her battle with cancer. 8 00:00:55,025 --> 00:00:58,535 We hope you enjoy hearing from True Warrior Joan London. 9 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:00,709 Joan Lunden: Love. 10 00:01:00,709 --> 00:01:01,459 Hello. 11 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:02,209 Hey there. 12 00:01:02,209 --> 00:01:03,230 How you doing Adam? 13 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:04,099 Doing well. 14 00:01:04,099 --> 00:01:05,060 How about yourself? 15 00:01:05,330 --> 00:01:07,460 I am doing great, thank you. 16 00:01:07,850 --> 00:01:08,420 Adam Outland: Oh my gosh. 17 00:01:08,530 --> 00:01:10,690 So, so how did you get into the whole world of 18 00:01:10,690 --> 00:01:10,929 Joan Lunden: media? 19 00:01:11,420 --> 00:01:14,900 You know, growing up as a little girl, I thought for sure I'd be a doctor. 20 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:16,370 My dad was a doctor. 21 00:01:16,730 --> 00:01:25,070 He used to take me on rounds at the hospital sometime in the late afternoon and proudly introduce me and say, my daughter Joanie was gonna be a doctor when she grows up. 22 00:01:25,190 --> 00:01:26,780 And I really thought I was gonna be. 23 00:01:27,050 --> 00:01:37,370 And then the summer before going away to college, I worked, I went to work in hospital and I found out really quick that scalpels and stitches were not gonna be part of my career. 24 00:01:37,655 --> 00:01:44,915 So I like went into college and majored in psychology, figuring that's about as close as I'm ever going to get to medicine. 25 00:01:45,215 --> 00:01:55,985 And I, I skipped a couple grades, so I was 16 years old when I went away to college, and my mom was like, I'm not letting the 16 year old go to uc, Berkeley, ucla, Stanford. 26 00:01:56,585 --> 00:01:59,375 And she heard about this floating campus. 27 00:01:59,465 --> 00:02:01,295 It's now called Semester at Sea. 28 00:02:01,505 --> 00:02:01,535 Oh. 29 00:02:02,210 --> 00:02:10,250 At that time it was called World Campus Afloat, and she put this together and came to me and said, this is what you're doing your freshman year in college. 30 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:25,100 We visited 15 countries, you know, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, west Africa, Cape Town and Durban, South Africa, east Africa, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, and China, and then back to la. 31 00:02:25,370 --> 00:02:28,670 And I have to tell you, that changed me as person. 32 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:29,570 It changed my. 33 00:02:30,275 --> 00:02:41,375 It changed my outlook on the world and all of a sudden, like my world was so much bigger and that was my mom's whole intention besides keeping me off the pot filled free love, free sex burn your bra campus. 34 00:02:41,615 --> 00:02:45,965 And boy did she accomplish that . Oh, and then finally came back. 35 00:02:45,970 --> 00:02:46,715 Get sirs. 36 00:02:46,715 --> 00:02:49,144 Go back to California State University of Sacramento. 37 00:02:49,150 --> 00:02:49,984 Get your degree. 38 00:02:50,975 --> 00:03:01,475 One night, a friend who was an ad salesman for the local NBC affiliate came over for dinner and he said, you really ought to consider television news. 39 00:03:01,654 --> 00:03:04,834 Now, this was at a time, this was 1974. 40 00:03:05,015 --> 00:03:09,274 There were very many women on television, not on local, not on network. 41 00:03:09,575 --> 00:03:13,174 I mean, I could have so let that passing comment go. 42 00:03:13,325 --> 00:03:13,625 Yeah. 43 00:03:13,864 --> 00:03:19,834 But the next morning I picked up the phone and I made a cold call to the news director at that station. 44 00:03:20,095 --> 00:03:27,174 And I managed to get an interview and I asked him a ton of questions at which point he said, well, clearly you know how to write an interview, 45 00:03:27,709 --> 00:03:34,825 And he took me into the studio and he auditioned me and this guy followed me out and it was the weatherman at the station. 46 00:03:35,155 --> 00:03:37,375 And he said, I just watched your audition. 47 00:03:37,380 --> 00:03:40,614 I was behind the set getting the weather maps ready for the new news. 48 00:03:40,734 --> 00:03:43,704 And you know, there are a few stations around America who. 49 00:03:44,510 --> 00:03:49,070 Putting weather girls on and I'd like to make you Sacramento's first weather girl. 50 00:03:49,370 --> 00:03:51,799 And I knew nothing about the weather. 51 00:03:52,130 --> 00:03:55,849 However, thank God, somehow I knew an opportunity when I heard it. 52 00:03:56,179 --> 00:03:58,519 And so that's how I got my start. 53 00:03:58,519 --> 00:04:00,919 And I got my start doing the weather. 54 00:04:01,219 --> 00:04:03,079 I was so nervous when I started. 55 00:04:03,079 --> 00:04:09,649 I remember the man, he turned around me one day and he said, you're like a little one of those little wind up dolls that little girls get. 56 00:04:09,649 --> 00:04:19,019 And you wind them up and they say, hi, my name is Barbie, or, You're like one of those little dolls, he said, because you get so nervous that you constrict your vocal chords. 57 00:04:19,024 --> 00:04:25,350 That's what happens when you get nervous, and what it does is you talk faster and faster, the optic goes up. 58 00:04:26,190 --> 00:04:31,080 He said, every time you are getting ready to go on air, I want you to do this. 59 00:04:31,380 --> 00:04:34,350 Take a breath and think low and slow. 60 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,500 And I've never forgotten those words. 61 00:04:38,114 --> 00:04:46,145 . But I'm gonna tell you that making the transition from in front of the camera to in front of an audience, that was a challenge for me. 62 00:04:46,385 --> 00:04:56,974 So I spent 20 years there in the studio, you know, on gma, and every now and then people would ask me to come and give a speech and I would do anything to get out of that. 63 00:04:57,335 --> 00:05:03,994 And I would get so undone, so nervous to be in front of a live audience. 64 00:05:04,205 --> 00:05:05,255 So what I. 65 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,490 I signed up with Tony Robbins, huh. 66 00:05:08,820 --> 00:05:14,039 Doing two speeches a month and I mean, he books these huge venues. 67 00:05:14,490 --> 00:05:18,360 I remember the first one was in Detroit where they, you know, the Pistons play basketball. 68 00:05:18,365 --> 00:05:21,990 This gigantic stadium, 22,000 people. 69 00:05:22,289 --> 00:05:24,960 I barely remember walking on stage. 70 00:05:25,270 --> 00:05:27,180 I mean, it was almost surreal. 71 00:05:27,690 --> 00:05:31,979 And you know, Tony, I think took it on as his own personal thing. 72 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:33,530 Little by little. 73 00:05:33,530 --> 00:05:38,540 At first I was like behind the podium with all my script right there and somebody running the teleprompter. 74 00:05:38,750 --> 00:05:48,680 Then little by little said, instead of using that kind of mic, let me put this mic on you and I'm gonna have your copy on all of the TV cameras around the stage so you can actually. 75 00:05:49,015 --> 00:05:53,875 Get out from behind the podium and little by little he weaned me off of that. 76 00:05:53,875 --> 00:05:56,995 And one day I came in and I just did a speech. 77 00:05:57,295 --> 00:06:08,155 What I would do is I would walk in and say hi, and I'd talk a little bit and then I'd take questions and that started to get me at ease in front of a thousand people asking questions. 78 00:06:08,305 --> 00:06:08,755 Adam Outland: So how cool. 79 00:06:08,755 --> 00:06:14,515 So partnering with Tony, he brought you in as a speaker, but you got some kind of coaching advice along the way about. 80 00:06:15,155 --> 00:06:16,445 Pull yourself out from behind the 81 00:06:16,445 --> 00:06:16,985 Joan Lunden: box. 82 00:06:17,135 --> 00:06:21,784 You know, I think all the coaching I got from him was almost him. 83 00:06:22,145 --> 00:06:24,094 Role modeling, role model. 84 00:06:24,094 --> 00:06:28,205 Like I never went in and had a private coaching session with Tony, even though I know he does it with everybody. 85 00:06:28,655 --> 00:06:39,605 I was backstage with him and backstage, he would jump up and down and he would be doing this whole thing and he would literally be stoking himself up to a frenzy. 86 00:06:40,175 --> 00:06:40,355 Yeah. 87 00:06:40,505 --> 00:06:42,635 And then when it was his turn to go on, man. 88 00:06:43,895 --> 00:06:53,795 Burst onto that stage and that sense of enthusiasm and effervescence and a wonderment of the day and confidence he exuded. 89 00:06:54,275 --> 00:06:55,235 That's exciting. 90 00:06:55,805 --> 00:06:56,075 Yeah. 91 00:06:56,435 --> 00:06:59,855 And I learned from him that that's really important. 92 00:06:59,855 --> 00:07:04,745 And you know, every morning before I went on the air, when I, before I left my dressing room, What did I do? 93 00:07:05,015 --> 00:07:14,825 I looked in the mirror and I smiled, and I captured that little twinkle in my eye so that when it came around a 7 0 1, that I would be saying Good Morning America. 94 00:07:15,185 --> 00:07:20,585 I knew that my demeanor, my exuberance for life, my positive vibes. 95 00:07:21,229 --> 00:07:27,919 Would probably affect that person even before whatever the information, whatever the news was that I had to deliver. 96 00:07:28,310 --> 00:07:28,669 Yeah, 97 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:29,599 Adam Outland: a hundred percent. 98 00:07:29,599 --> 00:07:39,320 And it's so interesting, one of the questions we always ask guests is, describe some of your major pivot points, and I feel like one of the other pivot points for you later in your career was the, obviously the, the bout with 99 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:39,860 Joan Lunden: cancer. 100 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:49,520 Yeah, but again, I gotta tell you, Adam, I mean, it's probably the attitude that I brought to that moment in time that most affected the outcome. 101 00:07:49,970 --> 00:07:57,560 You know, when I remember I was at Crossroads at one point before we get to cancer that I, I was still a good at, at Eyewitness News in New York. 102 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:58,970 I was an anchor and reporter. 103 00:07:59,164 --> 00:08:02,224 Local news and I was also working Good Morning America. 104 00:08:02,224 --> 00:08:04,324 So yeah, I was playing both ends at the middle. 105 00:08:04,505 --> 00:08:13,865 GMA had made me a bunch of offers to come on board, but they always included doing commercials and I was afraid that if I did that it would affect my career as a journalist going forward. 106 00:08:14,044 --> 00:08:16,564 But over at Eyewitness News, they thought, ah, she's. 107 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,520 She's not loyal to us anymore. 108 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:20,260 You know, she's the big times got her. 109 00:08:20,380 --> 00:08:23,920 I could feel that they weren't writing me into the script of their future. 110 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:24,340 Yes. 111 00:08:24,610 --> 00:08:32,530 And I put my big girl pants on and I called the president of abc, Elton Rule, and I got an appointment and I went into him and. 112 00:08:32,860 --> 00:08:37,030 Told him about the situation and the next day I got the offer from GMA to be host. 113 00:08:37,450 --> 00:08:43,390 And I don't think it would've happened had I not made that somewhat ballsy call. 114 00:08:43,990 --> 00:08:44,200 Sure. 115 00:08:44,380 --> 00:08:45,490 Each pivot point. 116 00:08:45,490 --> 00:08:53,650 And when I got diagnosed with cancer, I'm not gonna tell you that at the beginning it was like it's hard to even call a friend and say, I gotta tell you something. 117 00:08:53,650 --> 00:08:54,310 I have cancer. 118 00:08:54,490 --> 00:08:56,980 But I knew I'd been this like health. 119 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:02,370 For years writing books, and I had this feeling like I was letting people down. 120 00:09:03,035 --> 00:09:09,065 And then about maybe 24 hours in, I had this epiphany and I said, I always wanted to be a doctor. 121 00:09:09,275 --> 00:09:11,075 You just got dropped in your lap. 122 00:09:11,075 --> 00:09:12,755 Kind of an opportunity to do that. 123 00:09:12,755 --> 00:09:14,105 He was a cancer surgeon. 124 00:09:14,675 --> 00:09:24,725 Like you can go out, learn everything that you possibly can about this disease and educate other women, like grab ahold of the baton and run at the rest of the way to the finish line. 125 00:09:25,325 --> 00:09:28,595 And all of a sudden I went from being a victim. 126 00:09:29,610 --> 00:09:29,689 Hmm. 127 00:09:30,110 --> 00:09:34,730 To being an advocate, which is a person of strength, that's gonna help others. 128 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,310 You have to get in front of the story. 129 00:09:37,790 --> 00:09:40,939 Otherwise, tablets are gonna have you dying in like two months. 130 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:41,420 Yeah. 131 00:09:41,569 --> 00:09:44,930 But when you're in a public eye, and particularly when you followed this. 132 00:09:45,260 --> 00:09:48,170 Kind of health advocacy career path. 133 00:09:48,319 --> 00:09:59,060 The minute I got that done, Adam, the minute I got in front of it and it became my story to tell, yeah, it just changed the entire cancer battle, you know, in the most positive way. 134 00:09:59,915 --> 00:10:01,745 Adam Outland: Because you got to narrate your own story. 135 00:10:01,745 --> 00:10:01,895 Yes. 136 00:10:02,405 --> 00:10:07,925 Joan Lunden: And everybody can take a lesson from that because you need to grab ahold of your own narrative. 137 00:10:07,925 --> 00:10:11,165 I was, I was thinking about this and preparing for you. 138 00:10:11,645 --> 00:10:14,825 You know, when I left gma, I did not leave in my own volition. 139 00:10:15,454 --> 00:10:19,535 The higher ups at that moment, the guy in charge thought, oh, we should have somebody younger. 140 00:10:19,865 --> 00:10:34,145 So this, you know, younger, 30 year old version of the 47 year old me was coming in and I thought, boy, they could, they are really setting themselves up here for basically doing Deborah Norville, replacing Jane Poll. 141 00:10:34,150 --> 00:10:38,975 You might remember that the younger girl coming in to replace the older woman. 142 00:10:39,695 --> 00:10:41,555 The audience hated that. 143 00:10:41,855 --> 00:10:42,665 So what did I do? 144 00:10:42,995 --> 00:10:50,255 I picked up the phone and I called the president of the network and I said, we need to have a talk because this can go two ways. 145 00:10:50,465 --> 00:10:57,455 I can either be the person that you're kicking outta the seat for a younger woman, and that's not really gonna go well for you. 146 00:10:57,485 --> 00:10:59,735 But I also recognize that that won't go well for me. 147 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:06,320 And for anybody leaving a company, I know it might feel like you wanna get that last word, you wanna get the last licks. 148 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,600 You wanna tell 'em why you really think that they stink. 149 00:11:08,750 --> 00:11:12,470 But the thing to do is to go in and say, I think you guys are great. 150 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:14,180 I've learned so much here. 151 00:11:14,450 --> 00:11:21,020 I'm so happy it was such a valuable time to me, and I wish you guys great success. 152 00:11:21,290 --> 00:11:29,660 Leave letting them think that they're heroes because what the only thing you care about or should care about really is the long game. 153 00:11:30,050 --> 00:11:32,330 Where do you wanna be in a year and five years? 154 00:11:32,330 --> 00:11:36,350 In 10 years, if you burn a bridge, they're not gonna talk nice about you. 155 00:11:37,070 --> 00:11:45,590 And in the case of me, how did I want other networks or shows or brands to, how did I want them to think of me? 156 00:11:45,830 --> 00:11:49,220 I wanted them to think of me as someone who's held or head high. 157 00:11:49,670 --> 00:11:53,030 I said, I'm not even, I won't even tell everybody that you're replacing. 158 00:11:53,689 --> 00:11:59,000 I'll say, I'm leaving in my own volition, and by the way, I am saving you a huge crisis. 159 00:11:59,360 --> 00:11:59,840 Oh, for sure. 160 00:12:00,110 --> 00:12:04,069 And so we came to an agreement, we shook hands, and that's how I left. 161 00:12:04,370 --> 00:12:10,490 Oh, and by the way, that 30 year old version of me only made it five months and 28 days. 162 00:12:10,490 --> 00:12:15,380 The show went from first to third, and it took him 17 years to get back to number one. 163 00:12:15,710 --> 00:12:16,610 Not that I'm count. 164 00:12:17,110 --> 00:12:19,060 Not that I'm keeping track or anything. 165 00:12:19,329 --> 00:12:20,650 I'm just saying Yeah, 166 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:21,640 Adam Outland: that took him a while. 167 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:22,510 That took him a while. 168 00:12:22,870 --> 00:12:30,490 What, so, you know, I think, um, you've interviewed and seen so many personalities in your years in television. 169 00:12:30,730 --> 00:12:35,199 Is there a person that you've always wanted to meet or interview but 170 00:12:35,199 --> 00:12:35,680 Joan Lunden: haven't? 171 00:12:36,250 --> 00:12:40,329 Well, really it was Princess Diana and of course that could never happen again, but I did. 172 00:12:40,510 --> 00:12:44,439 I covered the wedding of Diana to Prince Charles. 173 00:12:44,705 --> 00:12:48,815 And then I covered Fergie's wedding and then I covered Diana's death. 174 00:12:48,815 --> 00:13:06,575 And then I later, like a few years ago, my executive producer who brought me to Good Morning America was at Fox News and he called me one day and said, you know, we got this wedding coming up, a Prince William and Kate Middleton and I looked around the Fox newsroom today and I'm not sure if there's anybody over 30. 175 00:13:07,385 --> 00:13:12,305 So he said, I need someone to come over here and give us some historical perspective. 176 00:13:13,050 --> 00:13:14,130 And I said, no, no, no. 177 00:13:14,130 --> 00:13:15,209 I've got a million things going on. 178 00:13:15,209 --> 00:13:17,459 I said, 30 days, that's all I'm asking you for. 179 00:13:17,490 --> 00:13:18,540 30 days. 180 00:13:19,050 --> 00:13:27,660 So I said yes, and I went over and I, and so I went to London and I did all the, the, the difference between Diana and Kate Middleton and all of that. 181 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:28,920 And I interviewed Prince Charles. 182 00:13:29,245 --> 00:13:33,115 On one of his very rare trips to the United States. 183 00:13:33,475 --> 00:13:41,695 Years ago, at the time Jane Polly was hosting today, I was hosting GMA and Diane Sawyer was hosting CVS Morning at the time. 184 00:13:41,935 --> 00:13:42,265 Yeah. 185 00:13:42,625 --> 00:13:45,955 Each network could send one person and the three of us went. 186 00:13:46,435 --> 00:13:47,785 They gave you all these rules. 187 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:53,339 Don't extend your hand before he extends his, you call him your royal majesty to begin with. 188 00:13:53,339 --> 00:14:02,910 And sir, thereafter, and I mean all these rules like you walked in, you felt like you had to be like, you know, patting your head, rubbing your stomach, don't snit before he sits and. 189 00:14:03,350 --> 00:14:08,690 Don't ask anything about Prince Andrew and this horn star, basically. 190 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:09,500 Oh my God. 191 00:14:09,505 --> 00:14:11,720 And there was a whole big thing going on. 192 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:12,620 It was a big scandal. 193 00:14:12,620 --> 00:14:14,390 And don't ask anything about that. 194 00:14:14,630 --> 00:14:19,580 So, of course we, and they had us draw straws to see who would go first. 195 00:14:19,970 --> 00:14:21,650 So Diane Sori went first. 196 00:14:21,740 --> 00:14:23,570 Four questions in, she asked. 197 00:14:23,985 --> 00:14:25,335 About the porn star. 198 00:14:25,635 --> 00:14:27,165 So she didn't get much after that. 199 00:14:27,465 --> 00:14:28,785 I came last. 200 00:14:29,055 --> 00:14:40,035 And I've learned, and other people can use this, if you wanna know something, if you won't get to get someone to talk, if you say, you know, everybody's really taking you to task on blah, blah, blah. 201 00:14:40,275 --> 00:14:41,055 No, no, no. 202 00:14:41,085 --> 00:14:44,325 Cuz they're not gonna, you're not gonna get the right answer, you'll get the right answer. 203 00:14:44,325 --> 00:14:49,095 If you say, I was really interested in how you came up with blah, blah, blah, tell me how you came up with. 204 00:14:49,685 --> 00:14:50,795 They'll talk to you forever. 205 00:14:51,005 --> 00:14:51,395 Yeah. 206 00:14:51,665 --> 00:14:52,685 You'll get the answer. 207 00:14:52,685 --> 00:15:02,915 So with Prince Charles, I started with, you're here in the United States opening the school, which was a project that your mentor, Lord Mount Batten started. 208 00:15:02,915 --> 00:15:06,695 And I know he meant so much to you, you know, tell me about that. 209 00:15:06,755 --> 00:15:08,165 That's all he wanted to talk about. 210 00:15:08,375 --> 00:15:10,110 And you know, let me, Yeah. 211 00:15:10,140 --> 00:15:24,270 So in light of that, what was your education like because you went to a private school, you know, you were away from your parents, away from your family, and that got me to say, so does that now influence, do you think on what kind of education you want for your child? 212 00:15:24,630 --> 00:15:29,130 To which he then addressed and I'd say, and how is Diana and William, I got there. 213 00:15:29,570 --> 00:15:30,620 Like I got there. 214 00:15:30,700 --> 00:15:31,140 Yeah. 215 00:15:31,140 --> 00:15:39,200 But you have, you have to take the person by the hand and walk them gently down the path to get to that answer that you want. 216 00:15:39,410 --> 00:15:43,850 If you come out with both barrels loaded, you're never gonna get the answer you want. 217 00:15:43,970 --> 00:15:44,420 Yeah. 218 00:15:44,540 --> 00:15:49,460 Adam Outland: People's favorite subject is themselves, but you, you've gotta approach it in a light where they wanna. 219 00:15:49,745 --> 00:15:50,225 Yeah. 220 00:15:50,645 --> 00:15:54,064 And that is a real craft of be able to build rapport and trust and a 221 00:15:54,070 --> 00:15:55,055 Joan Lunden: conversation. 222 00:15:55,475 --> 00:16:03,395 And you know, it's interesting because sometimes it's intimidating talking to somebody who's, I'm not gonna say higher up the food chain, but somebody who's intimidating to you. 223 00:16:03,575 --> 00:16:04,115 Absolutely. 224 00:16:04,505 --> 00:16:07,145 And I can remember a number of times. 225 00:16:07,835 --> 00:16:13,085 Yeah, I was the host of Good Morning America, but Mary Tyler Moore just walked into the studio. 226 00:16:13,625 --> 00:16:18,935 I watched her all the time growing up and I was like so nervous to go down there, interview her. 227 00:16:19,205 --> 00:16:27,814 So she was, and she was like standing and I walked down to the other side at the other end of the set and she came up to me and said, I'm so nervous. 228 00:16:27,814 --> 00:16:29,105 I watch you guys every. 229 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:30,550 I was like, what? 230 00:16:30,790 --> 00:16:39,160 I mean it's always important to remember that they get up and brush their teeth in the morning and put on their, you know, their left shoe and their right shoe just like we do. 231 00:16:39,730 --> 00:16:43,690 And they have their own idiosyncrasies and their own self doubts. 232 00:16:44,230 --> 00:16:49,599 And some of the biggest stars would come on and really be nervous as hell. 233 00:16:50,070 --> 00:16:59,960 I mean, Steve Martin used to be so nervous and we expected him to be funny and he wasn't always that funny when he wasn't like on stage and almost resented you expecting them to be funny. 234 00:17:00,290 --> 00:17:03,500 I remember Michael Bolton the first time he came on, oh my God, he was so nervous. 235 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:06,350 It was right before Time Love and Tenderness came out. 236 00:17:06,355 --> 00:17:08,660 And before that he was somewhat unknown. 237 00:17:08,930 --> 00:17:09,320 Yeah. 238 00:17:09,530 --> 00:17:14,840 And he was so nervous and so I went out and like really like, you know, was kind of handholding with him and got him. 239 00:17:15,330 --> 00:17:23,010 Told him what I was gonna talk to him about, kind of walked him through it and you know, you can make somebody comfortable just with your eyes and your body language. 240 00:17:23,310 --> 00:17:29,910 To me, that was a huge part of being able to host a morning show where people maybe haven't eaten breakfast. 241 00:17:30,405 --> 00:17:32,925 They had an extra cup of coffee that they don't usually have. 242 00:17:33,495 --> 00:17:35,534 They're nervous, they're under the bright lights. 243 00:17:35,745 --> 00:17:41,024 Our job was not only to write, ask the right questions, it was to be able to help them. 244 00:17:41,324 --> 00:17:50,985 And, you know, consequently, Michael became a best friend, um, when he, when he launched his big charity for women and children at Risk. 245 00:17:51,735 --> 00:17:54,405 You know, went on his board and have hosted all the events. 246 00:17:54,495 --> 00:17:58,155 You know, like people come back, Celine Dion, I did the same thing with her. 247 00:17:58,515 --> 00:18:04,395 Nobody knew who Celine Dion was, and she was so nervous and they said, go in the, go in the green room, calm her down. 248 00:18:04,665 --> 00:18:07,185 And I went in and she said, well, I don't speak English that well. 249 00:18:07,185 --> 00:18:10,655 I, and so I, I did the same thing with her. 250 00:18:11,470 --> 00:18:15,820 And, you know, so she invited me on tour with her to do Behind Closed Doors later. 251 00:18:15,820 --> 00:18:20,290 Another show I did, she came and sang to me on my last day at Good Morning America. 252 00:18:20,590 --> 00:18:25,930 You know these people who are very big stars, like when they're in the beginning, they're also nervous. 253 00:18:26,010 --> 00:18:26,500 Adam Outland: Yeah. 254 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:27,940 And, and remember they're human. 255 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:28,450 Yeah. 256 00:18:28,450 --> 00:18:28,870 I love that. 257 00:18:28,870 --> 00:18:29,139 Yeah. 258 00:18:29,510 --> 00:18:36,620 You know, when I think of one kind of personal question I would ask, I came from two, uh, opera singers as parents. 259 00:18:36,860 --> 00:18:39,470 Joan Lunden: You sing thing in the shower in the car. 260 00:18:39,620 --> 00:18:39,830 Adam Outland: Yeah. 261 00:18:39,980 --> 00:18:48,460 The car and the, and the shower is, uh, those are the only things that get to hear my voice, but, and I remember asking my mom, Like, what did you do to be successful? 262 00:18:48,460 --> 00:18:55,120 And she'd always kind of say it was up to, you know, there's a big luck factor in the arts for her, in her mind, right? 263 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:57,010 That you have to be at the right place in the right time. 264 00:18:57,015 --> 00:19:01,330 And I always try and drill down to that because I knew there there's gotta be more and she's being humble. 265 00:19:01,330 --> 00:19:05,200 But what are the things that you do and the type of career you've had? 266 00:19:05,380 --> 00:19:05,990 Good morning, Mary. 267 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:13,270 There's so many people who would love to to make it there, but maybe they started at their local TV station and never broadened their scope. 268 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:15,640 What helps you get lucky? 269 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:17,020 In this career. 270 00:19:17,629 --> 00:19:18,830 Joan Lunden: It's not just luck. 271 00:19:18,860 --> 00:19:20,030 It's not just luck. 272 00:19:20,030 --> 00:19:27,379 I mean luck sometimes is a part of it, but luck is kind of where training meets opportunity becomes luck. 273 00:19:27,470 --> 00:19:29,179 First of all, you have to be open to opportunities. 274 00:19:29,300 --> 00:19:32,750 People hear opportunities all the time and they think, well, that's pretty cool. 275 00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:37,230 What for someone else, You gotta be open to them and they're not always labeled. 276 00:19:37,740 --> 00:19:50,310 So you have to have a sense that no matter how well you're doing, where you are, that you have the capacity to think about and expect maybe something even bigger and better. 277 00:19:50,340 --> 00:19:51,510 Better to happen. 278 00:19:51,919 --> 00:19:54,860 I mean, it has to start there, I think inside you. 279 00:19:55,070 --> 00:19:58,669 And then you have to be open to the opportunity and then you have to position yourself. 280 00:19:58,909 --> 00:20:03,929 Like young people today often ask me, um, when they're first starting out, and I. 281 00:20:04,415 --> 00:20:05,105 Are you kidding? 282 00:20:05,135 --> 00:20:08,555 You live in a world where you can brand yourself. 283 00:20:09,035 --> 00:20:18,035 First of all, go on Instagram and Facebook and clean it all up and take all the pictures off of in college with your bong and then like create a website. 284 00:20:18,185 --> 00:20:21,425 Start a podcast, do something that. 285 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:30,389 Whatever field you want to go into so that when you go for that first job you say, well, I've really been interested in this for a long time and I've done this, this, and this. 286 00:20:30,389 --> 00:20:30,659 Take. 287 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:36,540 You can take a look in this world, you can go on LinkedIn and you can find out. 288 00:20:36,805 --> 00:20:51,685 The person that's going to interview you and find out so much about them, you can find out what that company is planning, what their issues are, what their strategy is, and then you can ruminate about that and go in with ideas. 289 00:20:51,925 --> 00:20:59,575 We couldn't do that 30, 40 years ago, and I was a young person starting out, but that opportunity exists today. 290 00:21:00,335 --> 00:21:02,405 Adam Outland: You didn't have those tools to research, but they do now. 291 00:21:02,465 --> 00:21:02,585 Yeah. 292 00:21:02,585 --> 00:21:03,185 I love that. 293 00:21:03,425 --> 00:21:22,865 In that same vein, what advice would you, knowing everything that you know, that this incredible career that you developed, if you went back to that 21 year old that had gotten back from Semester at Sea, what little advice could you possibly have given to yourself knowing and having the perspective that you have now? 294 00:21:23,940 --> 00:21:35,080 Joan Lunden: As self confident as I was, and I swear sometimes I think back on that and in amazement that I had the tenaciousness to get on a plane in San Francisco and fly off to go around the world. 295 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:49,990 Or I guess I've always had, you know, a pretty good self confidence, which probably comes from my upbringing and my parents instilling that in me and instilling the, the desire and the expectation that that I should expect to work. 296 00:21:50,925 --> 00:21:54,195 And make a mark in the world and do big things. 297 00:21:54,304 --> 00:21:57,254 I, I, I just think though, that you have that hard work. 298 00:21:57,435 --> 00:22:04,215 I mean, you know, no one's ever going to get anywhere without understanding that you had put in a lot of hard work. 299 00:22:04,604 --> 00:22:06,915 I think not standing on your own laurels. 300 00:22:07,185 --> 00:22:08,504 I think loyalty. 301 00:22:08,790 --> 00:22:16,080 Your boss needs to feel that you're loyal to this company and that you're, you buy in a hundred percent. 302 00:22:16,169 --> 00:22:23,460 And, and if you ask anybody about me that's worked with me over the years, they will tell you that I was really low maintenance. 303 00:22:23,669 --> 00:22:26,129 I was not, uh, what do you call it, A primadonna. 304 00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:28,110 Um, the only mistake I made was when I. 305 00:22:28,274 --> 00:22:35,824 Took the donuts out of the green room when I first went to GMA and replaced them with toast and bagels and everybody says, where's the damn donuts? 306 00:22:36,245 --> 00:22:37,205 Get 'em back in here. 307 00:22:38,764 --> 00:22:40,655 . But I mean, I always showed up. 308 00:22:40,865 --> 00:22:44,375 I never ruffled feathers. 309 00:22:44,615 --> 00:22:50,195 Um, now saying that, I'll tell you this, when the show's over, I was a working mom, so. 310 00:22:50,730 --> 00:22:58,139 Do my work and do my, you know, after the show I would fly to Washington, interview a senator, fly back, do a few other interviews, and then go home for dinner. 311 00:22:58,350 --> 00:23:03,510 But I didn't go in after the show every day like my male counterparts. 312 00:23:03,690 --> 00:23:06,360 And by the way, can we just talk about that for a second? 313 00:23:06,690 --> 00:23:14,520 I was sitting in Eyewitness News, getting my story ready for the, for six o'clock was about five 30 phone rings. 314 00:23:14,700 --> 00:23:15,120 It's my. 315 00:23:15,815 --> 00:23:17,765 We just got the offer for you to be co-host. 316 00:23:17,765 --> 00:23:18,605 Good Morning America. 317 00:23:18,875 --> 00:23:19,265 Awesome. 318 00:23:19,265 --> 00:23:21,875 We'll call you after the show like 20 minutes later. 319 00:23:22,055 --> 00:23:23,915 Phone rings in my little cubicle. 320 00:23:24,155 --> 00:23:25,505 It's my gynecologist. 321 00:23:25,835 --> 00:23:29,045 I'm so thrilled to tell you that you're pregnant with your first baby. 322 00:23:30,919 --> 00:23:32,689 Like dilemma, what am I gonna do? 323 00:23:32,689 --> 00:23:34,250 Are they still gonna want me? 324 00:23:34,639 --> 00:23:42,820 And ABC and I walked into that path and figured it out and I have to hand it to abc. 325 00:23:43,370 --> 00:23:51,110 They had decided on me, there's nothing that could have do, done the year before a law had been passed that said, you can't, uh, release somebody because of pregnancy. 326 00:23:51,290 --> 00:23:51,649 Right. 327 00:23:51,709 --> 00:23:54,979 It happened in 1979 and this was 1980. 328 00:23:55,735 --> 00:24:01,495 So my attorney and my agent immediately said, you don't have to worry about them resending the offer because they can't. 329 00:24:01,735 --> 00:24:09,145 So, you know, I went to them and said, I'm gonna give you 150%, but I'm also gonna be a new mom and I'm also gonna be breastfeeding. 330 00:24:09,175 --> 00:24:23,245 Which by the way, you could not say breastfeeding on television at that time in 1980, you couldn't say the word breast . And I said, so I kind of need to bring the baby with me. 331 00:24:23,245 --> 00:24:24,055 And they said, okay. 332 00:24:24,145 --> 00:24:25,075 They had. 333 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:31,040 Not a great ending with the previous co-host, and they wanted to get me in that seat. 334 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:32,660 I said, I'm delivering. 335 00:24:32,810 --> 00:24:40,280 I delivered 4th of July and they wanted me in that seat August 28th to get ready for the fall announcement of the upcoming season. 336 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:47,780 So when my child was seven weeks old, I scooped her out of the crib and got in the back of that limo and went in. 337 00:24:48,415 --> 00:24:57,774 And they gave me another little dressing room next to mine that had baby Jamie on the door, and I had a baby nurse meet me there some morning. 338 00:24:57,774 --> 00:25:07,705 She was late, so I was there with doing hair and makeup with the baby in my arms, you know, that I just, that was like living literally on a new frontier. 339 00:25:08,185 --> 00:25:08,335 Mm-hmm. 340 00:25:08,665 --> 00:25:14,574 and just kind of making your way with no role model at all to look at, to. 341 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:16,610 How do I do this? 342 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:17,300 You know? 343 00:25:17,300 --> 00:25:19,790 And I, I went to them and said, I'm gonna be here for you. 344 00:25:20,090 --> 00:25:20,570 Totally. 345 00:25:20,570 --> 00:25:24,470 And, but when there's a parent conference, I'm gonna be at the parent conference. 346 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:27,410 The parent, there's a piano resettling gonna be at the piano recital. 347 00:25:27,620 --> 00:25:31,160 So there's gonna be those little things that we're gonna have to like, work together. 348 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,020 And that's what every woman has to do. 349 00:25:33,020 --> 00:25:36,860 You know, you can't just come in and say to your boss, fabulous news, I'm pregnant. 350 00:25:37,294 --> 00:25:42,725 And then he's thinking, or she's thinking, okay, and how am I going to replace you? 351 00:25:42,725 --> 00:25:44,284 And then I have to bring you back. 352 00:25:44,405 --> 00:25:45,995 You know, don't make it their problem. 353 00:25:46,024 --> 00:25:48,125 It's, it's, it's your happy news. 354 00:25:48,125 --> 00:25:52,024 And then you have to figure out how it's gonna work into their business. 355 00:25:52,385 --> 00:25:53,284 Adam Outland: A hundred percent. 356 00:25:53,465 --> 00:26:01,010 You know, and as we we're tying up, I wanted to ask to, you know, you, you've got so much vitality, And energy that you bring to conversations. 357 00:26:01,010 --> 00:26:04,850 You've got so much wisdom that you've built up from all your experience. 358 00:26:05,150 --> 00:26:07,879 What do you do with that going forward and how you want to continue? 359 00:26:08,465 --> 00:26:10,685 Spread your message and, and what you do. 360 00:26:11,705 --> 00:26:14,795 Joan Lunden: I have a show in PBS called Second Opinion with John London. 361 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:15,205 Mm-hmm. 362 00:26:15,285 --> 00:26:20,675 another, also another health show, a podcast with the Washington Post called The Future of Medicine. 363 00:26:20,735 --> 00:26:23,975 And there's a new streaming service coming on called Medi. 364 00:26:24,575 --> 00:26:28,445 It kind of looks like Netflix except it's everything about medical information. 365 00:26:28,445 --> 00:26:33,515 Interviews with the leading experts and researchers and doctors in each of the fields. 366 00:26:33,515 --> 00:26:36,285 And, uh, I'm gonna be the host of Medix. 367 00:26:36,939 --> 00:26:39,159 I just, of course, had my last book. 368 00:26:39,250 --> 00:26:40,629 Why did I come into this room? 369 00:26:40,929 --> 00:26:43,070 A candid conversation about aging. 370 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:50,020 It just came out in paperback and uh, I'm in the process of writing my autobiography, so I've always got things going on. 371 00:26:50,764 --> 00:26:52,415 Adam Outland: Wow, that is incredible. 372 00:26:52,445 --> 00:26:56,225 Uh, how many projects you can juggle and succeed at, at the same time. 373 00:26:56,225 --> 00:26:58,895 So I love that life . Yeah. 374 00:26:59,375 --> 00:27:01,145 And you're on the speaker circuit as well. 375 00:27:01,205 --> 00:27:01,895 That's amazing. 376 00:27:02,284 --> 00:27:04,475 Well, listen, you've been so generous with your time. 377 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:11,044 Thanks for sharing so much wisdom today and giving us some of those nuggets of what made your career successful and, and giving us a little 378 00:27:11,044 --> 00:27:11,675 Joan Lunden: picture of what's to. 379 00:27:12,395 --> 00:27:13,385 It was my pleasure. 380 00:27:13,385 --> 00:27:14,015 Thanks, Adam.