Hallway Lessons with Robin Roberts

Robin Roberts and Laura Gassner Otting on set at Good Morning America

I ran into Robin Roberts in the hallway last week before my ​latest Good Morning America appearance​. (Okay, look, I know that sentence is ridiculous. I recognize that. It makes me uncomfortable even to say it. But, we’re going to have to get through this together, because there is just no other way for me … Read more

“I’m Sorry”

Quote: Quit Saying Sorry with a photo of Laura Gassner Otting

Did you know that one in four people apologize for something outside of their control every day? I’m not saying we should never apologize. Genuine apologies have their place and are crucial for maintaining healthy relationships and owning up to our mistakes. But there’s a big difference between apologizing for something that genuinely requires an apology … Read more

Do to Dream

“Dream it, and then you can be it!” I’m calling bullshit. You know those sun-soaked, flaxen-haired, boho-chic girls in Instagram memes, the ones who blow dandelion petals into the air as they stare longingly, and yet purposefully, into the distance? This is precisely the kind of advice they give. And it’s terrible. Don’t believe me?  Then … Read more

I’m Not as Confident as You Think

There is a funny thing about confidence: sometimes the people who look like they have the most actually have the least. For me, it’s not confidence that has fueled my success, but optimism, romanticism, idealism.  What most people see as confidence is just those things disguised as forward motion, action, and determination. You see, I’m … Read more

The Trouble with Leaders

Leaders talk.  A lot. It’s not their fault.  We expect it of them.  They are on stage, they are at the head of the table, they are the ones in the know.  We expect to learn from them. And, frankly, that’s a real problem. You can’t talk and listen at the same time (even though … Read more

Be the Party of Possible

Thank goodness for evolution.  You know, evolution: that thing that has trained up over millions of years to (mostly) not do really hare-brained, death-inducing things. Jump off that bridge?  Instincts say no. Stick my head in that lion’s mouth?  Seems like a pretty bad idea. Eat day old sushi from my local gas station market?  … Read more