Nearly every weekday morning for the past two decades, Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts has woken the country up by saying those three iconic words: “Good morning, America.” It’s a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly, we learn in her new book Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams, out April 12. Before uttering the nationwide wake-up call, Roberts takes a breath and centers herself, fully feeling the weight and the honor of being the first voice many Americans hear on a daily basis. In Brighter by the Day—her fourth book—Roberts unpacks how she’s remained hopeful and optimistic even in the face of numerous struggles, from battling breast cancer and myelodysplastic syndrome, a disease of the bone marrow, to now fighting alongside longtime partner Amber Laign as she too battles breast cancer. How does Roberts continue to infuse positivity and encouragement into viewers’ lives every day, even when life throws curveballs? This book is her how.
“People love my mantras: ‘Make your mess your message.’ ‘Dream big, focus small.’ ‘Optimism is a muscle that grows stronger with use,’” Roberts tells Glamour. “[In the book] I take these principles and show how to turn them into a practice and to make it a lifestyle. That, to me, is the difference here and what I’m trying to do with the book—putting principles into practice.”
Roberts’s jam-packed days begin at 3:45 a.m. and end after a Frasier episode at 8:30 p.m. In between, her “stabilizing force” of transcendental meditation, kombucha, Angry Birds, and even (on the rougher days) some Popeyes get her through. In our latest installment of Doing the Work, Robin Roberts tells us how she gets it all done.
Glamour: What time do you get up?
Robin Roberts: I get up at 3:45 a.m. It used to be 3:15, but sleep has become more important as I’ve matured. At that hour, an extra half hour is huge.
What’s your typical morning routine?
When I get up, I take about five minutes, not to think about anything, not to think about what I have to do today—I just take deep breaths for about five minutes. Then I get up and I turn on the morning news at 4 a.m., because I need to know if, God forbid, something happened overnight during those precious hours that I was sleeping. I play Angry Birds as I’m watching the morning news. At 4:30 I’m in the shower, I’m out and do my moisturizer—I’ve gotten to that age, as well. Then, right before 5 o’clock, almost like clockwork, I do a little core work to get my heart pounding. I’ll do 25 squats, 25 push-ups, and then do planks for about 45 seconds. All told, it takes three and a half minutes, just something that gets my heart pumping before I leave out the door a little bit after five.
I always say the same prayer no matter where I am: The light of God surrounds me, the love of God withholds me, the power of God protects me, the presence of God watches over me. I do my prayer before I open the door. I have a driver, thank goodness, Dario, who has been with me for umpteen years and always greets me with “Good morning!” He’s always got a big smile. It takes us 10 minutes to get to the studio; people greet me there and we are really happy to see each other. I really pray that wherever anybody is going in to work, they are being greeted with some joy.
Most people, when they get to the office, have a crescendo—they have coffee, they chat with their colleagues, their day unfolds. When you work on a morning television show, it’s like a cannon to begin your day, then you try to come down from that. After I’m off the air, by 9:15 I’m in my dressing room, where I meditate for 20 minutes. Especially in the times we’re going through right now, it’s very difficult to share what’s going on in Ukraine, and I need that 20-minute meditation to wash over me. Just some calm and some peace. Then at 10 o’clock, I’m off and running. No two days are the same. Pretty much after Good Morning America and throughout the day it’s always different: Pilates, Peloton, some kind of activity or movement. Especially if I’m in a down mood, it really lifts my spirits to just move. My great friend and mentor Pat Summit—the great coach, may she rest in peace—would say, “Left foot, right foot, breathe. Left foot, right foot, breathe.” And that’s what I try to do during the day.
Are you a breakfast person? If so, what do you eat?
Mornings I’m not at home. I don’t eat anything; I just drink water. I get to the studio and same thing—I hydrate a lot. I don’t drink coffee in the morning. I do on the weekends, but not during the week. On set I have kombucha. People always want to know what that drink is. Then, after the show, I’ll have a hard-boiled egg or a pear, but, being on a morning show, sometimes we’ll have steak on the show. I am not shy—I will eat. Depending on who we have on the show and what they’re cooking, I’ll nibble on that. I’m not a real big breakfast person during the week, but on the weekends, I am. Having to talk, I don’t want to have a heavy stomach when I get on the air.
What was your first childhood dream job?
A pro tennis player! Oh, honey. It was all I thought about. I played tennis in high school; actually, my scholarship at Southeastern [Louisiana University] was for tennis, but I ended up playing basketball. When I was a young child, I’d be on the hot, steamy courts in Mississippi, dreaming of being at Wimbledon and dreaming of being a pro tennis player. I did make it to Wimbledon. I did not have a tennis racket in my hand; I had a microphone, but—check! I made it to Wimbledon!
What was your first actual job?
School bus driver! It was my first job as a high school senior; I was a school bus driver the summer before my senior year. I was going to turn 18 and was eligible to become a school bus driver. We needed one for the tennis team; we always had a hard time finding a bus driver to take us to matches. My coach said, “Hey, can you do this, so we’ll always be assured we go to our matches?” And I’m like, “Sold!” Then the school district said, “Can you substitute drive when we need you?” And I’m like, “Sure, a little extra cash!” But can you imagine a classmate behind the wheel of a school bus? I got some looks! It was great. It was fun.
How do you typically deal with rejection in the workplace?
I’d send out a résumé tape and it would be returned to me with a “Return to Sender.” It would come back to me so fast, and I would think, Couldn’t they even pretend that they watched it? I have to say, playing sports helped me with rejection. We always talk about winning; it’s a great thing, and we all want to win, but you have to learn how to lose. I may lose a set, but I can still win the match. I may get five rejection letters, but you just need that sixth one to come back approved. That really helped my mindset. But it hurts. It really stung, especially early on, as my classmates were sending their tapes and résumés to New York and Boston. They asked me, where I was sending mine? Timbuktu. I just wanted a job! You’ve got to have thick skin. I’m patient and persistent, if nothing else.
What’s the most relevant piece of career advice you’ve ever gotten?
Early on, Diane Sawyer reaffirmed it: curiosity. Be curious. It made sense to me, especially when I was younger. I was wide-eyed and I’d ask questions and push the envelope because I was curious. Why do you want me to do this? Why can’t I do that? I would ask questions and wouldn’t take no for an answer. That has really served me well, and still does to this day. When I got to the network level, I heard Diane Sawyer said that, and it was really great advice early on, and it’s still holding true.
Other than a school bus driver, what’s a job people might be surprised you’ve had?
A country music DJ in college. My major was communications, and I went to the local radio station, and I wanted to be sports director there. They said, “Yeah, sure, but you’re also going to have to DJ on the weekends.” At the time I didn’t know they were country music. [My boss said] “You know we’re WFPR 14 Country?” So, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday nights, on a 100-watt radio AM station, I was Robin René here with you on a Saturday night playing the best of country music! It was a great experience and I have a great appreciation still to this day for country music.
What’s your most comfortable work outfit/piece?
It’s a very simple blue dress with white piping that’s sleeveless. I’ve had that dress I don’t know for how long. Every single time I wear it, [I hear], “Oh, I love that dress.” We are lent different designers all the time, high-end [designers]; it’s really great, then they go back and still have the tags on them. This simple blue and white dress—I feel good in it. It’s amazing to me how many compliments I get on this dress. It fits me well, and I think it’s because I feel good in it. It’s quite a contrast. When I was at ESPN working in sports, guys didn’t care what you’d wear. I’d wear the same pair of earrings almost my entire time there. On Good Morning America, if I wear the same pair for three days, people are like, “Hey, what’s up?” I’m like, “Oh, I’ve got to step up my game here.”
What’s your favorite low-stakes treat after a productive day?
I’m meeting a dear friend and colleague Deb Roberts after Pilates for a nice glass of Bordeaux tonight. I can’t wait. It’s not just a glass of wine, but I’m sharing it with a friend and colleague I haven’t had the chance to spend time with. It’s nothing fancy. [Some days] I may need Popeyes. My driver Dario knows, if I say Popeyes, he knows: “Oh, you’ve had a bad day.” That’s my comfort food.
And your go-to thank you gift?
I don’t have a go-to; I tailor it to the person. I will say, I do send devotionals, like Dreams in the Desert. That’s been in my family for generations. If someone’s in need of a spiritual lift, I give them that. Jamie Lee Curtis sent me a book, The Book of Awakening, and that’s her go-to gift. It’s so good. It’s good to have a gift like that to be able to send. I try and tailor it to what it is the person is going through. I like food deliveries; my partner is going through breast cancer. She’s my heart. I’m used to being the patient, she’s used to being the caregiver, so we’re teaching each other new roles. A lot of people have been doing food delivery; that’s been wonderful.
How about your go-to email sign-off?
“Blessings.”
What’s your nighttime routine? And what time do you typically go to bed?
It’s really funny—[my partner] Amber kids me that I know every early-bird special in town. We no longer close places; we open them.
So it’s an early dinner, a light dinner. By 8 to 8:30 p.m., I’m watching Frasier on TV. At 8:30 I turn off the TV. Sleep is not a luxury. It’s an essential. As women, we go, go, go. Be still. It doesn’t mean you’re not being productive. I make sure to do that when I can. As Charlie Gibson told me, “Being a morning show anchor, you’re invited to everything but too tired to go to anything.” For a special occasion, I will go out and enjoy. Why not? But on a consistent basis, after my Frasier episode from 8 to 8:30, it’s lights out. I have a blackout curtain in my bedroom. I always feel brighter the next morning. My mama used to say this—I miss her so much—I’d call my mama if I was having a really bad day. She’d say, “Honey, go to bed! End the day! Why are you staying up?” I’d go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and wake up to a bright new day. What did Maya Angelou say? “Today is a beautiful day—I haven’t seen this one yet.” That’s so true. I love new beginnings and fresh starts. I really feel that because I’m getting my rest, it’s really making the difference.
