Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Overcoming the Odds: NBC's Today show star Al Roker discusses his novel, "You Look So Much Better in Person: True Stories of Absurdity and Success."

Transcript

Overcoming the Odds: NBC's Today show star Al Roker discusses his novel, "You Look So Much Better in Person: True Stories of Absurdity and Success." · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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  Speaker 1: If you're about to make a change in your life
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: and you feel uncomfortable, that's the best feeling you can
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  Speaker 1: have because for the first time in your life, you'll
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: make a new decision that's going to be best for
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  Speaker 1: you and not what somebody told you to do. And
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  Speaker 1: that's when all bets are off. Welcome to Money Making
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Conversation Masterclass. I'm your host, Rushan McDonald. Our theme is
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  Speaker 1: there's no perfect time to start following your dreams. I
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  Speaker 1: recognize that we all have different definitions of success. For
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  Speaker 1: you and maybe decide to your HM, it's time to
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  Speaker 1: stop reading other people's success stories to start living your own.
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  Speaker 1: Keep winning. My next guest, big fan of this young
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  Speaker 1: man is the weather man slash co anchor on NBC's
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  Speaker 1: Today's Show and co host of the third Hour of Today.
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  Speaker 1: His owner and CEO of his production company, Al Roker
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  Speaker 1: Entertainment Incorporating. He is on the show to discuss this book,
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  Speaker 1: You Look So Much Better in Person. That's a great title.
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  Speaker 1: His journey is about his journey, but teach us how
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  Speaker 1: we can weather the storm of life no matter how
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  Speaker 1: have it is downpour and shares antidotes from his own
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  Speaker 1: treasure trove of memories and being in the spotlight. Please
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  Speaker 1: welcome the money making conversation. I'm gonna call him my
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  Speaker 1: friend al.
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  Speaker 2: Roca Hi Rashon, How are you pretty good?
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  Speaker 1: My friend? Uh, this is a book about it. First
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  Speaker 1: of all, before I even get started after reading this book,
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  Speaker 1: especially the end of chapter three, well you announced that
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  Speaker 1: you were You are a weather man, a parade host,
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  Speaker 1: a production guy, master ceremonies, and occasional author. Your book
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  Speaker 1: could easily have been titled more than a weather man
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  Speaker 1: or weather person.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess it could have been. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: one of the things I've learned, one of the best
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  Speaker 2: bits of advice I was given was by Willard Scott,
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  Speaker 2: who was my mentor, who is the man who helped
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  Speaker 2: me develop who I am. Said, you know, he goes listen.
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  Speaker 2: Two things it was, and this was at a dinner
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  Speaker 2: we were having. He said, always be yourself right at
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  Speaker 2: the end of the day. They can take anything away
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  Speaker 2: from you, but they can't take you away from you.
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  Speaker 2: And the other thing he said was never give up
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  Speaker 2: your day job. You know, no matter he said, because
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  Speaker 2: back then when we were having dinner, he was the
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  Speaker 2: the number one news personality in Washington.
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  Speaker 1: D C.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, and while he was doing that, he
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  Speaker 2: still had all these side hustles. Obviously we didn't call
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  Speaker 2: up side hustles, right, but he always said, you know,
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  Speaker 2: at the end of the day, everybody knows me for this,
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  Speaker 2: and that's where all of this comes from. And so
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  Speaker 2: you know, I try to do all these different things
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  Speaker 2: and take advantage of all these different opportunities. But the
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  Speaker 2: reason those opportunities come up is because I'm on the
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  Speaker 2: Today Show.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, you know, when I was reading the book, you know,
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  Speaker 1: you know, you travel from Syracuse, did you go down
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  Speaker 1: to se then you go down to Cleveland, then you
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  Speaker 1: come back to New York City. It's a journey, but
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  Speaker 1: it's a journey about I've never given up and working hard.
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  Speaker 1: That's that seems to be the message that you're trying
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  Speaker 1: to tell. When oppositortunity to present itself, go forward, but
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  Speaker 1: when you go forward, give one hundred percent. That seems
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  Speaker 1: to be the tone of the book. Correct.
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  Speaker 2: Well, here's the deal. My dad told me. I talk
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  Speaker 2: about this in my book, and absolutely my dad and
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  Speaker 2: he is, you know, we lost him back in two
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  Speaker 2: thousand and one, and I still, you know, I miss
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  Speaker 2: him every day. But one of the things that he
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  Speaker 2: told me in high school was, you know, he said, listen,
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  Speaker 2: you are going to have to work twice as hard
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  Speaker 2: and be twice as good to get half as far
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  Speaker 2: as the white kid next to you.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, that's true.
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  Speaker 2: And I said, and I said to you, I said, but
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  Speaker 2: that that's not fair. That's not called fairness. It's called life, right,
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  Speaker 2: he said, And if that's that's what you're going to do.
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  Speaker 2: And I remember coming home one day with a report
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  Speaker 2: card that was less than stellar, and I thought, he
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  Speaker 2: is going to just explode. And I got out a
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  Speaker 2: home and he came home. He's, you know, working as
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  Speaker 2: a bus driver. Came home and my mother showed him
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  Speaker 2: a report guard and he looked at me and he said,
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  Speaker 2: if you can tell me this is the best you
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  Speaker 2: can do, then I will accept it. But if this
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  Speaker 2: is not, I am really disappointed at you. I got
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  Speaker 2: up and left the table and I was like, damn.
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  Speaker 2: And I brought those grades up.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely. You know when you say that about because being
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  Speaker 1: an African American, I'm fifty and we talk about, you know,
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  Speaker 1: the times that we are now, We're now COVID nineteen
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  Speaker 1: where the civil unrests, and I look at your career
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  Speaker 1: and I'd like to believe that you are a trail blazer.
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  Speaker 1: I believe that you was a trailblazer in Syracuse, you
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  Speaker 1: are a trail blazer in d C, trailblazer in Cleveland,
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  Speaker 1: and even a trailblazers to day. And do I'm just
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  Speaker 1: asking this question out, do you realize the significance of
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  Speaker 1: who you are as an African American for somebody or
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  Speaker 1: my children to see you on TV?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know that that's very I don't even know
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  Speaker 2: what to say to that. In that Uh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think I think our goal I think as a
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  Speaker 2: people are just to do your job and do it
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  Speaker 2: to the best of your ability, so that you know,
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  Speaker 2: that's what people see and not just that you know,
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  Speaker 2: the whether it's an Al Roker on TV or listening
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  Speaker 2: to a Rashawn on the podcast. You know, but when
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  Speaker 2: you see people in their line of work who do
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  Speaker 2: their line of work to the best of possibilities, then
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  Speaker 2: that becomes those people become role models. I was just
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  Speaker 2: talking with somebody, you know, growing up in New York City,
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  Speaker 2: you know, when I was a kid, you know, seeing
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  Speaker 2: a Bill McCrary or a J. J. Johnston or a
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  Speaker 2: Gil Noble or Melvi Tolliver, Bactigue, you know all these folks,
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  Speaker 2: you know. And to be honest, I never wanted to
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  Speaker 2: be on TV, but I remember what a big deal
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  Speaker 2: it was to see us on TV.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, And that's what I'm saying is that it's a
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  Speaker 1: big deal. You know, this story, your story starts in
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  Speaker 1: sixty eight when you were in college, you know, and
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  Speaker 1: got this job, weekend weather band job, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: and you went in there and and you you you
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  Speaker 1: basically just I'm gonna call him till he tell me
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  Speaker 1: to stop calling.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, the funny thing is, once I got
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  Speaker 2: the job, it was funny because I was going to
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  Speaker 2: be the first here. There have been people there were
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  Speaker 2: we had black reporters and some black cameras.
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  Speaker 1: That's that's what I want to say. I don't want
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  Speaker 1: you to shy away and not say shy away, but I'm.
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  Speaker 2: Not shying away. But you know, I guess here's the thing. Yes, sir,
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  Speaker 2: I've tried to raise my kids that listen, Dad's on TV. Right,
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  Speaker 2: But you know what, Dad's job is not any more
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  Speaker 2: important than bus driver, which my dad was truck driver, firefighter,
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  Speaker 2: any of those folks, you know, as long as they
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  Speaker 2: are doing, because you know, once I'm off TV, I'm
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  Speaker 2: still me, but I'm not you know, I'm not Al
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  Speaker 2: Roker on TV. I'm just Al Roker. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: don't think that we're important that much more important just
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  Speaker 2: because of what I do. And you should be important
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  Speaker 2: for who you are, not what you are.
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  Speaker 1: Ohthough, absolutely I'm not shying away from what I say.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not saying I'm not saying that you are. I'm
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  Speaker 2: just saying this is what I've had to kind of
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  Speaker 2: impart upon my kids, because absolutely, you know, they've seen
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  Speaker 2: me fighting to rache Al Roker wearing a suit, holding
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  Speaker 2: a briefcase with them trying to flag a cab.
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  Speaker 1: And mid down Manhattan and nobody and that cab.
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  Speaker 2: Passes you buy for a white guy or a white
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  Speaker 2: woman half a blockdown who isn't dressed nearly as well
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  Speaker 2: as you are, you know, and and so you know,
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I am so grateful that I did one
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  Speaker 2: of the last, if not the last, interview with John Lewis,
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  Speaker 2: and he talked about how hard you know, just when
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  Speaker 2: you think maybe there's no hope or you're feeling a
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  Speaker 2: little down about stuff, and he sat seeing these people,
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  Speaker 2: seeing this diverse group is.
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  Speaker 1: Rainbow is amazing. Isn't it amazing?
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  Speaker 2: Young people demonstrating that has said enough's enough.
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  Speaker 1: And that's what you stand the truth. You're speaking the
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  Speaker 1: truth because you know this weekend, because they told me
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  Speaker 1: I was going to be interviewing you this Monday, and
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  Speaker 1: you brought up John Lewis because I was going to
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  Speaker 1: bring um up in his interview. And I'm not trying
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  Speaker 1: to make you uncomfortable when I talk to you about
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  Speaker 1: who you are and what you mean to African Americans.
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  Speaker 1: Is that when you know as much as I knew
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  Speaker 1: about John Lewis, when I see him walk down that
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  Speaker 1: bridge in Selma twenty five years old, that was for
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  Speaker 1: the first time I saw him. You know, I saw him.
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  Speaker 1: And you are a pioneer, and you've written a great
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  Speaker 1: book and all these great stories you tell are told
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  Speaker 1: are checkpoints of history to me. To me, because I
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  Speaker 1: know that I'm in an entertainment business. I know the
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  Speaker 1: difficulty of what you have to do in entertainment to
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  Speaker 1: be successful period, and it may be the most difficult
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  Speaker 1: feel that you can get in it to try to
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  Speaker 1: be a person of color and try to be successful
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  Speaker 1: in entertainment and you've achieved it. And I say that
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  Speaker 1: because of the fact that in Syracuse, DC, Cleveland, New York,
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  Speaker 1: you have to be a person of authority and accepted
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  Speaker 1: that the information coming out of your mouth is real
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  Speaker 1: and accurate. And you've achieved that for over forty years.
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  Speaker 1: That's an incredible talent. And I just wanted to congratulate
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  Speaker 1: you on that. And that was important for me to
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  Speaker 1: let you know how I feel from a person, my daughter,
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  Speaker 1: by my family, that you have been important to the
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  Speaker 1: African American community, my friend, and well, thank you and
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  Speaker 1: that that that that you know, it resonates in this
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: book more when I read it, because it's you know,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: you you you couch it very well with humor, but
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: also the reality is that you have to be you
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: have to be quick on your feet, you have to
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: be smart, and you have to be willing to work
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: hard and when the opposite opportunity to present yourself, you
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  Speaker 1: cannot shy away from it. That's what you that's the tale.
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  Speaker 2: Of your book, right And you know it's funny because
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  Speaker 2: uh uh, you know, I left, I got a job
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  Speaker 2: in Syracuse and then I got a job into Washington.
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  Speaker 2: I moved to Cleveland, which was, you know, fairly at
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  Speaker 2: the time, the late seventies was a fairly racially polarized city.
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  Speaker 1: Yes it was.
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  Speaker 2: And uh again, I was the first black weather man there,
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  Speaker 2: thank you. And I always interesting. I had a we
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  Speaker 2: had an anchor guy. He was married to his coach
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: and a dog. And yeah, Doug it there and you know,
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  Speaker 2: nice man. I you know, if you had asked me,
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: is Doug racist, I'd say no. But Doug, you know,
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  Speaker 2: could say some things. And one night or after our newscast,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: we were in downtown Cleveland, not a great time to
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: be out after eleven o'clock. An older African American gentleman
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  Speaker 2: who's homeless everybody knew, came up behind Doug with a
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: rolled up newspaper and kind of bopped him on the
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: back of the head and ran off. And that was it. Well,
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: the next day, Doug's telling everybody how he was assaulted
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: and attacked, and we all kind of like, yeah, we
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: wish we had been the one who had done it,
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: but anyway, I love it. Anyway, his wife, his co host, Moona,
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: is about to introduce me. We're live on TV, and
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: now here's mona before you introduce Now, Al, I have
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: to tell you. I don't know if you'd heard, but
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: last night, after our eleven o'clock news, one of your
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: people attacked me. Now you know, it's one of those moments, Sean,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: where time stands still. You're trying to figure out how
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: are how am I going to react to this as
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: an outrage and I've fo TV, well only TV. I
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: looked at and I said, Doug, why in the world
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: would the weather would a weather man attack you? And
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: then just moved moved on. Well, well, people were outraged
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: for me. They called you know I mean, and they
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: had to suspend him. And then he came back to
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: as a reporter, demoted kind of a field anchor as
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: they called it. And then like six seven months later
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: he resigned and he and his wife left, went down
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: to Columbus, Ohio, and you know, mad another good ten
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: years down there. But you know it's you know, you
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: you've got to pick your look. There's so there, there's
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: so much that we can be outraged about, right that
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: we have to pick our points. Uh, you know, me
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: being called out by an anchorman, you know, for some
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: goofy thing. Maybe not so much, but but you can
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: have the same You're gonna have the same impact.
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
• 13:29
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• 13:35
  Speaker 1: You know I was thank you for the comment down. Yeah,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm talking to a Roca his fantastic book.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: You look so much better in person. True Stories of
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Absurdity and Success. I'm a guy. I get up at
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: four o'clock every day. You are a three forty five
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: am guy. You beat me by fifteen minutes. My friend,
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: so ill I get you. I got a bout out
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: to you for that fifteen minutes. And the reason I
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: bring that up because a lot of my friends and
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: co workers and people that called me for motivation and advice.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: He said, richean, why do you GetUp at four o'clock?
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Do you have to be anywhere a four o'clock I said, no, no,
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: I said, but it's a difference when I get up
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: at four, and a difference when I get up at
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: six is how I prepare for the day, and it's
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: not so much, And it's how you allow your body
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: and your mind to go through. I get up air,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: I go downstairs. I stretch and watching the news to
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: about four thirty, I find about the weather. Then about
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: five o'clock I'm in my life, you know, on my
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: own pace, and so teller to walk through the steps.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Why that time, besides having to be the work at
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: a certain time every morning Monday through Friday, that three
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: forty five is important to you, and we shouldn't and
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: people should adhere to having a set time that they
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: get up on a daily basis to be successful.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: Well, here's the deal. I find that I am most
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: productive in that hour because I don't really need to
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: get up till four forty five or five o'clock or
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: even five fifteen, much like yourself. But there's no there
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: are no phone calls to be made, there are no
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: emails to answer, there are no kids projects that you've
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: got to work on. You don't have to. Don't tell her,
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: I said, the answer to your wife. All you have
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: to do is get up and do what you what
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: you want to do. I don't like rushing, much like yourself.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: I do not like rushing to get ready for work.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: I would rather had to be frankly to be frank
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: That's when I wrote most of his book during that hour. Either.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: And you know, we find we tend to waste a
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: lot of time we do. You know, if you could
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: add up the time you're kind of mindlessly scrolling the internet,
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: you know, on the you know, looking at Twitter or Instagram,
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: and the time you just looking at things to buy
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: or whatever, you probably could find another ninety minutes in
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: your debt.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Yes you're good, Yes you're good. And I tell people
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: that I said, there are twenty four hours in the day,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: learning to take advantage of each hour. And that's what
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: you're saying right now when you say, look, I got
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: up a three forty five and Sean, it's my time. Yep.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: So that's I tell people. That's I wrote that in
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: the book. They said, you know, get up at least
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: an hour before you have because you will. You will
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: be surprised and I think kind of amazed at how
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: productive that hour will be for you.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: That was a great that was a great point of
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: knowledge in your book. Another great point of knowledge I
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: wanted to bring out was the power of relationships. And
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: two people that stood at this book. And I always tell
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I always tell about people about my life, is that
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: people I didn't see the vision in me sometimes and
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: some people saw it and they pushed me in the
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: direction of a nudge me or sometimes say why are
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: you still standing here looking at me? Get out? And
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Chris and Cleveland and you mentioned his name earlier, will
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Scott in the in the DC talk about the significant
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: role they played as far as the power relationships in
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: your life to the career you have today.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I mean, you know, like I said, Willard
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: gave me all that advice and just nurtured you knowing,
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: uh you know, really got me ready for this. In
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: a sense, he was I and I say this with
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: no shame. I consider him like a second dad. He
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: In fact, if my dad was still alive today, they
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: would be the same age, uh, you know. And and
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: he just you know, he was generous to a fault.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: He still is. But you know the idea when I
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: was I was working at WNBC in New York and
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: filling in for him, and he came to me and
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: he said, listen, it's it's my time. I'm going to
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: step back a little bit. But they should be thinking
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: about putting you in there, and that's who I'm telling them.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: But if they come to you, just know that this
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: is my choice. Uh now, they're they're very few people
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: in this business who would do that. And the person
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: who set me up to be in that position was
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: this woman, my news director, Chris Ostrowski in Cleveland. She
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: in Cleveland. She was the one who told me about
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: the weekend weather job in New York. She said, look,
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: they're looking for a weekend weather person. You're from New York.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: You don't need to be here anymore. I call the
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: news director. Have your agent called the news director, tell
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: him I know that you're calling, and you need to
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: get down there an audition for that job. And I auditioned.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: My agent called, they said they loved it. They want
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: you to start. And my station in Cleveland was about
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: to we had moved from third place to second and
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: we were knocking on the door for the first place
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: and the new and the general manager said, here's what
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: we'll do. If you agree to stay for another two years,
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: we will raise your salary. You'll be the second highest
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: paid anchor person in Cleveland. We will guarantee the end
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: of those two years, you will move to New York
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: as the weekend weather man at the same salary that
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: you're making now, which would have been far more than
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: I would have been making in New York if I
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: had taken the job. And I thought, you know what,
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: why not. I love Cleveland, I enjoy it, so I'm
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: gonna I'm gonna stay. And I went in to tell
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: my news director and she said, well, as your news director,
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: I think this is great news, it's fantastic. As your friend,
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: I think you're making a huge mistake. You need to
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: get out of here now. Now. Who does that? You know?
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: And that's all I'm saying that who did that was
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: something somebody who saw something in you that you want
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: ready to accept. I know I say that because it's
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: happened to me, and I say that to people all
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: the time. Is that you value relationships. You and she's
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: your mentor as well, And I'd like to believe will
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: it is your mentor. And people see stuff and they
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: tell you, don't relax because your gifts were greater than
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: what we're being offered in Cleveland. Go to New York
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: young man, go there and challenge yourself. And that move
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: is the move of while we see you today owned
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: the Today Show yep. And then now, you know we
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: talked about earlier about you know, all these different jobs.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: Now they call it multiple streams of income. You know,
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: back in the day they should say we were Jamaicans
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: when we had those many jobs. But now now it's
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: called multiple streams of You're right, right, right, right right now,
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: not as properly used, a multiple stream. Gotta have multiple
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: streams of income if you want to make it in
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: the world today. Now, one of those multiple streams of
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: income is the Al Roker Entertainment Incorporated production company. Tell
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: us like that? And why was it important that you
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: start and produce things out of that production company? What's
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: your name?
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Now? Well, you know I always wanted I said, I
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: didn't want to be on TV. I wanted to be
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: in TV. I wanted to work in television. And I've
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: always wanted to produce. And in nineteen ninety four I
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: did a couple of specials for the Food Network just
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: as a host, and I saw and they wanted me
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: to do some more, and I why can't I produce
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: these so I asked the general manager at the time
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: who used to work with me at w NBC, and
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: she said sure, and I really enjoyed it, and so
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: kept producing shows, did some for the Weather Channel and
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Lifetime and some other places. We're about to announce an
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: animated series for a network. I can't mention right now.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: We're doing stuff with a We just have a very
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: varied group of projects. One that looks at veterans coming
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: back with brain injuries with a group called Life Aid.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: It's called Life Aid, A Story of Hope. It's going
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: to air the end of August on Discovery American Heroes
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: and the Science Channel. And you know, it was it's
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: important to me to be able to have a voice,
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: to be able to you know, have a say in
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: what we do and how we do it.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Now, what is the difference?
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Then? You know?
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: I'm talking to Aaron Roca has great book. You should
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: buy it right now, called You look so much better
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: in person? Uh when? When? When you're because these words?
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: You are a star. You're a media star, You're a
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: television start. You're in a very popular uh morning news
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: broadcasts and we you know, weather expert or authority. When
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: people walk by they ask you the whether jokingly or seriously,
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: that's who you are Now you're a producer, a different hat.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: Does it? Does it? What is the difference of the
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: two other than the fact that you are a media
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: star as a talent, now you're become an immediate star
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: as a producer. What's the difference?
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: Oh, you know, in a sense, they're they're very much
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: the same, and that you want to you, you know,
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: what do you want people to come away with? Do
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: you do you do you want them to feel like
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: they've wasted their time or do you want them to
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: feel like they've had some value added by watching you
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: or by watching something you've produced? You know, I like
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: to say that there's no although my kids are older now,
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: but there's no show that I've produced that I wouldn't
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: be proud to have my kids watch or my parents watch.
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: And it looked we could be a far bigger production company,
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: but by doing certain kinds of programs, I just don't
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: want to do this.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: And before we wrap up, I wanted to bring this
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: comment up and I want you to respond to it.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: It's about hard work, and sometimes when you work hard,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: you might not get paid extra, up might not feel
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: appreciated when you're working that hard, and I feel there
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: was a major move to the success that you are today,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: because that's what the book lays out to me. Each
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: chapter tells a story about Okay, this is what I
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: had to do. Now. Was I happy doing it? No?
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: But I had to do it and it led to this.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: And one of those example was when you work. When
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: doctor Frank Feels before he was moved over to CBS
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: and thought there was going to be a green of pastors,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: you worked hard for eight street, eight straight weeks with
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: only two days off. You know, that could have been
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: a breaking point. You could have said enough is enough, Hey,
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: I want more money, This is not right. You could complaint,
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: but why didn't you?
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Well, here's the deal for two things. And it may
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: sound corny, but I love what I do. I mean
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: to be in this industry. You know, people say, oh,
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: you work so hard. I said, you know what. My
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: dad drove a bus for eight hours a day, worked
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: a lot of overtime. Sometimes we wouldn't see him for
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: a couple of days. That's really hard work. This is work.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: But I love what I'm doing. It's not a job,
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: it's my passion. So if in the long term. This
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: is going to bring me something. I don't know if
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: it is or not, but all I know is that
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: if I give somebody else the opportunity to do it,
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: then I don't get that opportunity. So I will put
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: in the hours, I will bust my butt to do
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: it because I want. I want whatever is going to
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: come after it, not somebody else.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: Well, what came out of it? In NBC? You got
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: rolled into the studio and a chocolate cake and you've
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: been there every since. Just before we just tell us
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: how did the chocolate cake scenario come out? And the
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: fact you got rolled into the studio in a chocolate
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: cake out? Well, you know it was. It was one
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: of the funny moments in the book, by the way out.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you. Tell me listen, you do what you
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: gotta do. Somebody suggested it and I thought, why not.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: You know, what's the worst that can happen? Luckily I'm
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: not allergic to chocolate.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Right. Well, my friend, I want to thank you for
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: coming on my show. I have a newsletter goes out
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: to thousand people, ninety four thousand people every Wednesday. I
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: want to drop your book in there or a million
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: social media follows of female Please tell them to send
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: me some banners and links so I can drop it
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: into my social media post. My friend, I admire you.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: Thank you for allowing us to have an honest conversation.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: Every time you tell me every time I watch that TV.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: You're a blessing, my friend. Don't change and keeping raising
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: that great family and lead leaving up leading us all,
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: my friend in a positive direction. Thank you, I roka,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: thank you. Take care alrighty. If you want to hear
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: more money making I appreciate you. If you want to
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: hear more money making conversation influd interviews, please go to
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: money Making Conversation dot com. I'm with Sean McDonald. I'm
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: your host.
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: Thank you for joining us for this edition of money
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: Making Conversations Masterclass. Money Making Conversations Masterclass with rough Shan
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: McDonald is produced by thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. More
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: information about thirty eight fifteen Media Inc. Is available at
• 26:50
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• 26:54
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