While browsing through the shelves at the library, I found a small treasure. From the Heart—Seven Rules to Live By, written by Robin Roberts of Good Morning America, is truly a small book with a great big heart.  

    Robin Roberts’ résumé carries a long list of credits: A college basketball star, an ESPN commentator, and co-anchor for Good Morning America. She won four Emmys, the President’s Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation, and Ebony magazine’s “Outstanding Journalist” award. Although she does not chronicle all these accomplishments in her book, it is evident that she is a lady who knows what it takes to succeed. Her advice for success centers upon the importance of faith, family, hard work, and determination.

    Roberts believes any woman can be her best self, and she says: “There is no magical reason why I am where I am. And there is absolutely no reason why you can’t be where you want to be. If it can happen for me, it can happen for you too.” When talking to groups, young or old, she likes to challenge them with a question: “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” And then she encourages them to go with that feeling. As she explains, “Because it’s fear of failure, more than anything else, that will prevent you from having the life you want.”

    Robin cites her parents as her best mentors: They taught the importance of discipline, determination, and faith in the Lord. Going to church was mandatory. If you were too sick to go to church, you were too sick to go out and play for the rest of the weekend.

    Robin’s sister calls each day with encouraging words and a prayer. “When I’m on the phone with Sally Ann, she always has to end with a prayer. So I’ll be on my cell, walking down the street in New York City when people hear me say, “Amen!”

    After Robin’s mother rode out Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi coast, she gave credit to God’s mercy, saying, “Wherever we are God is.” And she has inspired her daughter to pray this prayer when she leaves her New York apartment at 4:30 each morning:

The light of God surrounds me,

The love of God enfolds me,

The power of God protects me,

The presence of God watches over me,

Wherever I am, God is.

    While dreams are vague, written goals are tangible, something to pursue each day. Therefore, Robin asks herself: “What is the one thing I can do today to get me closer to my goal?”  She also believes it is important to remember that God’s delays are not his denials, but that one must keep moving toward the goal: “Every action you take is one step closer to the goal.”

    Robin suggests we must forget our comfort zone and become as determined as the butterfly is when battling its way out of the cocoon. “Someone sees the movement of the butterfly pressing against the wall of the cocoon, and they think they’ll help it along the way and just cut a little hole in the cocoon so the butterfly can come on out with ease. But the butterfly dies soon after. There’s a reason why it’s beating its wings against the wall—to make it stronger.”

    Robin’s final words of advice: “Spread your wings—take flight! Live your life. Let it happen. Enjoy the ride. And whatever you do, do it from the heart.”