Hello all,
The motivation for today comes from one of my favorite motivators, Tony Robbins:
“Live everyday with passion!”
This statement came to my mind out of inspiration. As I write this, the death of Tim Russert is reverberating throughout the halls of power in my hometown of DC. For those who didn’t know him, he was a political reporter for the NBC show, “Meet the Press (MIP).” Every Sunday morning, I could tune in to see who was in the “hot seat” across the table from Tim. I’ve seen him many times on TV and in person at the Nats baseball games with some of his friends, watching the game he loved most.
Russert died of a heart attack on Friday the 13th at the young age of 58. Yet, its not how he died that I want to share with you but how he lived. Not only was he the host of MTP, he was also the Washington Bureau Chief of NBC. When he collapsed, he was preparing for his show, despite the fact Father’s Day was the following day. He was to broadcast live on Father’s Day, which is something he had done many times before. He poured his heart, soul and everything he had into that show. He’s the reason MIP is the best political talk show on ANY network and is my favorite political talk show.
He also loved journalism and used his power and influence to assist other political journalists. He infused his love of journalism and politics into them. He also opened doors for many unknown hopefuls as well. Because of Russert, Gwen Ifill is making history. Her show, Washington Week in Review, is the first time in the history of PBS and network TV that a black woman is hosting a prime time political talk show. She was one of his interns when she began in broadcast journalism many years ago.
In essence, Russert died doing what he loved to do, which was ask the questions of politicians that you and I wanted to ask. He even stated that one of the reasons he loved to do MIP was b/c he got to spend a week reading, researching, and learning everything he could on the issues and the politicians. He loved politics and it showed. He spent 17 yrs at NBC doing what he loved most. Because of him, I learned a great deal about the mechanizations that run my hometown and my nation.
Let Russert’s life be an example to all of us. Its not how he died but its how he lived. I pose a question to all of you…are you doing what you love? Do you feel passionate about it? Are you living every day with passion?
Something to ponder…
