- Well today I'm so excited because the lady sitting next to me here, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, is one of my favorite
people on the planet. So I'm so glad you're here. - Right back at you, sister. I'm glad to be here. Thank you for just inviting me and I'm so glad that we
get some time to talk. - I know, some conversation, yes. So we've known each other
a couple of years now. I guess we officially met when you were doing Fox and Friends. - That's right. - You were doing, well first with Survivor was like the first TV gig. So how was that? - That was terrible.
- We're not gonna talk about it a ton but I want to know. - It was hard. I would not recommend that. I'm glad I did it. It was one of those things that you, I think the benefit
of choosing something exciting, unknown, to try to
figure out what I was made of and figuring out in that time, I'm not made of much, need a lot of God, all
of God, all the time, and having myself in that situation, that was a time that
was refining on my heart at just the right time. And so that's what I think that did. And who knew? I really didn't want to be on television. I came back and I was like, I thought that would be more quiet. And then the rest of life
just kind of took a TV turn. - Just kept going, uh. Okay, so you were at The View for 10, was it 10 years?
- 10 years. - 10 years. - Mmm hmm, then I was fired. - Okay. - Then that happened. That was hard. - I didn't know that, Elisabeth. Okay, let's talk about that. - Then the whole nonrenewal of your contract. - Is that what it was? Cause it was a pretty abrupt thing. - It felt that way for sure. Yeah, I was personally hurt by that cause you always are when someone's like, it's like a break up, you know? You're just like what, what did I do? - After a decade, yeah. - I think it's a hard moment cause two things happen. One, I knew that Tim and I were just trying to provide for our family and that there was a duty there. So that really put a fire
at my back and just like, okay, you better go get something quickly. So into Fox News I ran and just said, I'm suddenly available and do you have a spot for me? And here I am. I'm ready to work, and went really fast to do that. But I think there was a part of me that just wanted to prove everyone that had just let me go wrong. And so that's what that was, and God ended up showing up. I think I probably jumped the gun about a year early. That was probably like driving 90 when I should have been driving 60 or even maybe pulled over for a second. Like God, what do you want from me and did I trust him enough in that moment? I don't even think I gave myself time to say that I trusted him. I was just going. And I was going to prove
them wrong and provide. And those were the two things that were on this working
mom's heart at that time and I don't love the pride part of it, and now ever since, I think had to come to a place of like, understanding and forgiveness and that this happens and also like the fruit of that. The fruit of that is it placed me somewhere
else where God met me. I learned a new skill. I probably should've slept more. - Right, cause you were sleeping like, you were talking to me
like three hours a night or something, right, Elisabeth? Like for two years, two
and a half, three years? - According to medical experts, not a good idea. - Not a full night's rest is three hours. - No, I was mean. I was
cranky. I was not myself. I was like the worst version of myself because I wasn't resting enough and just kind of lost the
desires that I used to have. So eventually, I ended up leaving Fox, and that was really hard to do cause I loved the team there so much. Here I was complaining and being sad about being fired and then I walk into this
amazing career and job, which had so much
responsibility and respect and to leave that felt wrong, but I just knew something had to change and that something was everything. And the hard thing was, I think it was, the understory was, okay, work is getting the best of me, kids are getting the rest of me. I need to make a change, but we were in a position where we could. And so I knew that, that's not always the case. I grew up, my mom still works. She's an attorney. She's amazing. I still have work that I do. It just looks different
now than it did before. So I wasn't always a fan of the
narrative that got out there like she's leaving work
to be with her children because I think listen, we're all working. We're all full-time moms. So no matter what it looks like, you're gonna have different seasons where your acceleration points are either working from home, you might be Zooming, you might be taking travel trips for work. That is all good. I'm glad my daughter has seen me work hard in something
that I'm passionate about or learn a new skill. She needs to know that
that is a beautiful thing to use your gifts in the world. And then if seasons allow you to be home when it feels right, then that's good too. That's not a right or wrong situation. And so I think the
powerful thing for women is whether realizing that
you're all full-time moms working on something
that's quite important and really has a purpose by God's design and that you just need to partner in that. And so almost like you're
tag-teaming, like you would. Consider your whole space your office of life, and you're gonna need
different kinds of moms with different schedules
to make it all work. And so I think that's the one thing that as women we could
do maybe a little better is like kind of linking arms with that mom who might have a different
schedule than you and name it good and really help each other out. - Yes cause it is. I'm like whatever your
life looks like as a mom, whether you are full time
working, part time working, or home, whatever it is. Number one, the role doesn't change. Mom is still number one. You can have multiple titles, multiple different labels at work, but that's still the core. - Yeah, you're still a full-time mama. - Yeah always, 24/7. And so that's still there but man, that's such a good point though of reaching out cause I have always said, neither is right or wrong. It's just different. It's whatever season you're
in, the story you're in. - [Elisabeth] It's all good. - But linking arms together and being proactive with those friendships because you can learn
so much from each other. The moms that stay home
full time with their kids, they teach me so much about what to do. And so I think that
that's a beautiful thing and then the seasonal thing. We've talked about this
a lot recently but like that's been a huge word
in my life right now, and I'm like it is, life is so seasonal. So unpack that a little bit. - I do think it's okay to name your season and name the fact that you might not know how long it will last. If you think about biblically, you look at Saul's story into Paul. He was over here Saul-ing,
had a new name, now Paul-ing. It's all good. There is a journey that
God's gonna take you on and if you're in a season where you're like in one job or a new job or a new set of hours, it's okay to name that. Like, this is my new season and I'm right here and God's gonna give it purpose and I'm gonna pray for the
peace that comes with it so that my passions can match his for exactly where he has me placed. And so I think God wants to do a new thing in your heart all the time. Like it's never finished, right? He's always gonna find an area and he will use hard
circumstances, I think, to kind of blind you to your old ways, sit you still for a little bit and then set you forth with a new name and a new path and a new
song and a new mission. And this same great God
is gonna show up there and give you the energy
that you need to do that. And I think for women sometimes, I would say don't be afraid to try something new. I've had eight different jobs and I wasn't qualified for any of them, learned them on the go. I'm a good student. If you're a good student and you want to learn something new, don't shortchange yourself. Don't listen to the enemy that's like, "You're not really qualified for that. "You've never done that
before. You shouldn't try. "I think you're too old. "No, you should just stay where you are." Like it's okay—
- The amount of lies though that women, well all people in general, but I can speak for women, but yeah those lies and not listening to those and really, really honing in and figuring out okay, what is best in this season for me? And that being the peace, right? Do you feel like that's so true? When you start to enter that
season that God's calling you, did you feel peace
through those two years? - I did. I felt a peace, I felt an assurance that I was exactly where I needed to be, and I had felt that
before in other places. I do think that it took me a
little longer to get there. And then as I get a little older, I spend more time in the word. I feel like the peace comes more easily cause I know the sound of it. I know the sound of when
something's trying to disqualify me where that's coming from. I can identify that and then disinvite it to the party. Cause there's enough doubt in the day to take you down and make
you make poor decisions. So I think those fears are real. Those doubts are real. I think one of the things
as a working woman, you're like, but if I
don't do this, who will? But if I don't take care of this, and I think sometimes I have to say, do I trust God? Do I trust him with my children? Do I trust him with our
three who are growing? And the answer is, I need
to trust him completely. He loves them more than we ever could. He's got their futures ahead of them. Like, we're trying to hold them, and what comforts me is knowing that we have this God who's holding us holding them, that he cares for them infinitely more than
we ever could dream of. And you know how much you
love your child, right? - Right, absolutely. - And sometimes, here's the other thing, you're doing your job and your work because you have this skill
and God wants you to use it. You might be there because God needs you
there for somebody else, or he knows you might need
the person next to you when you walk through a time of trial, and it might not be about
the actual work at all. It just might be about two people that he's placing specifically together. - Where you are in proximity,
yes, that's so good. Well you've been through obviously massive changes in your life. You've done it so well. - Not always. - You have so much
wisdom, though, Elisabeth. - I cried my way through
transitions, though. I do cry. Listen, you gotta grieve
where you were or else like, I do cry at every transition point. - I don't do good with sadness, Elisabeth, so I need to like embrace
that a little bit more. - Do you cry? - I have recently more and more. (laughing) Being a mom though, being a mom has opened
up a whole new section of like the cries. Your heart is just, it's
just overflow. It really is. So through this season for you, you wrote a book, which was wonderful. Talk to me about that book. How was that process for you and the content in it and all the stories? How was that writing it? - Well I think overall I really just wanted something for our kids to be able to read. And you probably shouldn't
say this to a publisher, but I'm like if only four people buy it and they're in my house,
I'm okay with that. I just knew I was called to do it, put something down in writing and really like proclaim God's goodness and the ways that he's just been so good and also I think after
spending almost 15 years trying to line up and get someone's point
of view in an interview, how are you seeing this subject, how do you see this topic, how do you see your role in this movie? I was always trying to line up behind someone's point
of view on something. I thought, well what
am I lining up behind? What point of view do I
want to line up behind now? I'm not doing these interviews anymore but I have this skill and ultimately I think until I line it behind
the lens of the gospel and the grace and the
mercy that we all need and how God wants us to see
things through that lens, I'm not really seeing clearly. We're not ever gonna be able
to see things how God sees. He's infinite, we're not, we're limited. But I think his lens of
the gospel and his truth, if you're lining behind that, what you will see and how you
will go through your days, for me has been so much
more clear and peaceful, and it's not so much about, I spent 10 years on The View. I was like trained at being right. I was like a rightaholic. Like, let's see how right I can be and how very, very wrong you are, and I write a lot about
the experience of The View and I think my point of view there was like only mine. I was so hyperfocused in a debate scenario of being so, so right, and I think the key is
like being wrong enough to give space to move around and see things from someone
else's lens and perspective. Like Whoopi and I are a
great example of this. We don't see eye to eye
on things all the time but we have such a loving
relationship and friendship because we will take a look
behind the other's lens. Literally I'll call her and I'm like tell me what you're seeing about this? - What a beautiful thing. And I think obviously as just a bystander, I'm like the fact that you
can just call Whoopi Goldberg, like that's pretty cool. I'm like, Sister Act is like one
of my favorites movies ever. - I'm just like good morning, Whoop. She's like, hey baby. - I know which is so awesome. Yeah, so beautiful. - But our conversation will be like this: Tell me what you're seeing. "Tell me what you're feeling." And it's like just getting
behind someone's lens. And so that's why point of view, I really felt like God gave me those
quiet two years to like, I'd spent 10 years only
seeing through mine. And so I was just thankful to be able to like look back and see what he's done and pray into what he's gonna do next. But I just think seeing
things more clearly for me has only happened when I look at it through that lens of like his word and his truth. - Yes, well and it takes so
much humility to do that. I quote this all the time because I just like love it, but it was Rick Warren that said it. He said, "Humility is not
thinking less of yourself. "It's thinking of yourself less." And so in those processes, just like you're saying, you don't have to be right all the time. Just step back and just say, "Hey, I want to know what's going on. "I'm thinking about you in
this situation more than me." And doing that takes humility, but man, the world and the perspective that happens when you just open your mind, open your conversations to people that are not like you, they don't look like you, they don't worship they way you, I mean all of it. It's just amazing what you find. So I love that. And your book is just
such a beautiful picture of your story and doing it so, so well. - You're so kind. I love talking to you. I'm just gonna hang out. Can we have a sleepover? - We'll be here tomorrow if you guys want to tune in. Okay, well you can find Elisabeth's book anywhere books are sold, and she'll be speaking at Christy Wright's Business Boutique. So you can get tickets
there at christywright.com. Elisabeth, thank you. Thanks for being here. - You're the best. - [Rachel] I so appreciate
you, I really do. Thank you.
- Anytime. (upbeat music)
