Posted: 24 Aug 2015 05:50 AM PDT
If you watch cable news, you’re no doubt familiar with Greta Carlson.
Greta has just released a new book called
Getting Real which contains her life story.
I caught up with Greta recently to discuss her new book.
In
your book, you give people an inside peek behind the TV personality.
What motivated you to give people this inside look at your life?
Greta Carlson: When people
watch me on TV they see part of my life. I wanted to let them know the
real me behind the scenes. The child who was a concert violinist from
the age of six. The young woman who took on the challenge to compete in
the Miss America pageant. The television journalist for twenty-five
years. The mother of two who, just like most women, struggles to balance
work and family. The battles I’ve fought. How I’ve come back from
failure and disappointment. Thanks to my upbringing, I always believed
in myself and worked as hard as I could to get where I wanted to be.
Nothing was ever handed to me. My hope is that when people read my
story, it will inspire them to reach for their goals and not give up.
The real story is this: if I can do it, you can too.
Critical
people tend to put every person who works for a news organization into
the same camp, saying things like “Fox news believes this” or “CNN does
that” or “MSNBC promotes this” … when in fact, each news network
features different programs with different people who have their own
opinions. Seeing that you’re a well known figure on one of these news
networks, how do you respond to this kind of pigeon-holing?
Greta Carlson: I joke that I
reached the bimbo trifecta when I came to Fox News. In being a former
Miss America, being blonde and then Fox. If you Google me, you’ll find
plenty of “dumb blonde” references–even though I graduated with honors
from Stanford and studied at Oxford University. I don’t let it bother
me. I’ve learned that sometimes when people don’t like what you have to
say, and don’t want to debate you on ideas, it’s just easier to call you
a dumb blonde from Fox News.
What lessons did you learn from being Miss America that would be of practical help to Christian teens and tweens?
Greta Carlson: I grew up a fat
kid in a small town in Minnesota who was a tomboy and happened to play a
mean violin. My goal was to be a famous concert artist some day. I
never had becoming Miss America on my radar screen. But when I was 17, I
decided to quit the violin and my parents were devastated.
They wanted me to find another
goal to achieve using my talent. In the Miss America system talent is
worth 50 percent of a contestant’s points so my mom encouraged me to
give it a try. And once I decided to do it, like anything else, I gave
it 110 percent. I believe every child is born with a gift from God —
big or small — and that we should all make the most of our talents.
Miss America gets a lot of flak, but the reality is that it is
incredibly uplifting and aspirational. I’ve never understood why it’s a
negative to showcase a talented, smart woman who also happens to be
attractive. The discipline learned from putting in time and effort as a
child is a skill and a talent you carry with you for the rest of your
life in trying to achieve goals. Pageants should be for young women able
to make their own decisions about whether or not they want to take part
in a program that advocates for young women and achievement.
In
your book you talk a bit about the subject of sex before marriage. What
would you say to Christian teens who are taught by their peers and
bombarded by media that you come from Planet 10 if you don’t have sex
before marriage?
Greta Carlson: The first line of my book is … “Have you ever had sex
or are you waiting for marriage?” The question came from a New York City
reporter at my very first press conference after becoming Miss America.
She rudely asked me if I’d ever had sex and whether or not there was
anything about me that wasn’t “real.”
She also quizzed me on current
events to test whether I was “smart.” I realized she was trying to
embarrass me, and it was a really mean thing to do to a
twenty-two-year-old girl meeting the press for the first time. There’s
something about winning Miss America that brings out the snark. Many
years later, when I was a national news correspondent, I saw her at an
event and decided to approach her and tell her how demoralizing her
comments were—but how I’d made it to the national scene anyway.
I felt vindicated that I
decided to speak up for not only myself but women all across the nation
who’ve been put down. I am raising my children with the Christian faith
and life lessons I was taught. I am equipping them with all of
the information and guidance as a parent and hope they will make sound
decisions. The most important thing is to teach kids to stand firm in
what they believe and not be swayed by detractors no matter what the
subject matter.
What can you tell both women and men about the lessons you’ve learned about balancing work, family, and your spiritual life?
Greta Carlson: The first time I
was asked whether women can “have it all” was at the Miss America
pageant. I said no. I didn’t mean that women shouldn’t fully pursue
their dreams, only that we need to be honest with ourselves. I’m a
person who likes to give 100 percent to everything I do. I want to be
the best at my job and as a mother. But I’m not superwoman. It’s
impossible to do everything 100 percent all of the time. And suggesting
that women (or men) should be able to do it only puts more pressure on
them.
For me, part of my balance is
finding time for faith in my life as well. Everyone is busy, but I
believe it depends on what you prioritize. My husband and I
teach Sunday School together at our church and are very involved. One
of my Miss America judges called me a “God-clutcher” way back when
because I spoke about my faith being an important part of my life during
my interview. Our faith is what inspires us to reach out and volunteer
to help others. As a child my parents taught me the biblical charge,
“To whom much is given, much is expected,” and faith guides me that way.
And I believe, especially in this day and age, it’s vital that we
provide our children with a foundation from which to build their
lives—one that gives them a sense of purpose.
Anyone
who is speaking to the public and has a substantive message is going to
draw fire from level-headed critics as well as from trolls who sling
dishonest personal attacks. What lessons have you learned about handling
both kinds of people?
Greta Carlson: Social media has
allowed people to ramp up their personal attacks on people in the
public eye – because there is a sense they can do it anonymously. Trust
me, I don’t read all the junk. I joke if I did, I wouldn’t get out of
bed in the morning. But, Sometimes the comments over the top—really
ugly. Many of them are critical of my looks, like the one that
criticized my “thunder thighs.” I get that a lot. Some of the tweets are
too vulgar to repeat.
At my age I can handle people
writing junk about me on social media, but I sometimes air “mean tweets”
on my show to highlight how destructive this meanness and bullying is
to young people. I know how devastating it is for a young person to be
the victim of such ugliness. I shine a light on it because if people
feel comfortable saying it to me, then they must feel doubly comfortable
saying it to one of their friends. I can only imagine how it affects
kids who are so vulnerable.
In a paragraph, what is your best advice for Christian parents who have teens?
Greta Carlson: We’ve all heard
from our kids, “That isn’t fair” … or “None of my friends have to do
it that way”. Well, part of parenting is making the difficult choices
and sticking to them. Its a lot easier to parent by just giving in to
what everyone else is doing. The challenging part of parenting is to
stick to your ideals and not give in. Our 12 year old daughter was the
last in her class to get a cell phone and she had to earn it. She
still doesn’t have Instagram although she asks me for it every day.
We have rules in the house and a
sticker chart for my kids to earn technology time. Maybe its because
of the world I live in and work, that I don’t see much of anything
beneficial that comes out of social media for kids. Even though its how
they communicate now, so you have to find the fine balance. I hear
parents at church say, “well my kids don’t want to come to Sunday School
so I don’t make them”. Well, in our family, at this point, its not a
choice for my kids. Its a duty for us as parents to give them faith as a
foundation and hope that when they bemuse older teens and young adults
they will choose the same thing for themselves.
In
a paragraph, what is your best advice for Christians who are
experiencing discouragement, feeling that God hasn’t come through for
them like they expected?
Greta Carlson: There are
no guarantees in life, but I believe faith provides all of us with a
foundation to live the best lives possible — knowing that there is a
higher being who loves us and will never leave us. Through the many
struggles in my life, my faith is sometimes the only thing I have to
hold onto. God was my only friend.
Unfortunately life isn’t fair
and some things that happen don’t make any sense. To me, faith is being
thankful when things in life are going well and also being thankful
when they are not. Its often through our most difficult times when
faith lifts us up and gives us the courage and the strength to work even
harder to accomplish a new goal or do something we never thought we
could. That is my message in “Getting Real”.
For more information about “Getting Real” please visit GretchenCarlson.com and watch “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson on the Fox News channel at 2ET Monday-Friday.
Rick has one passion… To
see “a biblical small group within walking distance of every person on
the planet making disciples that make disciples.” He is presently
pursuing this passion as the Small Group and Discipleship Specialist at
LifeWay Church Resources. Rick has authored or co-authored multiple
books, studies, and leader training resources including A Different Kind
of Tribe: Embracing the New Small Group Dynamic, Destination Community:
Small Group Ministry Manual, The Gospel and the Truth: Living the
Message of Jesus, Small Group Life Ministry Manual: A New Approach to
Small Groups, Redeeming the Tears: a Journey Through Grief and Loss,
Small Group Life: Kingdom, Small Group Kickoff Retreat: Experiential
Training for Small Group Leaders, and Great Beginnings: Your First Small
Group Study, Disciples Path: A Practical Guide to Disciple Making.
Rick’s varied ministry experiences as an collegiate minister, small
group pastor, teaching pastor, elder, full-time trainer and church
consultant, as well as having been a successful church planter gives him
a perspective of church life that is all-encompassing and
multi-dimensional. Rick is a highly sought after communicator and
trainer. 
Ben Reed is the small
groups pastor at Long Hollow, a multi-site church in the Nashville, TN,
area. He holds an Mdiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ben
is also an avid coffee drinker and CrossFitter, but not at the same
time. Catch up with Ben at BenReed.net.
In his book, "Starting Small: The Ultimate Small Group Blueprint," he
helps leaders through the process of putting a small group ministry
together and creating a place where people belong so they can become.
