Kirsty Spraggon: 'The Next Oprah'

Kirsty Spraggon is a name to remember. She's an Australian woman making huge inroads in the US. Here's Kirsty:

I saw this clip on the weekend 'Today' show in Australia recently, and was very keen to know more about her:



So... I popped her a line. And I was introduced to the warm, engaging, friendly and super-inspiring world of Kirsty Spraggon.

I mean, anyone dubbed "The Next Oprah" - who happens to be an Aussie - is important on my radar.

I interviewed Kirsty just for Josie's Juice on her journey so far. Here's what she said:

Josie's Juice: Tell me about the journey that led you from Perth to Sydney?

Kirsty Spraggon: October 3rd, 2007, and it’s a glorious sunny day in Perth. I am out by the lake running and “destination unknown” is playing on my ipod. I am singing while I run with my hands in the air. I feel so free and I don’t have a care in the world.

A week before my life had changed and change can happen in seconds, moments, days or years but for me it happened in seconds. There I was at the height of my career in real estate at the top of my field, ranked in the top 1 percent globally and I was living the dream. I had a successful career. I had invested we’ll from a young age. I had a gorgeous convertible, so hot! I was traveling the world while having three months off a year and most importantly I was able to contribute back through charity work. Yet I wasn’t completely happy I had this niggling feeling that something was missing. I felt I wasn’t living my purpose.

As I was sitting in a hotel room in Melbourne, I asked myself the question: "What could you change in your life?".  So I started writing on the hotel pad. What if I decided to follow my dream. What would need to change. It may sound strange but I had never thought about other options. I think sometimes we can get stuck in a box. A role in life or a certain identity and thats how we see ourselves or how other people see us. I was Kirsty the successful real estate agent. When I started to think about it what I realised was I had other options, other choices. Within seconds my life changed as I realised the possibilities and the opportunities I had available to me.

I made the decision to take a risk, a leap of faith and believe in me. To go and live my purpose I felt so strongly drawn to. To become a speaker, author and TV host. I returned home two days later and resigned before I could change my mind. It has been the most extraordinary journey. Not a day goes by when I dont feel exhilarated and challenged. I have no regrets and am so glad I took that leap of faith. It was life changing.

And the journey from Sydney to the US?

Once I got to Sydney I started to feel like I was supposed to go to America but I didn’t feel emotionally ready. As much as  I had no regrets. Dont get me wrong it hadn’t been easy. There had been plenty of tears. Leaving everything I knew, my family, friends, home and going from the pinnacle of my success back to the bottom of the food chain. Starting all over again. It was the most challenging difficult time for me but out of that comes strength, resilience, learning and growth. I learned what I am capable of.

So once I felt strong enough to make the next jump. I did.

 It’s been 18 months since I sold everything I owned, at the height of my career in Australia and moved across the planet with 2 suitcases to Los Angeles, or “Lala Land” as some like to call it to build a talkshow.

What was the catalyst for you to head into the journey you are on now?

I can’t really explain it in any way other than to say I felt divinely guided. Where other career moves have really been jobs & work in some way or another the inner drive around this felt more like a calling, an inner knowing that this was what I was supposed to be doing. That sense was what gave me the initial momentum to just do it.

I wish that sentence was longer, more profound and not as easy for people to throw away because that cliche is gold! Keep in mind that I am not super human and building a show without any experience as a host, or interviewer and no camera training whatsoever, has left me paralysed with fear at times.

If I were to sum up my toughest times, I would say that Sir Edmund Hillary said it best, “It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.”  It really has been about conquering myself emotionally and mentally.  

What keeps me going at even the most challenging of times is that ‘inner knowing’ that this is what I am supposed to do, an inner guidance that keeps pushing me forwards.

I saw you on Today show in Australia dubbed as 'The Next Oprah'. What does this tag mean to you?

I think it is a huge compliment  that Oprah has left such a mark on the talk show space that anyone entering in, is always compared.

However there is only one ‘O’ and I plan to be the "Next Kirsty". I am a huge Oprah fan and can only hope to have half the career she has had. Oprah has conducted over 30,000 interviews over a 25 year career. I on the other hand, am just at the beginning of my journey. I certainly hope to follow in her footsteps in terms of sharing meaningful stories that are important to tell and help people heal.

I hope to look back one day & to have left a legacy such as Oprah's and to have made such a difference in the world is something I certainly aspire to.

What’s happening with you right now – explain to those who are unfamiliar with you.

We’ll we launched 10 weeks ago now. We are on our 10th interview up and we share 1 story a

week an interview with a guest, a couch group discussion on the topic and an expert

conversation. Every week our number of viewers grows at warp speed, it has been such an

exciting time.

We have been filming in my apartment I started with 2 camera guys and now have a small crew of 7.

There are over 80 interviews available online. I have chatted with everyone from celebrities to experts, speakers, authors and every day people whom all share thier personal stories.

New videos go up every Tuesday and Thursday (Los Angeles time) at 3pm. Our channel is at http://www.youtube.com/KirstySpraggonTV

What’s your plan for the next 12 months?

The show is constantly evolving as I learn and grow. I would love to go live on air with a 1 hour

format. One of the biggest plans is to partner with a corporate sponsor so that we can start

filming in a studio and have live audiences to the show, where guests can interact with the

audience.

What do you ultimately hope to achieve? 

We are all about the power of sharing stories. I believe when people share their stories they

heal themselves and they heal others. So I want to help people heal.

My hope is that people will feel less alone, and see themselves in someone elses story. I want

for everyone to be at peace with who they are warts and all and to learn, grow and heal.

You can connect on several platforms with Kirsty:

Sign up to her website: http://www.kirstytv.com/

Subscribe to her YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/KirstySpraggonTV

Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirstyTV

Tweet her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KirstyTV

Follow her on Google + here: gplus.to/KirstyTV

Here are some pics of Kirsty red carpets, on the interview couch, and on our TVs:

Kirsty with Oprah's partner Stedman Graham 

“When people show you who they are, believe them the first time"

As we get older, the blinkers come off, yes?

I know for a fact my view of the world used to be far, far more rose-coloured than it is today.

Disillusionment, disappointment, thinking people will always act with integrity. But sometimes, they don't.

And so, this quote is perfect for me to read right now:

“When people show you who they are, believe them the first time." Maya Angelou.

Amen. I would even apply this to people you have been friends with a long time. If things change markedly and you don't quite know why [or maybe you do], and it's obvious they don't want to hang with you so much, especially when the going gets tough... it's time to take a backseat for a bit. Leave things to run their course for a while... and see where the relationship goes.

The quote above is from Maya Angelou.

But I love what Oprah added to it:

"Remember this because it will happen many times in your life. When people show you who they are the first time believe them. Not the 29th. time. When a man doesn't call you back the first time, when you are mistreated the first time, when someone shows you lack of integrity or dishonesty the first time, know that this will be followed many many other times, that will some point in life come back to haunt or hurt you. Live your life in truth. Don't pretend to be someone your not. You will survive anything if you live your life from the point of view of truth.”

Beyoncé and Oprah interview: 2013

Beyonce is THE hottest celebrity interview ticket in the US right now... and Oprah scored the one-on-one. Not surprisingly. The two are firm buddies, and Oprah reveals in the interview that she advised Beyoncé to not reveal much about her relationship with Jay-Z. Here is a preview clip:



The interview - which features Oprah chatting with Beyoncé about her documentary 'Beyoncé: Life Is But a Dream' and her daughter Blue Ivy, and what Jay-Z is like as a father and a husband.

It has already screened on Oprah's OWN network in the US, and no doubt will screen in Australia. Check back here for date.

For more on Oprah's Next Chapter click here.

And for more on Beyoncé's doco, click here.

Oprah and Lance: interview clips

This just in, for those who missed it:

The Oprah and Lance Armstrong interview clips. Click here for the first three explosive clips.

Check back in for more clips as they become available.

For Australian screening details, for part one repeat and part two telecast, click here.

Oprah and Lance Armstrong: what Oprah said

The Oprah Winfrey Lance Armstrong interview has just finished airing worldwide and it was nothing short of explosive. And part two is yet to come. See all the Australian screen details here.

And so, how did Oprah feel post-interview?

On Tuesday January 15, Oprah appeared on 'CBS This Morning' to talk about her exclusive interview with Lance Armstrong with the show's co-hosts, Gayle King, Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell:

Q: Do you think that it was difficult for him to finally come clean to you?

Oprah: Yes, I think the entire interview was difficult. And may I just say that we had agreed before this moment, before the interview, we had agreed that the terms of the interview and what was included in the interview—specifically what was included in the interview—would be left for people to make their own judgments about, and that I would not be discussing, and that he would not be discussing or confirming. We agreed to that, and by the time I left Austin and landed in Chicago, you all had already confirmed it. So I'm like, "How did you all do that?" We all agreed we weren't going to say anything. So I'm sitting here now because it's already been confirmed. So here we are.

Q: Did he come clean in the manner you expected?

Oprah: I would say he did not come clean in the manner that I expected. It was surprising to me. I would say that, for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers. I had prepared. ... I'd watched all of Scott Pelley's reports, 60 Minutes reports. I had seen the Tyler Hamilton interview. I'd read Seven Deadly Sins. I'd read L.A. Confidential, David Walsh's books. I had prepared and prepared like it was a college exam, and walked into the room with 112 questions. And in a two-and-a-half-hour interview, I asked most of those questions, or at least as many of those questions as I could. But I feel he answered the questions in a way that he was ready. I didn't get all the questions asked, but I think the most important questions and the answers that people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered and certainly answered. I can only say I was satisfied by the answers.

Q: Do you think he was contrite?

Oprah: I choose not to characterize. I would rather people make their own decisions about whether he was contrite or not. I felt that he was thoughtful. I thought that he was serious. I thought that he certainly had prepared himself for this moment. I would say that he met the moment. And at the end of it, literally two and a half hours, we both were pretty exhausted, and I would say I was satisfied.

Q: Did you have a strategy going in for how you would talk to him?

Oprah: We had a strategy and pretty much followed that strategy, certainly, in the first hour and 20 minutes of the interview. And about an hour and 20 minutes in, we took a break, and Lance actually said, "Will there be a point when you lighten up? What about the questions about my mom and how was my run today?" So yeah, I was prepared with a strategy, but because he was so forthcoming—I think I went in prepared to have to dig and pull and reference, because I was literally in my head: "On page 76 of the [United States Anti-Doping Agency] reasoned decision...if he says this, I'll go to that; if he says this answer, I'll go to Seven Deadly Sins, page 114." I didn't have to do that because he was pretty forthcoming.

Q: Why do you think he wanted to do this now?

Oprah: I'm not sure I have the answer to that question—why he wanted to do it now. I specifically asked that question. I think he was just ready. I think the velocity of everything that has come at him in the past several months, and particularly in the past several weeks, he was just ready.

Q: How did you get this interview?

Oprah: I had sent him an email a couple of months ago just hoping that he would talk to me. He emailed back and said he wasn't ready to talk, but he would be in Hawaii over the holidays, and he knew that I had a place in Hawaii. "Okay, right, that's going to happen," I thought. "Sure, we're going to get together for lunch." During the holidays, I emailed and said, "What about that lunch?" As it turns out, he said "I can't do" it on the days I was available because he had his kids. I had a bunch of my kids—girls from my school in Africa—with me. I stayed over an extra two days in order to accommodate his schedule, and he came to visit me in Maui. He lives on another island so he flew over. I went through my stealth operation...

Gayle: And Oprah, you should say you cleared out the house.

Oprah: Cleared out the house. I had guests in the house. Everybody has to leave. Go to the beach, go to the beach, go to the beach now and stay there for at least four hours! So I had nobody in the house, including people who are usually there for help—even the people who do the lawn. I removed all those people. I had a person go to the airport that normally doesn't pick me up at the airport so that he wouldn't be recognized as being connected to me. I did all of that. Lance comes and says, "Where is everybody?" I said, "I sent everybody away." He goes, "But you didn't clear the road. There was a biker on the road."

Q: How is he different than you expected, if at all?

Oprah: Well, how was he different? I'll let you be the judge of that.

Q: What's your takeaway from this, and where do you put this in a career of extraordinary interviews?

Oprah: I think it's certainly the biggest interview I've ever done in terms of its exposure. I think back in 1993, of course, I did Michael Jackson live around the world. This is going to be live-streamed around the world, as well as on OWN. If you can't find OWN on your station, you should go to Oprah.com, and we have a channel finder there for people who are still trying to find it. But because it's going to be around the world—and we believe it should be around the world because so many people who don't have access to the OWN channel wanted to hear what he had to say—and I think the number of people who have exposure to it makes it the biggest interview I've ever done.

Q: It's being described as an emotional interview. What does that mean?

Oprah: I would say there were a couple of times where he was emotional, but "emotional" doesn't begin to describe the intensity or the difficulty that I think he experienced in talking about some of these things. ... I think that you will come away with the understanding that he brought it. He really did.

Q: Who was in the room, and what was their reaction to the interview?

Oprah: He had a team of people. We did not allow the lawyers in the room. I had said to the lawyers that if you have something to say that you want to disagree with or have an issue with, you have to make that issue after I'm done and not come in and interrupt. And when we finished, nobody had any issues.

Q: When does it air, and why two nights?

Oprah: I'm not going to cut down the two and a half hours. As a matter of fact, we have decided, literally on the plane last night on the way back—because I didn't want to satellite the tapes; I didn't trust putting it up on the bird, so I hand-carried them in my bag along with my dog food and dog leashes back to Harpo—we decided that we are actually going to go for two nights because it's impossible to try to cut 80 minutes out. As you all know, a 90-minute interview on TV is really only 65 minutes. So we felt to leave over half of this on the cutting room floor after millions of people have been waiting for years for many of these answers would not be the right thing to do.

For more: http://www.oprah.com/own/Oprah-Discusses-Her-Lance-Armstrong-Interview-on-CBS-This-Morning#ixzz2IIMIJPiq

Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive - First Look - Oprah Winfrey Network

The first clip featuring Lance Armstrong and Oprah Winfrey:




Here are the Australian screen details:

'Oprah Winfrey and Lance Armstrong - Worldwide Exclusive' - Part One: Friday January 18 at 1pm on Discovery channel, on Australian TV on Foxtel [repeats throughout day and evening]. 

'Oprah Winfrey and Lance Armstrong - Worldwide Exclusive' Part Two: Saturday January 19 at 1pm on Discovery channel, on Australian TV on Foxtel [also repeats throughout day and evening on Discovery and Discovery + 2].

Will you be watching?

Lance Armstrong confesses to Oprah Winfrey: he used performance-enhancing drugs

This just in from Twitter:

Nine News Sydney ‏@9NewsSyd

BREAKING: @AP Source - #LanceArmstrong confesses to @OprahWinfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs. #9Breaking#9NEWSat6

For more on the upcoming interview - to screen in the US this Friday - click here.

UPDATED:

The Associated Press report says:

A person familiar with the situation says Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah Winfrey during an interview Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the interview is to be broadcast Thursday on Winfrey's network.

Here is Oprah's Tweet, post-interview with Lance:

Oprah Winfrey ‏@Oprah

Just wrapped with @lancearmstrong More than 2 1/2 hours . He came READY!

And in this report from CNN it says:

"Lance Armstrong was emotional at times during his interview Monday with talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, a source familiar with the interview told CNN.

The person refused to discuss the specifics of what Armstrong said, including whether he confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs as some media outlets have reported he would.

Armstrong was accompanied to the interview by a group of advisers and close friends, the source said."

What an explosive, revealing interview this will be.

Oprah Winfrey Lance Armstrong interview: to screen January 17 2012

In news just in, Lance Armstrong will be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in what is probably one of the most sought after interviews in recent times, following Lance being stripped of his Tour de France titles last year.

Just yesterday there was news of speculation that Lance may confess in the near future in an attempt to compete again; and now, the US talk show queen has announced a "no holds barred" interview, which will air in the US in a 90 minute episode of 'Oprah's Next Chapter' on Thursday January 17. It will also be streamed live worldwide on Oprah.com.

Oprah posted on her Twitter page: "Looking forward to this conversation with lancearmstrong,'' with Lance re-tweeting the comment 15 minutes later. Oprah will speak with Lance at his home in Austin, Texas.

In a press release from Winfrey's network OWN, the interview would "address the alleged doping scandal, years of accusations of cheating, and charges of lying about the use of performance-enhancing drugs throughout his storied cycling career".

So far, Lance has strenuously denied doping, and it is not known if he will admit to the practice during his interview with Oprah.

This photo below is from Oprah previous interview with Lance, several years ago.

Oprah and Rihanna: interview

The upcoming interview between Oprah Winfrey and singer Rihanna promises to be an incredibly moving, insightful chat between the two if this trailer is anything to go by:



Will you tune in [Aussie screen date to come]?

Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey: clips from the 'Oprah's Next Chapter' interview

The Oprah Winfrey interview with the Kardashian family has just screened in the US; Oprah says of her decision to interview the Kardashian family was because "your family have become nothing short of what I think is really a phenomenon."


She describes them as having "touched a cultural zeitgeist in such a way that it's hit a nerve", where the family is really liked, or... not liked at all.


Watch the intro clip here where the whole family is introduced :



Oprah's Next Chapter | The Kardashians | {1/4} by Ashley_Miller_3


Here Oprah starts with grilling matriarch/momager Kris Jenner on how and why the show started:



Oprah's Next Chapter | The Kardashians | {2/4} by Ashley_Miller_3


Here is a one on one with Kim, where she talks about that wedding:



Oprah's Next Chapter | The Kardashians | {3/4} by Ashley_Miller_3


And continues talking about her marriage... and her sex tape:



Oprah's Next Chapter | The Kardashians | {4/4} by Ashley_Miller_3


What do you think? Love them or hate them, they are certainly... fascinating.

Oprah Winfrey: Kardashian family interview on OWN

An interview with the Kardashian family by Oprah Winfrey - which will screen in two back-to-back episodes on Sunday June 17 on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network - promises to be interesting viewing. [Here is Kim's own Twit-pic of her an Oprah, posted a few days ago; preview clip below]:

Here is a sneak peek [check back here for more clips and Aussie screen date]:

Would you watch the full interview? Here's the whole clan, below

Oprah and Paris Jackson 2012: the OWN interview, part 1

Oprah Winfrey has just interviewed Paris Jackson - and her grandmother, and now guardian Katherine - for her OWN program "Oprah's Next Chapter," in light of Paris's upcoming film role, "Lundon's Bridge and the Three Keys" [due out in 2013]:

And here is a clip with Paris revealing to Oprah how she has been bullied...

"A lot of people don't like me...", she reveals. Watch:

Have you seen the Paris Jackson photo in People magazine?

It's breathtaking: http://josiesjuice.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/paris-jackson-people-magazine.htm

Jimmy Kimmel pitches show ideas to Oprah

A friend of mine posted this last night with the disclaimer that he may have pee-ed himself a little.

After watching it, I told him I had to change my Poise pad.

That's how funny this is...

It's Oprah as you have not seen her before... we know she is funny and loud, and has coined some pretty hilarious phrases ("ma vajayjay is painin'") but this shows her in a whole new light, as she listens to US late night host Jimmy Kimmel and his new show pitch ideas for her new OWN network (you can watch parts one and two - but part three, below, is the best clip... also features a Jennifer Aniston cameo):

Watch:

and part two:

And this is the best part - Jimmy pitches show ideas to Oprah for her OWN TV network (all of it is good; the last two minutes... priceless):