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-Morning.
-Morning, Richie.

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-Good morning, Ms. Roberts.
-You're on your best behavior, aren't you?

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-What's up, Elvis?
-Good morning.

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[Roberts] I love saying,
"Good morning, America."

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All right.

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Think about that. I get to set the tone.
We get to set the tone for America.

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It's gonna be a magical day.

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-[Roberts] Sal!
-How you doing?

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-[Roberts] Doing grand.
-Doing okay?

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This is teamwork here.

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-What up, troops?
-[man] Morning, Robin!

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I mean, I wish the camera
could go all around to see

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what it takes to put on a show
like Good Morning America.

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-[Roberts] What's up, people?
-[Petula] Good morning!

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Teamwork, discipline, determination.

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I took that with me from playing sports.

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This is my glam fam.

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-This is Elena, Petula, D'Andre.
-[chuckles]

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It helped that I worked at ESPN,
that I had this love for sports.

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-Last night the teams were in Orlando...
-Sports, knew it cold.

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[chuckles] I never worked a day in my life
at ESPN.

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Shh, don't tell anybody that.

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So, leading with the terrifying story,
it's the Denver story that...

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Coming here to ABC,
I love that it pushed me.

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I know. I got an e-mail during the show,
and it was really good.

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My knees were knocking under that desk

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when I was sitting next to Diane Sawyer
for the first time.

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But then the athlete in me came through
in realizing that I had done my homework.

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[whispering]
George Stephanopoulos. George...

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I had earned the right to be there,

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and I'm so grateful for the support staff
that I had to help me.

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-One Day at Disney.
-Hi, guys.

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[chuckles]

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Optimism is a muscle
that gets stronger with use.

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I got in the habit, at an early age,
to be optimistic.

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[director] Five, four, three...

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I almost feel like
we are a Disney attraction.

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Like, people really look forward
to seeing us.

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The news is very serious. The information
that we're conveying is very serious,

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but there's also a component
of our program

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where you can spend time
with the audience.

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-[crowd] Good morning!
-[Roberts] How are you?

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They've come from all over, not only
the country but all over the world.

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Just got off the airplane.

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-Just got off the airplane?
-Just got off the airplane.

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-And, boy, are my arms--
-And now I'm right here!

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-And, boy, are my arms tired!
-Right?

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I draw energy from them.

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-Nice to have you all here.
-Thank you.

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I'm curious. Curiosity.

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I never-- I never lose sight of that.

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I'm always-- I'm thirsty for knowledge.

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2012...

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There's word on the street
that President-- then President Obama--

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was going to change his position
on marriage equality.

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I was picked to do the interview.

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[male announcer]
This is an ABC News special report.

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[Roberts] So, I sit down across from the
President of the United States of America,

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and I say to him,
"Have you changed, Mr. President?

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Have you changed your position
on marriage equality?"

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It is important for me
to go ahead and affirm

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that I think same-sex couples
should be able to get married.

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It was this very special moment
to know that you are part of history.

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So, I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

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We have a producer over to the side
who has little blue cards

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with little, you know, time cues
and little notes and everything.

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Did you discuss this with--

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I think she's gonna say,
"You rock! You're the best!"

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It said, "Lipstick on teeth."
So, when I said the statem--

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When he made the statement,
I had lipstick on my teeth,

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which made me think of my mother saying,
"When you strut, you stumble."

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'Cause I thought I was all that.
I got the big get.

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Got the big interview.
"Slow your roll, Robin."

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And everyone thought I was so happy
at that moment, and I was, professionally,

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but personally,
it was a very difficult time.

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I had received my diagnosis
of myelodysplastic syndrome,

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a form of leukemia.

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No one knew that I was there.

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This was before, um, I did the interview.
It was a day before.

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Basically, a doctor said,
"You're gonna die in a year or two."

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So when I'm sitting across from him
and he's making this statement,

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and it's making national news,

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my mind is racing, "Am I going
to even be around long enough to benefit,

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as a gay woman, what this man just said?"

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These two lines here,
so it makes it easier to draw blood

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and also to administer medication
like the chemo that I'm about to have.

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The fact that I was out of work
for five, six months,

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when you get a call from the very top
of the company where you're working,

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and Bob Iger was one of the first calls
that I received

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and had his full support, did not have to
worry about my job or anything like that.

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And I thought about people who go through
something like this, who have to worry.

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-Going home now!
-[people cheering]

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It's tough enough you're just fighting
for your life.

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"Everybody's got something.

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Everybody's got something."

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My mother used to say that
to us all the time

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when we were like, "Woe is me. Woe is me."

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And she was like,
"Honey, everybody's got something."

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Something that can be seen as a roadblock,
I used as a hurdle.

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[chuckles] Yes, you are. That's what
I love about the morning, you never know.

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[applause]

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I didn't go through all this
just to hang around.

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Minute 30.

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And that's why I say,
"I'm a thriver, not a survivor."

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[audience cheering, applause]