Season 25 of Oprah was one of the happiest times of my life. Not because we finally got Weight Watchers on the show with Jennifer Hudson (though that was great – our 18th client on the show!). During Season 25, I had my baby. And that baby, who came into the world after so much trying and overcoming of odds, inspired me to look at everything differently. My dream of Tony Robbins and Oprah Winfrey together on her talk show might be dead. But a new chapter was being written all around me, just as it was for Oprah.

I had heard through my Konnections that Oprah was working on her new show that would become “Oprah’s Next Chapter.” Maybe this was an even better opportunity to Konnect them, I thought. As I sat at home on maternity leave, I fired off an email to Andrea Wishom who was working on the project (and who was also one of Tony’s ambassadors from my years of pitching him). I wondered if the new show was going to be about Oprah going out into the world and experiencing things rather than talking to people while sitting in a chair. She said yes. I suggested she experience an “Unleash the Power Within” (UPW) Program and possibly fire walk. She thought was a really cool idea.

She. Thought. It. Was. A. Really. Cool. Idea.

Whoa.

Of course, I said nothing to anyone yet. What does a line like that mean after 15 years? I wasn’t going to get my hopes up as I had many times before so I kept quiet (those that know me know how hard that is for me). Then, I got phone calls from the show asking questions – that means they’re really thinking about it, testing the waters and lining up the details before presenting it to Oprah. The next call was about figuring out exactly what the event entails and how it works. (UPW events are 12-hour days – a lot for any person but that’s the kind of commitment Tony delivers and wants from his attendees.) Oprah’s people wonder if she could just come in and out for a little bit….

PR people know that while pitching is hard, the hard part really begins at, “Yes” or in this case “Let’s See If We Can Make This Work.” Logistics are a bear, especially when the people involved are celebrities as big as Oprah and Tony. This has nothing to do with the people being pitched or doing the pitching. Everyone usually has the best interests of the show at heart – in this case both Tony’s and Oprah’s.

So when Oprah’s people stressed that she probably wouldn’t stay the whole time or necessarily fire walk, it wasn’t just about protecting Oprah. It was about making sure that Tony’s expectations were clear about what would happen with Oprah there. Oprah did not want to be disruptive. She is very sensitive to the needs of the people she works with. She did not want to diminish the experience for any one of the other 4200 attendees. Meanwhile, Tony felt the same way about Oprah: he wanted to make sure that her experience was right for her and that she could do her thing and not be disturbed by anyone else there so she felt comfortable and welcome. For his part, Tony also agreed to let her cameras go where no camera ever had for 35 years: backstage as he prepared and to interview him during “stretch breaks.”

And then all of a sudden we are a go. Holy crap. I held my breath. A PR person in any situation has to let go before the show begins and in those minutes between letting go and lights up, you know you have lost control. You have to trust all you did to help everyone prepare and konnect.

Finally, after 15 years, these kindred spirits had finally met. And I was there with them. I was there, laughing, crying, screaming with them.

The rest you can see when the show airs THIS Sunday, February 19 at 9pm EST on OWN but know this: Oprah never left that day. She went all-out in the UPW Program. She wrote in her journal. She participated. And, as you know, she fire walked. Like most people, she was reluctant at first. This is not a trick; those are really hot coals under your feet. But that’s what facing fear is all about: knowing that you can do anything in life. Fear drives results. And after Oprah conquered her fear, she cheered on her team and everyone else as they walked.

So what’s the lesson here? Just what I said: dream big, persevere, and keep those konnections to make things happen. Relationships are the single most extraordinary thing you can have in business. Big ideas and visions don’t ever happen right away. A year? Two? Ten? 15? The best things need time to percolate and you need to let them have that time even as you keep going after other things. But without the Konnections? Big ideas, no matter how good, go nowhere. Thus, everything I do is about creating those Konnections.

Yes, the Oprah Winfrey-Tony Robbins konnection was exceptional: the most profound I have ever made. Sheri Salata congratulated me. “Dreams come true, Heidi!” she said as she waked into the seminar with Oprah.

But as Walt Disney said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” What fun is there in giving up on the extra-ordinary and simply trying to accomplish the ordinary?

Click here for a preview of Tony Robbins appearance on special expanded two-part Oprah’s Next Chapter on Sunday, February 19 @ 9pm EST on OWN.

In the years following my first “Unleash the Power Within” (UPW) Program with Tony Robbins in 1996, I met and grew close with Tony and his wife, Sage. I wasn’t his publicist, but our friendship and his authenticity made me believe that EVERYONE who did not know him should know who he is. That included The Oprah Winfrey Show.

This was not part of any PR strategy to make him a client. Tony never told me to do it, nor did he know it was on my list of things to accomplish from the 1996 UPW seminar. But as I blogged about before, I soon had a relationship with Oprah’s show to help make it happen.

Once I had booked clients on the show, I forged relationships, even several friendships, with the producers. But while K2 clients came and went, I never stopped pitching Tony. I would bring him up on calls. I’d send the staff all the cool Tony stuff I had. I was a fly on the wall whispering Tony at all their pitch meetings. I did everything to try and make it an idea they wanted to do. This is what you do as a PR person. This perseverance is what often works when you have an idea this good.

A bunch of Oprah’s people did become Tony “ambassadors.” They thought he was terrific and advocated for him. But that was not enough to shake the perception at the top that Tony Robbins was a “sales guy” (a perception often reinforced by the memories of Tony’s legendary infomercials). Oprah admits as much today. As she said in her Lifeclass the reason she finally went to UPW was to find out once and for all, “What is this with the Tony Robbins?”

Of course, I kind of sensed that she thought that even though no one ever said that was the case. But I kept trying. I sent more materials, kept bringing up his name. For ten years, his ambassadors and I tried. And tried.

And then in 2007, we got close – so close we started to talk about dates that might work. So close I moved to close the deal with the best “weapon” I had: Tony himself. This is the PR person’s “all in” as they say in poker.

As it happened, Tony was scheduled to be in Chicago for an event as part of Donald Trump’s Learning Annex Mega Event program. It would be nothing like Tony’s UPW Program but if it gave the right people at the show just a taste – an appetizer portion of what the real man is and does – I knew they would feel like I did: that we had to make this happen. I invited a bunch of the top people from the show to the event and flew to Chicago to escort them. For the first time, they saw what a great speaker, brilliant storyteller, and extraordinary communicator Tony is. They felt his true genius on stage: that everyone in the room feels like he is talking to them alone. Like Springsteen in a stadium, he has that gift.

After the show, Tony met with the producers at his hotel for a personal session. They connected and saw the authenticity I did. After 11 years, I’m finally getting there, I thought. Perseverance pays off. Perseverance cannot, however, make time.

Oprah’s producers offered dates and segment ideas for her and Tony. It took until 2009 to get dates to work for both of them, and then they ended up not working for either person’s schedules before the show ended its run. I had to surrender my original vision of a Tony Robbins-Oprah Winfrey connection. But in PR, like in life, just because you face reality doesn’t mean you need to give up the dream.

Continued in Part III: The Power of Konnections
Tony Robbins Appears on special expanded two-part Oprah’s Next Chapter on OWN Sunday, February 19.

For more information about Tony Robbins visit his site – www.tonyrobbins.com

Oprah’s Tweetpic: “Me! Fire-walking! Last night!”

Yes, that is Oprah Winfrey walking on hot coals – the camera catching her surprise, delight, and wonder as she puts aside any fear and dashes across the red-hot embers. By her side is Tony Robbins who 12 hours earlier had welcomed Oprah as a surprise guest at his “Unleash the Power Within” (UPW) Program in Los Angeles last fall along with 4,200 people from 36 countries.

The fire walk is part of the UPW Program opening night. When she finishes, Oprah screams with joy, “This is the next chapter, people. I have walked on fire!” (She tweeted the picture the next day.)

Tony was delighted too. As he wrote on his blog, “I was especially privileged to have Oprah at this event. For years I have described her as the ultimate example of someone who’s overcome the most extreme odds to create an extraordinary life of service & contribution…. I was thrilled that she stayed for the entire 12 hours, played full out and—in spite of significant fear—was one of the first to storm across the fire!”

The event will air as an episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” in February on OWN and is featured in the sneak peek video on her site.

Tony Robbins and Oprah Winfrey together. And to think it only took me 15 years to help make it happen.

My dream to have Tony and Oprah connect began shortly after I started K2 and Tony’s book agent, who had hired me for one of her authors, invited me to attend Tony’s UPW Program. I admit it: I did not want to go. But today I can’t imagine what life would be like if I had not gone. So much came from that night. Yes, I fire walked but most importantly I wrote down my goals and the things I wanted to happen in my life and career – and what was stopping me. That list became the mission of K2 and my life.

I still have the list I wrote down that night, and by 2011, I’d accomplished everything on it save one: getting Tony Robbins on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Why did I write that down in 1996? I hadn’t gotten anyone on Oprah’s show at that point. I wasn’t Tony’s publicist. But I still felt the need to make this happen. His authenticity instilled in me a need to pay it forward and what popped in my head was Oprah. They had both overcome huge obstacles to get to where they were. I believed then as I do now that they were both put on this earth to help us all “konnect” with a higher purpose. Konnecting these two people could make a difference in the world.

And I became consumed with the idea of making it happen.

The Stones had it right: you can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes you get what you need. So much talk in the PR world is about the need for speed, immediacy, and the aggressive pursuit of results to get what the client wants. But sometimes to get what you really need especially when you dream big? You need to keep at it. Even if it takes 15 years…

Click here to Read: Part II: Perseverance

Brava Ms. Winfrey! You are the greatest speaker and teacher millions will ever know. The humble humility and grace that I saw expressed at these shows along with genuine gratitude is what true transformation is about. I loved your show for the same reasons we all did: We saw a piece of ourselves in you. We could heal through and with you. You took on the most difficult lessons to learn and laughed with us, healed and touched us.

Brava to the producers who gave Ms. Winfrey the opportunity to feel the love after giving it for so long!

Brava and gratitude to @Lisaerspamer who fifteen years ago, having never met me before, took a meeting from a phone call (remember when publicists made calls and the media answered?) and booked and re-booked parenting expert, child psychologist, and now dearly departed Dr. Ruth Peters — magic moments in my career. These magic moments kept coming throughout my Harpo journey. Through K2, our clients could connect with the right people there, but I would never trade on it, never promise anything but that we would connect the message with the right person. We didn’t always get our clients on the show. Scheduling never allowed Ms. Winfrey to share a classroom with my mentor and friend, Tony Robbins. But I know for sure that these two are destined to connect and combined can move the world!

Brava and gratitude to the village behind the scenes, the passionate storytellers who helped every show make its impact on the world and on me! I will be forever grateful to my “girls” who trusted me, took my endless stream of calls and emails, and always listened even when we both knew what I was pitching wasn’t what they do. The lessons, the love, and most importantly the relationships with all of you will last well beyond this short goodbye, especially as all of them say it’s the next chapter that excites them!

Thank you – everyone at Oprah – for giving our clients a safe and respected platform to share their messages with the world. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to our next chapter together.

At K2, we work with top media where our Konnections are deep and personal. At this particular show, we had had a few recent opportunities and one such opportunity unfortunately had come and gone because our current client could not see it to fruition. The producers knew I was disappointed. So when the show had something new they felt would still relate to another client, which happened to be this former client, they reached out. This is where our Konnections REALLY matter to our clients. The media knows K2. They know me. They also knew this former client had missed the cut for a previous show but if they could deliver this time, they were ON. They just didn’t know this was a former client.

What to do? I wasn’t going to get paid nor would I ask for money. On the one hand, I could just say, “I don’t work with them” and that would be that. If I passed, told them to contact the company directly, or said I did not work with them anymore, the producers would just go somewhere else. On the other hand, if I passed it along, we would be helping those producers not just a former client.

I realized then the question wasn’t, “What should I do?” but “What is the right thing to do?” What would I want someone to do for me? The answer was easy: Do right by the show, my friends the producers, the former client, K2 and myself. So what if this former client did not exactly end our working relationship with much warning. We had still parted on good terms. The answer was clear, service the media.

I wrote my contact at the former client who happened to be online on a plane sitting next to the CEO. She got approval right then and there.

Sometimes P&L and balance sheets take a backseat to what is right and set you up for some karma kickback in the future.

I was just sitting and thinking in my office the other day that until I had Caden, I had never spent more than a couple of weeks away from K2. And even when I did it was totally with Blackberry in one hand and a phone in the other. When you own a business – and are as committed to and focused on the success of that business as I am – that business is a part of you and always on your mind.

Okay, to be honest eight days after the baby, I was back on the Blackberry and email for big things. I stayed on top of the business side of the business, made and listened in on calls, helped with media, and even went to a few offsite meetings… but for the first time ever I spent hardly any time in the office.

And now that I am back and back in the proverbial driver’s seat, I feel so refreshed. I feel a rebirth professionally. I feel great, exhilarated. I’m reKonnecting with the media clients present and past. I felt such overwhelming support and love from everyone when I had my baby, and I want everyone to know I am ready to roll. I’m full of new ideas and loving the energy. I’m adjusting to this new life with a vigor I have not felt in years.

Buddha says, “Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” My world and heart is bigger now because of Caden.  I do what I love and love what I do. I’m back, baby. Look out PR world.

One of K2’s longstanding clients, Weight Watchers, had been trying for six years to break through on Oprah. Of course, this is not an uncommon desire for a client but Weight Watchers had been close a few times, and with Oprah winding down, this was our last chance. And with Jennifer Hudson as the Weight Watchers spokesperson, K2 had one final opportunity, and we finally broke through.

Tying together Jennifer’s amazing triumph over tragedy, her stunning weight loss, her family and their communities who have been inspired by her story, and a generous giveaway from Weight Watchers to the studio audience, we had a show that looked and felt great… and effortless to the audience.

Effortless – hah! No matter how wonderful a client, the show and its producers, the celebrity, and the story, putting something like this together is NEVER effortless. Once the concept is approved that’s when the work and whole heckuvalot of scheduling and back-and-forth coordinating begins from delivery of prizes, and messages to on air preparation to dealing with layers of handlers and managers to communicating with the client and production team. The success of any placement is in managing every detail right up to the show. The GOAL is to make it look effortless to the audience, easy for the media, and organized and controlled for the client. All this is the PR equivalent of gracefully juggling a bowling ball, flaming torch, and a hatchet – in this case while delivering the “Super Bowl” of media hits. But unlike a Super Bowl ad which is finished well in advance of its airdate and will run as delivered, in PR, nothing is ever certain even when it is happening.

Taking a step back – in business and in life – is about having balance. I have trust and confidence in my team. I know now I can’t control it all but why would I want to? I don’t want to limit them; I want them to grow. Yes, I will do whatever needs to be done to deliver on promises and lead by example but not so much so I cripple their development and sap their confidence. I can’t be the conduit for everything. They need to make their own Konnections and relationships. I have learned a lot from my team about how things have changed. I used to wonder why their phones don’t ring as much as mine. But clients are happy and I see results as they Konnect through their Kommunications tools like Linkedin or Facebook or a text. Just recently, the team landed Piers Morgan, Access Hollywood, 20/20, Today, and more without a word from me.

So in letting go I have realized something: Right now Caden is completely dependent on me for survival. But my team and most of all K2 is not.

I was in client-in-crisis crash mode as flew to LA ahead of the Duchess on Thursday. Yes, I was facing an any-moment-now fertility cycle in Vegas, but this was not about me right now.

There was a media frenzy surrounding the secrecy of the Oprah interview. The Duchess was buried in a torrent of media requests and bad publicity. Her life was under a microscope. And she was lost.

I sat with the Duchess in the hotel suite on Friday and then watched as Oprah did an incredible job with the interview as I knew she would. It was personal and raw but compassionate, and the Duchess felt safe. Oprah let the Duchess share her intentions and allowed her to heal as only Oprah Winfrey can. It was transformative: The Duchess let go of her problems and connected to her true self again, finding and figuring out how to make her way back to Sarah. I realized how lucky I was to be there for her in that moment when she started to let go.

And suddenly I realized, it was not just the Duchess who let go: I had let go too. For these few days, I had forgotten all my worry and sadness over my fertility treatments. I had been so preoccupied and focused on what I had to do for the Duchess, I had been the least of my concerns.

That turned out to be the best thing I could have wished for. I felt something different. I felt our time had come. I felt the energy and the need to blog again and finally share the news of the failed cycle and let go of that too. I wrote with hope about the current cycle. I emailed the blog from the plane to Vegas that night to meet Darren for Saturday’s transfer.

Karma kickback I always say: Do good and good happens. I cannot imagine better proof that this is true. Our baby is due in early 2011. That news I shared with the Oprah folks as soon as I could.

And I am grateful the good that happened and the letting go have carried over to K2. I have the right team in place for this all to turn out fabulously for the business and me.

You see I will be involved every part of the day-to-day life of raising my child, but I no longer NEED to be involved in every part of the day-to-day of running the agency. Sure, I weigh in on all the big picture strategies and decisions for the clients and K2. I’ll do that when the baby comes too! But the team handles the day-to-day media relations, tactics, and strategies – I trust them and so do the clients.

And that’s the way it should be and I always wanted it to be but never quite got there until recently. Year after year, I felt I needed to be involved in everything and control every aspect of the accounts and business.

Now I know what Tony Robbins meant when he said that’s the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That is not my job. The team is accountable and responsible for all we do at K2 – it is about the agency and them, not just me.

The Duchess counted on me to help her get to the place where she could let go. And now I count on my team to do that for K2 every day, while I have this baby and beyond.

Of course, they could not have been happier for us when we told them the news. “Don’t worry,” they all said. “We’ve got it covered.”

Count on it.

The Oprah team and I were having our usual loud, fun dinner when their Blackberries started buzzing. Something was going on. They’re sending emails, running outside to get better reception. Crazy. “What’s going on?” We can’t tell you. “Tell me.” We can’t. “Come on.” No. “I’m your friend.” Heidi, we are NOT going to tell you.

They didn’t. Wednesday morning it all became clear.

First, news of the “scandal” broke: Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, was caught on tape by a British tabloid seemingly offering to sell access to her ex, Prince Andrew.

Next, I got an email from Sterling Publishing about their new children’s book author: The Duchess of York. Sterling knew K2 and knew I knew The Duchess from our work with Weight Watchers. “What show would you do?” they asked. Oprah was on the list. I thought it was a trick question. Now I knew what the Blackberry buzzing was about on Tuesday night. It was all Konnecting.

I acted even before I was officially hired. I wrote the Oprah producers: “Duchess of York, do you want her?” They immediately called me.  I told them Sterling was asking about interviews. They said another source told them they already had the interview.

I quickly figured out exactly who the players were and any details I could. I was ready when Sterling brought me in Wednesday afternoon to sit down with the Duchess, hear her story, and help put an action plan together.

The book party was only hours away at this point. Media was attending from everywhere, and everyone wanted the Duchess exclusively for all the wrong reasons. We worked fast to sort everything out and booked Oprah for the private exclusive interview in LA.

But Sarah Ferguson clearly needed someone by her side for more than those few hours. She was genuinely lost. She seemed in need of a kindred spirit. She told me I had to be there that night and in LA Friday for Oprah.

Could I do it? I wanted to be there for her. I felt an emotional connection to her. I believed getting her to and through the interview would be healing for her and allow her to find herself, which she so needed. Yet Vegas loomed. I was supposed to be there a few days early for the transfer to relax for a change.

“So much for relaxation,” I thought. I shared what was going on with me with the Duchess, and she asked Darren for permission for me to fly to LA. He said yes, not just because he sensed the Duchess needed me to do this but that I wanted to as well.

Maybe he saw what I only realized later: There was another person in need of healing in the room. ME.

To be continued in Part Three