-Congratulations on --
not only this great best-selling book --
Number-one best-selling book. I mean, come on!
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I don't even know what to say.
How cool is that? -It's bananas.
I'm like, "People want to hear what I have to say?"
-Yeah. -Okay.
-Did you ever think you would write a book?
-No! No! No.
When one of my, you know --
One of my agents was like, "Are you interested?"
And I'm like, "What do I have to say about anything?"
And then I would meet people
and cry with them in bathrooms, you know?
That's what we do. -That's what we do, yeah.
-And people would always ask like,
"How did you become successful?" And I'm like, "I don't know."
I actually don't know.
-So, maybe this might be helpful for you.
-Well, so I went back -- It was helpful for me.
-Yeah, you're like, "Oh, this is how I became successful."
-It's really self-help. Got some real self-help.
-You actually helped yourself.
-Isn't that cute? -Yeah.
-So, I went back and just sort of, like,
thought about my life lessons,
and I really realized that it's not what happens to you,
but what happens for you.
And so every single lesson
that, like, informed my life and where I'm at right now,
was really advantageous to kind of share
and be very, very vulnerable in the process.
But it's scary -- It's still scary. It's scary.
No. -Yes. Yes.
There's a lot of -- some deep stuff about my life.
-No, I know. I looked through it.
I like the gratitude list. -Yes.
-Do you make that -- Do you really make that
every day, a gratitude list?
-Sometimes I don't put pen to paper,
but I definitely wake up and I will say, you know,
I'm grateful for my mobility, electricity,
things that we sort of take for granted all the time.
And it's really beautiful because the more grateful you are,
the more that you receive.
-Do you remember what you were grateful for today?
-Yes, actually. My really delicious bed,
because I haven't had much sleep.
Honestly, like, there are people who don't have beds.
I know it sounds so ridiculous and cliché and ridiculous.
But, really, people don't have beds or electricity
or, you know, freedom to even do what they want to do.
And so, um -- I know it sounds so silly, but it's true.
-No, I love that. You're very humble.
I mean, I love the stories in here, too,
about you moving to L.A. and not to be an actor.
You were, like, an agent for a while.
-Oh, yes. I was a talent agent for nine years.
I became an agent's assistant, 'cause I needed to --
Here's the thing. I needed a job.
And I can't work with the general public
because if I was waiting tables, I'm not sure I'd be good at it.
-No, I wouldn't be good at it, either.
-I'm like, "What do you want? Oh, God."
It'd be just too much. -Yeah, it's a lot of work.
-So my agent, luckily, was like,
"Hey, do you want to come and work with me?"
And I'm like, "Uh..."
And the first day I worked with her, she's like,
"Don't look at me while I'm on the phone."
And I'm like, "What does that mean? Ahh!"
It was scary because I, like,
didn't want her to drop me as a client,
but, then, I'm her assistant.
So, anyway, I end up working in the youth department
and then becoming an agent myself.
-Really? -Represented Ariana Grande.
-Is that right? -Dove Cameron.
Yeah, I was on the team
that represented both of those incredible ladies.
-How fun is that? -It's cra-- It's so fun.
Also, like, you know they're going to be stars
when you meet them for the first time, and you're like --
-Baby Ariana. You were like --
-Like, before "Victorious." -She still is a baby, yeah.
-Yes, before "Victorious," like, right after "13" on Broadway.
-Wow. Isn't that fun? -Yeah, so -- It's so cool.
-And then you have that, but then --
From that story, which was great,
but also the story of you working in McDonald's
and you realizing that that's the first time
that you kind of started to hone your actor skills.
-Listen. You got to make due, right?
-I mean, yeah.
-And they were, like, "Chrissy, you're gregarious.
"Go in the back drive-through." I'm like, "Okay."
And so you get bored, because you're back there by yourself
while your friends are making fries in the front.
And you're, like, "Wait. Who am I going to talk to?"
Yourself and maybe the occasional customer.
So I would just put on accents, and I'm like...
[ British accent ] "Welcome to McDonald's. Can I help you, please?"
[ Normal voice ] Right?
Just -- What? Gainesville, Florida.
There's some English girl in Gainesville, Florida.
-You're in Gainesville, Florida.
-There was that day. -Really?
-Except for a gentleman, who comes up to the --
He was going to the University of Florida.
He comes up to the window, and he's like,
[ British accent ] "Right! Where you from, then?"
[ Normal voice ] And I was like, "Ahh!"
[ British accent ] "I'm from Leeds."
He's like, "Oh, you don't have a proper Leeds accent!"
So I'm like, "I..."
-"I'm bad at lying!"
-I'm like, "I can't do this!" -"I can't lie anymore!"
-But, also, a really funny story about McDonald's is I was --
My manager was passing by, and I was going to ask her
if I can go to the bathroom,
but instead of asking her, on my, you know, little system,
I said, "Hi! Can I go to the bathroom?"
-Instead of, "Hi. Can I take your order?"
-Yeah, instead of, "Hi. Can I take your order."
"Hi. Can I go to the bathroom?"
-Through the speaker, yeah. -Through the speaker.
And the woman comes up, and she's like,
"Did everything come out all right?"
-[ Laughs ] -Thoughtful.
She was thoughtful. -Very thoughtful old lady.