Q & A with SQuire Rushnell: Oprah Fave & Best-Selling Author on "Coincidences" & What They Really Mean

By Jason Wachob
SQuire Rushnell (yes, that's a capital "Q") is the author of the When GOD Winks best-selling series of books. A "Godwink" is what some people would call a coincidence, an answered prayer, or simply an experience where you'd say, "Wow, what are the odds of that!"

When GOD Winks was featured on Oprah as encouraging books "about those little coincidences that aren't really coincidence." After reading through these page turners, you'll never quite look at coincidences in the same way again.

MindBodyGreen: What do Godwinks mean?

SQuire Rushnell: Think about when you were a kid and someone you loved gave you a little wink across the dining room table...Mom or Dad or Grandma. You didn't say "What do you mean by that?" You knew. It meant: "Hey kid, I'm thinking about you right now." That's what a Godwink is too: a message of reassurance from above, directly to you, out of six billion people on the planet, saying "Hey kid...I'm thinking of you! Keep the faith! You're never alone."

MBG: How can Godwinks help us?

SR: In times of UNCERTAINTY what we desire more than anything else is CERTAINTY. Certainty that our families are safe. Certainty that we won't get downsized or that we'll have enough in the checkbook to make it through the month. We crave certainty when we get a scary medical report. And we long for certainty in our relationships.

It's during times of uncertainty that we especially need to get connected to our faith. We need to believe that our lives are not random like twigs floating on a stream to destinations unknown. Instead, we need to know that we all have a greater purpose; that someone really is up there watching over us and we're always on an incredible GPS...what I call God's Positioning System...never alone. To me, the best thing about Godwinks is that they are TANGIBLE SIGNPOSTS along our way, giving us hope, replacing uncertainty with a genuine feeling of CERTAINTY that everything is going to be okay!

MBG: How can we chart our future by mapping Godwinks of the past?

SR: I think of "godwink mapping" as taking an archeological expedition into own lives, digging up the godwinks that we've overlooked, forgotten, or ignored. As I explain in my books, the best way to dredge up past godwinks from your memory, is to look to your turning points - those crossroads when your life's path took a whole new direction - you lost someone you love or something you valued; you got a new job, a new relationship or a new home. I'm convinced that there was always a signpost at every turning point. They were there to provide you with reassurance, that everything was going to be okay - that you're never alone.

Of course, if you're like most of us, you probably brushed off and forgot about your godwinks. They're not at the top of your mind. But, if you take the time to excavate those godwinks, you will come to realize that there has been a map of signposts all along your way, saying, "Hey kid...hang in there. You're on track."

And the best news? A map of godwinks will continue to unfold, long into your future. Just open your eyes and acknowledge them as concrete signs of encouragement, directly from above, especially for you.

MBG: In When God Winks on Love you speak of the difference between love and infatuation - could you please elaborate about the differences between the two?

SR: Truth be known…I had my own still-unmarried-in-their-thirties daughters in mind. I wanted them to think about love that infatuation is akin to the thirst quenching on a hot day that comes from the bucket at the top of a well. But love is the whole well…it goes deep-down and there's an endless supply of satisfaction.

Elsewhere that book, my daughters were also on my mind during my explanation that there's a huge difference between determination and desperation. One Christmas holiday I sat them down to watch Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer. "Watch how he approaches this easily-spooked animal," I noted. "The horse receives the message that Redford is determined…but he's not desperate. See? Notice how he patiently waits in the field, getting himself down low, back slightly turned, waiting for the beast to come to him. And when the horse comes up close, nudging him, what do you suppose would happen if he flung himself at the animal, holding onto a leg for dear life? The horse would be over that horizon, right?"

My daughters rolled their eyes and endured their father. But…I do think a teeny bit of my message got through.

MBG: Please tell us more about your latest book, When God Winks on New Beginnings. What inspired you to write this book?

SR: The 4th book in the WGW series is technically a gift book targeting new graduates to any new beginning in life: graduates into the job market for the first time or those thrust into career change by downsizing, but also empty nesters and others who are graduating into that era of life like I did when it's high time to seize your dreams of childhood, and do what you always wanted to do.

MBG: You went from a network television executive at ABC to a best-selling author. How did you come to the decision to leave ABC and become an author?

SR: As a kid growing up in a farm community in Northern New York, I was attracted to powerful communicators that came over my radio. In 5th and 6th grade I found myself studying them, feeling a desire in my heart to emulate them. Only after my career detoured into radio and television did I realize that the best way to fulfill my childhood dream to be a speaker was to first be an author. So, upon leaving my 20 year tenure at ABC, finding my niche was my quest. I began speaking at any function possible. It was on my fifth return appearance at the pulpit of a small church 90 minutes above NYC, atop a mini-mountain called Quaker Hill, that I chose as my topic: "Coincidence: Is it Evidence of God's Plan?"

The answer to my question was: "Beats me…but…I just wonder if God has something to do with coincidence?" My audience seemed to concur. And, as I exemplified my premise with a few real-life "coincidence" stories, I found what I was looking for my niche; for the first time in my fledging speaking career, my listeners were gazing back like children who were hearing The Night Before Christmas.

About half way through the manuscript for my first When GOD Winks book a seasoned literary agent told me I need to get off the fence and lead my readers telling them what a coincidence means? Me? I'm not a doctor, philosopher, theologian, I complained. But, I knew she was right. And for the next year I made it my next quest to get close enough to God to allow Him to lead me to my eventual thesis about "Godwinks"…introducing me to that word.

When my first book was published, about the time of 9/11, I determined that it was time to abandon my then-nice job with benefits--President and CEO of a cable television network--and to follow the desire God planted into my heart in 5th grade: to be a full time speaker/author.

MBG: How do you start your day?

SR: I usually arise at 4:30am to start writing. It was my friend, wonderful writer Mary Higgins Clark, who introduced me to the idea that writing at the beginning of the day, when your mind is rested and there are fewer distractions, is a much better alternative than the other end of the day, where I'd found myself faltering. Our home is on Martha's Vineyard, and believe me, the sights and sounds of swooping seagulls as the sun creeps over Edgartown Harbor are worth getting up for!

MBG: What are you reading right now? Do you have any favorite authors?

SR: Most of my reading is to discover something; either as specific research or to study a writer's prose from Ann Lamott to Winston Churchill.

MBG: Do you have a favorite getaway?

SR: Home. Louise (my wife) and I travel so much for the performances we do separately or together, our last desire is to take a trip. We love…wait let me put that in caps….we LOVE being at home on Martha's Vineyard or our little apartment in New York! Because our work is our play, time at home seems like a vacation.

MBG: What is your favorite way to relax or exercise?

SR: Louise and I walk. One of the best ways to get anywhere in NYC is to walk. Central Park is our back yard. And, on Martha's Vineyard, it's a whole different experience greeting shopkeepers in town or strolling on a road to the beach.

MBG: You've had the opportunity to meet some incredible people - has one person been particularly inspiring? Is there someone you haven't met but would love to meet?

SR: I look forward to conversations on earth with Warren Buffett, Stephen Jobs, and Tiger Woods. In heaven, I hope we can host a dinner party with Mother Teresa, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Jesus.

MBG: If it was your Last Supper, what would your last meal be? Where would the meal be? Who would you like to be there (past/present/future)?

SR: My Last Supper would surely place all those from your last question around the table with my wonderful wife Louise and our family. My menu would be comfort food prepared by my wife and it would be around the large circular table at our home on Martha's Vineyard.

For more on SQuire Rushnell and When God Winks:

WhenGodWinks.com
SQuire Rushnell's When God Winks books at Amazon.com

Published October 2, 2009 at 12:00 AM