On the series finale of the Oprah Winfrey Show, she talked about her seven greatest life lessons. Personally, I believe there was a lot of wisdom in what she said, so for those who missed it (or for me to look back on later), here is a brief recap...
"Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it. It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be, doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing — to live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the Light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world!
Each one of you has your own platform. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You’re letting your life speak for you. You will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have… Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world.”
2. You Are RESPONSIBLE For Your Life
"Nobody but you is responsible for your life! It doesn’t matter what your mama did; it doesn’t matter what your daddy didn’t do. You are responsible for your life. You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you’re responsible for the energy that you bring to others... All life is energy and we are transmitting it at every moment, and the world is responding in kind.”
3. "For Every Action, an Equal and Opposite Reaction"
"Remember Physics class? Did you pay attention to Newton’s Third Law of Motion? Let me tell you, that thing is real. It says: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That is the abiding law that I live by, articulated to perfection by Miss Celie in The Color Purple when she finally gets the courage to leave her abusive husband, Mister. ‘Everything you done to me already done to you.’ It is the Golden Rule to the tenth power.”
*Pay attention and always treat others as they wish to be treated.
4. You Are Not Alone
"This show and our guests began to paint a different picture, and has allowed us to drop the veil on all the pretense and do exactly what we envisioned in that first show: to let people know that you are not alone. People started coming on this show saying things they couldn’t say to their own family members. Little by little, we started to release the shame.”
5. You Are Worthy of Happiness
“Whether it’s heroin addiction or gambling addiction or shopping addiction or food addiction or work addiction, the root is all the same. The show has taught me there is a common thread that runs through all of our pain and all of our suffering, and that is unworthiness. Not feeling worthy enough to own the life you were created for. Even people who believe they deserve to be happy and have nice things often don’t feel worthy once they have them.
There is a difference, you know, between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of happiness…. We often block our own blessings because we don’t feel inherently good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough. The show has taught me you’re worthy because you are born and because you are here. Your being here, your being alive, makes worthiness your birthright. You alone are enough.”
6. Everyone Wants To Be Heard
“I’ve talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation. If I could reach through this television and sit on your sofa or sit on a stool in your kitchen right now, I would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: ‘Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?'
Understanding that one principle -- that everybody wants to be heard -- has allowed me to hold the microphone for you all these years with the least amount of judgment... It’s helped me to stand and to try to do that with an open mind and to do it with an open heart. It has worked for this platform, and I guarantee you it will work for yours. Try it with your children, your husband, your wife, your boss, your friends. Validate them. ‘I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.'"
7. Be Still, Wait, and Listen
“People often ask me, What is the secret of success of the show? How have we lasted 25 years? I non-jokingly say, ‘My team and Jesus.’ Because nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me. …I know I’ve never been alone, and you haven’t either. And I know that that presence, that flow — some people call it grace — is working in my life at every single turn. And yours too, if you let it in. It’s closer than your breath, and it is yours for the asking.
I have felt the presence of God my whole life. Even when I didn’t have a name for it, I could feel the voice bigger than myself speaking to me, and all of us have that same voice. Be still, and know it. You can acknowledge it or not; you can worship it or not. You can praise it, you can ignore it, or you can know it. Know it. It’s always there speaking to you and waiting for you to hear it. In every move, in every decision, I wait, and I listen. I’m still — I wait and listen for the guidance that’s greater than my meager mind.”
~Oprah Winfrey
May 25, 2011
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