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Mo’Nique Finally Confronts Oprah After Backstabbing and Blacklisting
Videos

Mo’Nique Finally Confronts Oprah After Backstabbing and Blacklisting

Mo’Nique finally confronts Oprah Winfrey about the backstabbing, blacklisting, and betrayal. Like many, Mo’Nique grew up idolizing Oprah Winfrey. She was successful, generous, and extremely powerful. When Mo’Nique’s career took off and she got the chance to work closely with Oprah, they became good friends. It was a dream come true! But that dream didn’t last long. Mo’Nique was blacklisted from Hollywood after saying ‘no’ to some powerful Hollywood producers like Lee Daniels. Why didn't Oprah defend her? We discovered that Oprah and Monique’s feud wasn’t just professional, but deeply personal. Mo’Nique had confided in Oprah about her abusive childhood, thinking she could trust her. But a couple months later Oprah had Mo’Nique’s abusive family on her talk show without Mo’Niques permission.

Oprah Shares the Sad, Beautiful Story About Her Mother’s Last Days, Shows How Universal Grief Is
Family

Oprah Shares the Sad, Beautiful Story About Her Mother’s Last Days, Shows How Universal Grief Is

Oprah has long been a guiding force for so many of us. But even our greatest muses can often use some guidance.On Thanksgiving Day, Oprah Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, 83 died at home in Milwaukee, surrounded by family. In the end, Oprah was able to spend some time with her mom, but she struggled with saying goodbye.“In hospice care they have a little book about the little conversations,” Winfrey told People. “I thought, ‘Isn’t this strange? I am Oprah Winfrey, and I’m reading a hospice care book on what to say at the end.'”I thought, ‘Isn’t this strange? I am Oprah Winfrey, and I’m reading a hospice care book on what to say at the end.'“I just thought, ‘What is the truth for me? There isn’t going to be an answer in a book. What is it that I need to say?’ I was praying for a way in.”In the end, she found what worked for her.“This is the beauty of my life,” she says. “There’s not a thing that happens to me, that I don’t look at it as a teaching, learning, experience. I knew my mother was dying. I got a call from my sister (Patricia, who Lee gave up for adoption in 1963) that she thought it was the end. I was planning to go to launch Michelle Obama's book, Becoming, in Chicago. I hopped on a plane and I went early—I surprised my mother.”“She’s sitting in this little room—she loves sitting in this room where it’s 80 degrees,” Winfrey says. “She just watches TV all day… She’s had nurses and so forth over the years. Even when she didn’t need nurses, she’s had nurses. She just liked having all these people.”I said, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to make it. Do you think you’re going to make it?’ She said, ‘I don’t think I am.’ I had a conversation with her about what that felt like, what it felt like to be near the end. I started telling all the people who cared about her that, ‘She knows it’s the end, so, if you want to say goodbye, you should come and say goodbye.'”“And that’s what happened. People would come in. She would tear up when she saw them. You could see the appreciation and love she felt for them. Then, I said to her, ‘What a wonderful thing to be able to say goodbye,’ because she’s completely coherent and perfectly understanding everything.”“I waited for a way to say what I wanted to say,” she says. “I couldn’t find it that day. The next morning I woke up, and I was actually praying for, ‘What is a way I can have this conversation about the end? How do I close it?’ I just thought, ‘What is the truth for me? What is it that I need to say?Searching for comfort and closure in musicEventually, Winfrey turned to music, calling a friend, Wintley Phipps, who is a gospel singer. I thought, ‘What if I call Wintley and got him to sing ‘Precious Lord’ to her?’ Winfrey called Wintley, and got him on FaceTime. He sang ‘Precious Lord’ live to her from his kitchen table.”She stayed with the music theme when she saw it bringing comfort to her mom, “I played another one of her favorite artists, Joshua Nelson, singing ‘How I Got Over.’ I could see that it opened her a little bit, because my mother’s been a very closed down person. I could see that the music gave me an opening to say what I needed to say.”A moment of gratitude“What I said was, ‘Thank you. Thank you, because I know it’s been hard for you. It was hard for you as a young girl having a baby, in Mississippi. No education. No training. No skills. Seventeen, you get pregnant with this baby. Lots of people would have told you to give that baby away. Lots of people would’ve told you to abort that baby. You didn’t do that. I know that was hard. I want you to know that no matter what, I know that you always did the best you knew how to do. And look how it turned out.'"RELATED: Parents of Confident Kids Do These 7 Things DailyWinfrey continues, “Then I told her, ‘You should be able to … you should go in peace.’ I told her because my mother has had diabetes. Three years ago she knew she should’ve had dialysis and she didn’t want to do it. It was her choice not to do it. I said (at the time), ‘You should do whatever your body tells you to do. Nobody’s going to force you to do what you don’t want to do.’ I said, ‘You made the best decision for you, but now your body’s shutting down. This is what’s happening. Your kidneys have shut down. Your organs are going to shut down. What you want it to be, what I want it to be, is as peaceful as possible.'”Finding peace“In that moment, my sister was in the room. My mother’s had real problems since my sister came back from the adoption. My sister said, ‘Please forgive yourself, because I’ve forgiven you for giving me away.’ It was just really sacred and beautiful. I would say to anybody—and if you live long enough, everybody goes through it—say the things that you need to say while the people are still alive, so that you are not one of those people living with regret about what you would’ve, should’ve, could’ve said.”“I feel complete. I feel really, really moved by all the people who’ve reached out to me. I got a really lovely note, just yesterday, from Jimmy Fallon (whose mom Gloria died in 2017) saying, ‘My mom’s up there, too, so if your mom has a party, tell her to call my mom.’ I feel like it was as sacred and as blessed as a passing can be.”None of us are ever ready for loss, but if it's going to happen, being true to yourself and give yourself room to feel and grieve and say what you need to say will be the most comforting thing you can do. RELATED READING:Postman Replies to Grieving 7-Year-Old Boy’s Letter to Dad ‘in Heaven,’ Inspires Us with His CompassionMan Sneaks Dog into Hospital to Say Goodbye to Dying WifeElizabeth Gilbert Says Writing New Novel Was a ‘Tonic’ After Losing Her Partner to Cancer

5 Daily Habits to Steal from Oprah Winfrey, Including Working Out Every Single Day
Self-Development

5 Daily Habits to Steal from Oprah Winfrey, Including Working Out Every Single Day

As a digital nomad and journalist, I travel the world while logging around 70 articles a month. To effectively manage a country-hopping lifestyle while also building my bylines and clients, I turn to the advice of seasoned movers-and-shakers who have developed habits and strategies for success. Each week, I’ll highlight the daily routine of influential professionals, making for the right kind of fodder while you down your coffee.There are few household names as universally known -- trusted, respected and loved -- as Oprah Winfrey. For more than forty years, she’s had a substantial cultural and financial impact on the lifestyles of millions of people worldwide -- from stay-at-home moms seeking book club recommendations to communities living in poverty who benefit from her assistance or even entrepreneurs, who reap success from her endorsement. As a talk show host, actress, producer, media executive and philanthropist, she has earned an impressive amount of feats, cementing her place in history, current affairs and in future legacy. From becoming the richest African American of the 20th century with an estimated net worth of nearly $3 billion to being ranked the most influential woman in the world, she has come a long way from her modest upbringing in the rural area of Mississippi. She never loses sight of where she comes from though, as an active altruist for countless charities and programs for inner city, underprivileged youth and other causes. To arrive at this affluent stage of fame and influence though, Winfrey has maintained many daily rituals that keep her centered, humble and happy. From waking up to work out to practicing gratitude, here are five secrets you can steal from the legend herself.She starts every morning with exerciseWhile Winfrey has been transparent with her weight loss struggles, explaining the battles of overeating and skipping workouts, in an interview she explained how she attempts to start every single day with movement. One of her favorite ways to work up a sweat is with good ‘ole fashion cardio: specifically on an elliptical machine, followed by a treadmill. After she’s warmed up, she’ll continue some sort of bodyweight training, with sit-ups being a common move. Though the verdict is still out on if it’s better to work in a daily fitness routine in the A.M. or the P.M., many studies have explained the vast benefits of morning sweats. To name a few, you’ll eat less calories, you’ll have day-long energy, you’ll burn more pesky fat cells and you’ll sleep better once the sun goes down.She eats plenty of veggiesIf you don’t listen to your mother or your partner when they gently nudge you to eat more of the goodies created by Mother Earth, perhaps you’ll listen to Winfrey.She revealed in an interview that her favorite meal of the day is lunch and one of her go-to meals is an oversized, overflowing collection of green goodies in a salad. “Usually the salad is made with vegetables that have come from my garden. We have a rule in this house: If we can grow it, we don't buy it. We use it all, everything in the garden, even if it means we are giving it to the people down the street. If I have to start a stand on the street and give it away, we will give away that last damn zucchini,” she explains.You likely don’t need us to tell you veggies are smart for your diet, but science backs up Winfrey’s meal plan, as a balanced, garden-first approach to eating can fight against cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. She makes time to wind downThere’s no doubt Winfrey’s calendar would overwhelm most people -- filled with endless meetings, phone calls and travel -- but to reach this level of esteem takes smart organization and determination. But if you glimpse into the lives of those at the quintessential top like Winfrey, you’ll see they always make time to disconnect.According to an interview detailing her daily life, Winfrey shared she winds down before bed, often by reading. Though you might not have a dreamy fireplace to flip pages (or tap a Kindle) by like Winfrey, a study found that those who read before bed tend to be 68 percent less stressed than those who watch Netflix.She practices daily gratitudeThough the act of scribbling down tokens of thanksgiving has been trendy in recent years, the benefits of practicing gratitude have been scientifically-proven for ages. “I usually get into bed and I have volumes and volumes of gratitude journals by the side of my bed. The last thing I do before I go to sleep is write five things that gave me great pleasure or that I was grateful for,” she shared.Not only does it improve your health, but you will find enhanced empathy and stronger self-confidence by implementing this ritual. When you think of what you’re thankful for each night (instead of rattling through your to-do list), one study suggests you might even sleep better, too. She stays on top of her financesYou might imagine someone at Winfrey’s level would hire someone to handle her finances, and while she does have a team, she also manages the specifics of her estate daily. She says because she grew up poor, she’s unable to turn all money matters over to someone else, and likes to understand the in’s and out’s of her income, even personally signing every check more than $100K.“It’s important for me to know how much the electricity bill is, to know what’s coming in, what’s going out. I never want to be one of those people who delegates that task to someone else and then one day is surprised to find out how much money they do or don’t have,” she explains.While most people struggle with fears around money, research has indicated the more effort you put into educating yourself on financial matters, the stronger opportunity you have for wealth.

Oprah Winfrey Reveals the Universal Way to Know You’ve Found Your Life’s Calling
Purpose

Oprah Winfrey Reveals the Universal Way to Know You’ve Found Your Life’s Calling

There’s no denying media mogul Oprah Winfrey’s impossibly impressive life path. From talk show host and author to humanitarian, actor, and curator of an entire TV network, Winfrey knows what she wants and goes passionately toward it.Though it’s tough to believe, Winfrey did not experience automatic success in life. Just like the rest of us, she had to learn the difference between a career and a calling before her passion and purpose could take off.“Your real job in life is to figure out what you’re called to do and you use a job until you can figure out what your calling is -- because a job is necessary to survive,” Winfrey says on her network, “In my early days, I had a job, until I could figure out what gave my life its purpose and meaning.”Winfrey goes on to explain that she had gotten a job in Baltimore as a news anchor, where she was making $22,000/year at 22 years old. At the time, it felt like a financial dream come true.“Gayle and I used to say, ‘Could you imagine if you 40 and you’re making $40,000? Oh! That’d be good!’” Winfrey recalls, “So that was as big as my dream was -- just to make my age.”But then, Winfrey was demoted because she “was the wrong color and the wrong size.” She was pulled from the news and put on a talk show because the network didn’t know what else to do with her.“My very first interview was with the Carvel ice cream man and Benny, one of the characters from All My Children,” Winfrey reveals, “I finished that show and I felt like, ‘this is what I am supposed to do.’ All these years, I had been misplaced in news. I’d be out on stories and I’d be crying with the people -- I felt I was exploiting the people with news -- and the moment I did that talk show, I felt like I could be myself.” Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.Finding your passion will energize youSo how do you know you’ve found your calling? You’ll know what you’re supposed to do by how it feels. Winfrey goes on to explain that since that turning point in her career, she has never had a problem with her energy levels -- she went from being an exhausted, burnt out news anchor to a TV host bursting with energy and zest for life.“If you can find what your passion is, you never get tired, or if you do get tired, you’re fueled by the energy of your work,” Winfrey gushes, “I know I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing at this time.”You won’t be fueled by financial gainAccording to Winfrey, finding your passion also means loving what you do so much that you “would do it for nothing and find a way just to do it.”While the now-billionaire certainly doesn’t have to worry about doing her life’s calling for free, she has without a doubt fought hard to get to where she is -- but her resilience and unwavering belief in her passion has taken her incredibly far.

Introducing the 5 Best Celebrity Graduation Speeches of 2018 (They'll Give You Goosebumps)
Celebrities

Introducing the 5 Best Celebrity Graduation Speeches of 2018 (They'll Give You Goosebumps)

For countless college graduates around the world it’s a time of excitement, stress and a world of opportunities opening up, as commencement ceremonies kick into high gear. Whether students are excited about life as certified adults or nervous about their prospects, inspirational speeches and words of encouragement that come from the heart are more important than ever. Don’t confuse what is legal with what is moral, because they are entirely different animals. So do the right thing, especially when nobody’s looking. -- Oprah Winfrey Whether it’s about pursuing your dreams, seizing the moment, embracing diversity, living with the power of the vote or simply using common-sense social media etiquette, here are the most important lessons delivered by this year’s star speakers. 1. Oprah Winfrey – University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism The queen of television and media encouraged graduates to embrace the power of voting and take active part in the country’s political life at all levels. “People died for that right. I think about it every time I cast a vote, so don’t let their sacrifice be in vain,” Winfrey told an enraptured audience, adding stern warnings about living responsibly, being upstanding and being kind. “You have no idea what your legacy will be, because your legacy is every life you touch. Pick a problem, any problem, and do something about it. Because to somebody who’s hurting, something is everything.” 2. Justin Trudeau – New York University Entertaining a grand audience at New York’s Yankee Stadium, the Canadian Prime Minister urged graduates to avoid intellectual and opinion eco chambers: “Make a point of reaching out to people whose beliefs and values differ from your own. I would like you to listen – truly listen – and try to understand them and find that common ground.” Retaining the themes of diversity, tolerance and acceptance, the Prime Minister spoke of all the valuable lessons that people can offer. “Your teachers will come from every station in life, every education level, every belief system, every lifestyle. I hope you will embrace that.” 3. Chance the Rapper – Dillard University The Acid Rap author spoke of his icon – Michael Jackson, the man and persona who inspired his career. The musical legend who gave him life lessons he still carries with him: never setting any limitations to yourself and work hard. The artist also encouraged his audience to push forward and persevere in the face of adversity, to ground one’s work in links to the past, but in a way that always build on it, improves it, changes it and expands it. “The highest form of respect that we can pay to the people who came before is, the people who sacrificed for us and gave us everything, is to be better than them. Our parents, grandparents, ancestors sacrificed not so that we could keep doing the same thing that they were doing, but so that we can be better. To simply copy them would be almost an insult to their sacrifice.” 4. Nikki Haley – Clemson University The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Clemson alumni warned of the dangers of social media. The all-too-perfect lives it portrays, the envy it creates, and how it erases real life connection and expectations. And most importantly, the way social media interacts with gratitude – not just as a feeling, but as an intention and a guiding light. “Gratitude as a determination to take the things that have benefitted us and pay them forward. The institutions, the ideas and the people. Gratitude is ensuring that they’re preserved, protected and passed onto others.” 5. Sarah Drew – University of Virginia Actress and UVA alumni Sarah Drew knows one or two things about performing, whether it’s onstage, on social media or our private lives. Which is exactly why, she encouraged UVA graduates not to focus on the (often fake) image of ourselves we put in front of the world and online, but on our true selves and living our own lives. “Who are we out of the spotlight, when we’re not performing for an audience?" she asked. The former Grey’s Anatomy star also emphasized the importance of building strong communities – both for discovering ourselves and giving back to others. “We are not meant to live on our own private islands. We are a tribal species. We are built for community. And it is only in community where we uncover our true value and our deepest worth.”

5 Lessons From Oprah on Living a More Meaningful Life
Purpose

5 Lessons From Oprah on Living a More Meaningful Life

Since the debut of the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986, Oprah has captured our attention and our hearts. More than just a talk show host or savvy businesswoman, Oprah is someone who seeks to make an impact on the world ,and she continuously judges the quality of her life based on that impact. She serves not only as an example of a great human being who has given the world far more than we can ever give her in return, but also as a gateway to other incredible human beings -- the stories, lessons, and examples that we can use to learn and grow further. Over the years, she’s shared countless invaluable insights that anyone can use to live a better and more meaningful life. I’ve personally used these lessons in my own life. Check out the 5 most important ones below. The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. – Oprah Winfrey (read more Oprah quotes) 1. Never stop learning Something that has always been extraordinary to me about Oprah is that she always seems to be doing something new connected with self-development of some kind. Whether it’s interviewing experts and notable people on her OWN show, Super Soul Sunday, or working with authorities such as Deepak Chopra on self-improvement programs and special events, she always seems to have something new going on that provides great value for her viewers and followers, and also helps her level up her own game. I am a woman in process. I'm just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull. 2. Passion is energy Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. I’ve written many times before that passion is a form of energy that moves us forward. It has a sort of power to make things that otherwise wouldn’t be possible happen. With it, we can push through difficult times that otherwise would cause us to fall off track. Passion also gives us the power to create solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. Once you find your passion, the world opens up to you in an incredible way. So, take it from Oprah, find what fuels you, then follow it to the ends of Earth. 3. We all feel unworthy Decades before Brene Brown would publish her groundbreaking research on self-worth and shame, Oprah spotted a trend that echoed Brown's findings in the many people she interviewed through the years: "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." 4. You need to truly love what you do Clearly, most of us need to find a way to make a living. But whether you’d be hypothetically willing to do your work without getting paid for it is another question entirely. And that’s the question that really matters. Ask yourself: Would you do what you do if you weren’t being paid for it? If your answer is yes, then you’re on the right path. Oprah said it herself: You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it. Doing something we truly love is one of the primary ways to gain that passionate energy we talked about earlier. And it’s when we pursue the things we love that we can make incredible things happen in the world and realize success. 5. Use your own platform to create change During the final episode of the Oprah Winfrey show, Oprah served one of her most valuable lessons of all, foreshadowing the future of the internet and digital platforms: "Maybe it's 20 people, maybe it's 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You're letting your life speak for you. And when you do that, you will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have. My great wish for all of you who have allowed me to honor my calling through this show is that you carry whatever you're supposed to be doing, carry that forward and don't waste any more time. Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world."

Oprah: These are the 3 Rules of Life that Oprah Swears by
Inspiring Speeches and Interviews

Oprah: These are the 3 Rules of Life that Oprah Swears by

Oprah Winfrey - Do the Right Thing Inspiration goddess and billionaire Oprah Winfrey tells the touching story of a sex addict to illustrate the importance of doing the right thing. Transcript: A Sunday school teacher by day and a sex addict at night. Ooh. And they were like, you won't believe it. We've got her going out, we've got her with the men, and we get to show her and she was willing to show us everything. I sat down with the woman for an interview that was taped, and during the process of the interview I said, "Why are you doing this?" And she said, "Oh, I want to help people. I want to tell my story and I want to help people." I said, "Do you have children?" She says, "Yes, I have a 10 year old son." I knew right then this is never gonna see the light of day. So we got off the air and I said to the lady, "We are not going to air that show," and she said, "Why?" My producer said, "Why?" She knew she was being filmed, she knew what she was saying, she knows what you're ... I said, "Because her son will never get over it." You always know it's the right thing when in the end there is peace. You are rewarded by peace in knowing that you did the right thing. The three things that I want to leave with you will carry you if you let them. First and foremost, knowing who you are. Being able to answer this question, "Who am I and what do I want?" I'm not asking for the roles that you play, as a daughter, as a friend, as a sister, you're gonna be a lawyer, you're gonna teach. I'm asking the bigger question of who am I. And what do I want? I don't want to just be successful in the world, I want to fulfill the highest, truest expression of myself as a human being. I want to fulfill the promise that the Creator dreamed when he dreamed the cells that made up me. You must have some kind of vision for your life, even if you don't know the plan, you have to have a direction in which I choose to go. You want to be in the driver's seat of your own life because if you're not, life will drive you. Number two, you must find a way to serve. Martin Luther King said that not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because greatness is determined by service. When you shift the paradigm of whatever you choose to do to service and you bring significance to that, success will, I promise you, follow you. That's number two. Number three, it's so simple but so hard to do. Always do the right thing.

Oprah Winfrey: I Was Embarrassed
Goalcast Originals

Oprah Winfrey: I Was Embarrassed

Oprah Winfrey​ - Make a Difference In her speech, Oprah explains how adversity is part of the human experience and how it is important to believe in yourself in order to overcome them. Transcript: It doesn't matter how far you might rise, at some point you are bound to stumble. Because if you're constantly doing what we do, raising the bar, if you're constantly pushing yourself higher, higher, the law of averages, not to mention the myth of Icarus, predicts that you will at some point fall. A few years ago I decided, as you will at some point, that it was time to recalculate. Find new territory, break new ground. I ended the show, and launched OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. The initials just worked out for me. One year later after launching OWN, nearly every media outlet had proclaimed that my new venture was a flop. Not just a flop, but a big, bold flop, they call it. I can still remember the day I opened up USA Today and read the headline, "Oprah not quite standing on her OWN." There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. Now, when you're down there in the hole, it looks like failure. This past year, I had to spoon-feed those words to myself. Here's the key. Learn from every mistake, because every experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes are there to teach you and force you into being more of who you are. Then figure out what is the next right move. The key to life is to develop an internal, moral, emotional GPS that can tell you which way to go. You may stumble, fall, you will for sure, count on this, no doubt you will have questions. You will have doubts about your path. I know this. If you're willing to listen, to be guided by that still, small voice that is the GPS within yourself, to find out what makes you come alive, you will be more than okay. You will be happy. You will be successful. You will make a difference in the world.

7 Oprah Winfrey Quotes to Charge Your Day with Gratitude
Quotes

7 Oprah Winfrey Quotes to Charge Your Day with Gratitude

Everybody loves, or at least respects, Oprah Winfrey. She has achieved wealth beyond every conceivable height, and not just monetary wealth -- but spiritual wealth, loving wealth, kind wealth. The sort of wealth that overflows and offers itself to other people, through a generosity of spirit that, ironically, money could never buy. Below are seven quotes selected from Oprah's book What I Know for Sure, for the purpose of making you feel a little more grateful for what you have, where you are, and who you are.Here Are 7 Oprah Winfrey Quotes to Charge Your Day with GratitudeEvery morning when I open my curtains for that first look at the day, no matter what the day looks like—raining, foggy, overcast, sunny—my heart swells with gratitude. I get another chance.I know for sure that only by owning who and what you are can you step into the fullness of life. I feel sorry for anyone who buys into the myth that you can be what you once were. The way to your best life isn't denial. It's owning every moment and staking a claim to the here and now... And I'm grateful for every age I'm blessed to become.I live in the space of thankfulness -- and for that, I have been rewarded a million times over. I started out giving thanks for small things, and the more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That's because -- for sure -- what you focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in life, you create more of it.Being grateful all the time isn't easy. But it's when you least feel thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It's the quickest, easiest most powerful way to effect change in your life -- this I know for sure.Some days the awareness of the sanctity and sacredness of life brings me to my knees with gratitude. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that the little girl from Mississipi who grew up holding her nose in an outhouse now flies on her own plane -- my own plane! -- to Africa to help girls who grew up like her.I live in a state of exhilarated contentment (my definition of happiness), fueled by a passion for everything I'm committed to: my work, my colleagues, my home, my gratitude for every breath taken in freedom and peace. And what makes it sweeter is knowing for sure that I created this happiness. It was my choice.Wherever you are in your journey, I hope you, too, will keep encountering challenges. It is a blessing to be able to survive them, to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other -- to be in a position to make the climb up life's mountain, knowing that the summit still lies ahead. And every experience is a valuable teacher.__Want more Oprah quotes? Yeah, we've got that.

Oprah: What's Your Legacy?
Goalcast Originals

Oprah: What's Your Legacy?

Oprah - Build Your Legacy Oprah Winfrey says that no amount of money can fill your life with substance, and calls on us to offer ourselves in service and think about the legacy we're building. Transcript: "You're nothing if you're not the truth. The biggest reward is not financial benefits, though it's really good, you can get a lot of great shoes. Nothing wrong with great shoes. But, those of you that have a lot of shoes know that having great shoes, and a closet full of shoes, or cars, or houses, or square footage, doesn't fill up your life. It doesn't. But living a life of substance can, substance through your service, your offering of your whole self. The baseline for how do you live a life of substance, is whatever is the truth for you, what do you stand for? "When I had finished my school, and I was so proud of myself for building this school in South Africa, I went to Mia and I said, 'Mia, that's going to be my greatest legacy, this school.' "Mia said, 'You have no idea what your legacy will be.' "I go, 'I know, I know, I know that, but I really need to think this school is going to be my greatest legacy.' "She goes, 'You have no idea.' "So I go, 'Yes ma'am.' "She said this and I leave this with everyone in the room, graduates, friends of graduates, family. She said, 'Your legacy is every life you've touched.' Your legacy is every life you've touched. Feel everything with love, because every moment you are building your legacy."