Strong Voices From Powerful Women

I watched The Oprah Winfrey Show off and on for 25 years and I can still feel the same emotions that she riled in me. Her show made me laugh and cry.  She inspired me because she genuinely cared about other people and made you want to be a better person. I can’t think of a talk show, news anchor or journalist today that imbues positive optimism and authenticity the way that Oprah did. Her rags-to-riches story exemplifies the American dream. Oprah’s views were balanced between empathy and personal agency. “Turn your wounds into wisdom,” she would say. She was not afraid to open up about her own life struggles. 

She didn’t subscribe to victimhood either, which is something I detest.   She had the best quotes; “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you – always.” She understands the magnitude of her platform and stays in her own lane which is something else I admire about her. She has opinions but chooses to keep them private, stays out of controversy and politics. I suspect she would be cancelled for some of her views today. She told us to work harder and smarter and go after the life we wanted with quotes like this.  “You are responsible for your life. You can’t keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.” 

She upset the cattle industry once in 1996 claiming they lost up to 78 million dollars in revenue after she said, on air, that she would never eat hamburgers again over fears of mad cow disease. She ultimately won the case, but the experience was a difficult one to go through. As she entered the courtroom with Dr. Phil, whom she hired to support her through the trial, she kept repeating her favourite scripture; Acts 17:28, “in him we live and move and have our being.” I loved that woman’s heart, and it was great to learn that she read the Bible. She influenced my life in a positive way. She had traits that I admired, and I think the world is a lesser place with her off the air. She knows what she will and will not accept in her life. “If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.” 

Never did she apologize for her success but explained it this way, “the reason I’ve been so financially successful is my focus has never, even for one minute, been about the money.” I heard Joe Rogan say the same thing. Both are wildly successful. I consider her to be one of the greatest role models of our time. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.” Oprah is an iconic figure, and she improved our culture for the better and now we’re stuck with the Kardashians on the Disney channel.