“I believe that you are here to become more of yourself and live your best life.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
As a global media leader, Oprah Winfrey has inspired viewers to live their best lives for twenty five years. During a time when the media thrived on tabloids, Oprah shifted her focus to self-help topics such as health, exercise, spirituality, meditation, and charities. Her honest, empathetic approach won over millions of viewers making The Oprah Winfrey Show one of the highest syndicated talk shows in history at a rate of 14 million viewers per day. Today, that number has grown to 49 plus viewers per day. Oprah’s influence has spread internationally being recognized as a cultural force revolutionizing the way people think about themselves and the world around them. The Academy of Achievement recognizes that on every list of the world’s leading opinion-makers, Oprah has been called, “the most powerful woman in the world "(The Academy of Achievement, 2010, p. 4).
Oprah’s list of accomplishments since the success of The Oprah Winfrey Show is expansive ranging from the media circuit to various philanthropies. She co-founded Oxygen, a women’s cable television network, which reaches over 54 million viewers. She founded her own production company, Harpo Studios (Oprah backwards), launched O, the Oprah Magazine and later O at Home. The Oprah.com website elicits three million users per month including the Oprah Book Club, deemed as the largest book club in the world. Oprah’s satellite radio show features well-known experts and in January 2011 the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will be aired in place of the Discovery Health Network. In addition, she has received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her supporting roles in the films, The Color Purple and Beloved and she is proudly the voice of Tiana’s mother in The Princess and the Frog. Oprah is widely recognized for changing thousands of lives through the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, the Angel Network, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Africa and the Ambassadors for Education program.
Oprah Winfrey’s vision, heart and commitment to positive change are the reasons she is one of the greatest leaders of our time. Her impact reaches far beyond the accolades noted above. Oprah’s perseverance to rise above her poor upbringing, adolescent sexual abuse and climb over the wall of racism and sexism to use her life empowering others is commendable. Her empathy and inspiration motivate me, along with millions of others, to be better each day. As a mother and educational leader, I am blessed with the opportunity to recognize personal strengths and guide others to create a passionate life contributing to our society. I ask myself, my staff and my students the same question Oprah does, “How much farther can I stretch to reach my full potential"(Winfrey, 2010, p. 17)? After attending Oprah’s ‘Live Your Best Life’ workshop in New York City this past May, I can attest that she is still reaching and motivating others to embrace their true selves. Oprah said, “What I know for sure is that it’s only when you make the process your goal that the dream can follow" (O, The Oprah Magazine, 2010, p. 17).
References:
Academy of Achievement- Oprah Winfrey Biography (2010, August 9). Retrieved from www.achievement.org
Oprah Winfrey's Official Biography (2010, September 10). Retrieved from www.oprah.com
O, The Oprah Magazine, (2010). Words That Matter: A Little Book of Life Lessons. New York, NY: Hearst Communications, Inc.
Oprah Winfrey (2010, September 26). From Wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey
Like Oprah, Bobby Kennedy was driven by vision, heart, and commitment. In fact, I noted his strength of conviction as one of the most impressive aspects of his character. Both well-known public figures who practice liberal politics, Winfrey and Kennedy leveraged their fame for the good of their fellow man. While RFK's upbringing was lavish and stable compared to Winfrey's, he, too, had to persevere in the face of significant obstacles / hardships (e.g. deaths of JFK and MLK).
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