Oprah on Life, Work and Chasing Dreams

By Lucinda Anderson, Special to AOL BlackVoices

Oprah Winfrey took her show on the road with her O Magazine’s Live Your Best Life Tour and BV caught up with the talk-show queen at the sold-out event on its stop in Washington, D.C. America’s favorite sistergirl let her funny side fly, joking frequently and laughing with an open heart. For the most part, though, she remained serious, mentoring 5,000 women and a sprinkling of men for a full two hours, connecting her struggles with the audience. Oprah spoke directly to the anxiety, self-doubt and hurt in people who have wrestled with emptiness in their career, indecision, layoffs, weight or lack of direction. Here are a few personal revelations from Oprah:

What is a life management secret?

I live on the lake. I live facing east, so the sun wakes me up. I never wake up to an alarm clock. Never. It’s jarring to my system. It would ruin my day. I don’t own any kind of alarm system. So, I wake up to the sun. [Every morning] first thing, I think, gee, I’m still here!

Do you think you’ve changed the world?

I think our show changes the way people see themselves. I try to use my fame in a way that makes a difference in the lives of other people.

Where do you turn when you really need strength?

In the first 10 to 12 years of the show I didn’t have time for friends. All I ever did was work. For so many years it was just [my friend] Gayle [King] and me talking on the phone at night.

I have a more hectic life now than I did 10 years ago but now that life is more balanced. I’ve developed a balance, which means friends. I have friends I can go out for dinner with and I have parties. I used to not have time for all that but now I do.

What do you think makes you special?

I’m obedient to my calling. Hopefully I can be a light to let other people see that nothing is better than living the fullness of what God has prepared for you.

Why don’t people change their careers?

You desire more but don’t have the courage. You don’t have the courage because you need money. (About her first media jobs) My father said, “Girl, don’t quit that job. You’re making $22,000 and you’re 22 -- what more can you want?” But, that was my father’s dream. Your parents know a lot but they don’t know everything.

My grandmother advised me to go out and get myself some good white folks like the ones she kept house for. I did go out and get me some good white folks. I got some good white folks. I love them. My father’s expectations, my grandmother’s, what the world expected of me as a colored girl was small.

It may be that your dreams are so limited that your idea of what can be for you is limited.

How can you make the most of your current job?

If you hate your job and you ask yourself to how you can be of more service in that job, then you will find more meaning. You must find a way in your job to do more of what you love than what you don’t because our time here is short. If you find a way to do what you like and surrender it to a force greater than yourself, it will create more power for you in your life.

When was the last time you allowed yourself to feel joy?

This morning. I would have to say I’ve mastered the joy thing. I do not spend a day where I’ve awakened without taking at least a moment to acknowledge the fact that I woke up again.