In the spirit of this graduation season we took some time to review a commencement speech given by Oprah Winfrey on the campus of Stanford University. The speech was delivered in the spring of 2008. The advice she offered shows evidence of a life filled with passion, wisdom, and purpose. I share with you a few of the insights she articulated on living a productive life.
This life is a school: Our lives are like a school and often the lessons come in the form of problems, obstacles and at times, crisis. The secret, Oprah says, is being open to learning lessons from life as they come. It is being able to walk through life open to self improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve. “There is a lesson in almost everything you do and everything you experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward… Inner wisdom is more precious than wealth, the more you spend it, the more you gain.”
When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do, it feels right: Oprah taught that when you’re doing the work you were meant to do, “everyday is a bonus regardless of what you are getting paid.” In her early career, Oprah had an amazing opportunity to be a news anchor. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find herself in that role. She was ultimately fired, but consequently reassigned to a talk show in Baltimore. The second she sat down on the stage of the talk show for the first time she said she felt “home” and her whole world changed. “The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead.” She goes on, “Forget about the fast lane, if you really want to fly, harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling, everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.”
The secret to finding happiness: Oprah counseled students to live in the moment. “Whatever has happened to you in the past has no power over this present moment.” Be a part of something, not merely living for yourself alone. Oprah taught a lesson she has come to know over the course of her career: “In order to be truly happy you have to live along with and have to stand for something larger than yourself because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward, you have to give back.” She concludes with these thoughts, “If you are hurting, you need to help somebody else ease their hurt. When you’re in pain, help somebody else’s pain. And when you’re in a mess, you get yourself out of the mess by helping someone out of theirs… Doing good makes you better… operating from the paradigm of service will make you happy.”
Oprah’s counsel applies to all of you who wish to do great and be great. Whether graduating from high school, college, or into the next phase of your life, serving others will always help you as well in ways you could not expect. She continued to say that “If you choose to offer your skills and talent in service, when you choose the paradigm of service, looking at your life through that paradigm, it turns everything you do from a job into a gift.” What will you allow life to teach you? Will you follow your passions? Will you strive to be truly happy by choosing to serve? The choice is yours as you move forward in the journey of life. But what an incredible journey it can be.
This life is a school: Our lives are like a school and often the lessons come in the form of problems, obstacles and at times, crisis. The secret, Oprah says, is being open to learning lessons from life as they come. It is being able to walk through life open to self improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve. “There is a lesson in almost everything you do and everything you experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward… Inner wisdom is more precious than wealth, the more you spend it, the more you gain.”
When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do, it feels right: Oprah taught that when you’re doing the work you were meant to do, “everyday is a bonus regardless of what you are getting paid.” In her early career, Oprah had an amazing opportunity to be a news anchor. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find herself in that role. She was ultimately fired, but consequently reassigned to a talk show in Baltimore. The second she sat down on the stage of the talk show for the first time she said she felt “home” and her whole world changed. “The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead.” She goes on, “Forget about the fast lane, if you really want to fly, harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling, everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.”
The secret to finding happiness: Oprah counseled students to live in the moment. “Whatever has happened to you in the past has no power over this present moment.” Be a part of something, not merely living for yourself alone. Oprah taught a lesson she has come to know over the course of her career: “In order to be truly happy you have to live along with and have to stand for something larger than yourself because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward, you have to give back.” She concludes with these thoughts, “If you are hurting, you need to help somebody else ease their hurt. When you’re in pain, help somebody else’s pain. And when you’re in a mess, you get yourself out of the mess by helping someone out of theirs… Doing good makes you better… operating from the paradigm of service will make you happy.”
Oprah’s counsel applies to all of you who wish to do great and be great. Whether graduating from high school, college, or into the next phase of your life, serving others will always help you as well in ways you could not expect. She continued to say that “If you choose to offer your skills and talent in service, when you choose the paradigm of service, looking at your life through that paradigm, it turns everything you do from a job into a gift.” What will you allow life to teach you? Will you follow your passions? Will you strive to be truly happy by choosing to serve? The choice is yours as you move forward in the journey of life. But what an incredible journey it can be.
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