5 Powerful Life Lessons From Oprah Winfrey

If you know anything about me then you know that I have an immense amount of admiration and respect for Oprah Winfrey. I see her as a teacher and a mentor even though I have not met her (yet). If you watch her give this keynote speech at the 2016 Essence Festival you will hopefully understand why Oprah is such a formidable woman.

Watch Oprah's speech here:

Here are 5 powerful lessons that I learnt from Oprah's inspirational speech:Be Authentic: "Your life is huge, and we spend so much time wanting to be in somebody else's life, and you don't get honored, you don't get revered, you don't get celebrated wanting what somebody else has."To me this is one of the most powerful lessons that Oprah could ever teach us, you really have to be yourself. We live in a world in which so many people are looking to be carbon copies of their favourite celebrities or looking at what our peers have and wanting what they have.  Be yourself, be real, be authentic.Be Intentional: “Before you think about the thing, you have an intention about the thing. The intention in which you give determines the outcome. My intention to live to the highest calling and be pressed to the mark of the highest calling.”Each and everyday we have to ask ourselves why we are doing what we do? What is our intention? What is our purpose? Without knowing what our intention is we can easily get swept away in the business of life, with no direction and ultimately no fulfillment.Surrender: "When you've done everything you can do, you don't just have to stand. When you've prayed and ... wanted and dreamed and held on and believed and got turned down and turned back and turned around, it taught me when you've done everything you can do, Surrender all. Surrender all. The magic is to surrender to God’s dream for you. Quit fighting and pushing against and disallowing against and stop trying to tell the Creator what you’re supposed to do. Get still and know that His dream is for you."This for me is the biggest challenge, knowing when to just let go and surrender to the will of a Greater Power. To be aware that, when all is said and done, what is humanly possible is not always what is ultimately possible until we just let go.Take Responsibility:  "You have no power over any territory other than your own, but you are the master of that. You get to be the captain of your own soul and if you just manage that, if you just took care of your territory, all the glorious, glorious, glorious wondrous opportunities and possibilities are waiting for you."How much of a wake up call is THIS? Imagine having to take full responsibility for your life choices and life journey! There really are no more excuses, you really cannot blame anyone else when you realise that you are in control of your own destiny. There will always be external forces at play, but we have to find a way to break the barriers of defeat and disappointment that often try to keep us trapped.Believe: "So often we spend our lives hoping and wishing and hoping and wishing and desiring things. This is what I know for sure: You don't get what you hope for. You don't get get what you wish for. You get what you believe."This is really what it's all about, you have to believe in yourself enough to know that you will achieve your heart's desires.I hope you feel inspired enough to move into action!