Be true to yourself: You can’t begin to love yourself, or even be true to yourself, unless you know who you really are."
Oprah recalled how author Terry McMillan had finally let go of her anger towards her gay ex-husband, Jonathan Plummer. “Letting go of what has happened to you, and being able to live with what is happening to you right now, is how you access the power that we all have within us,” she said.
Every situation is a teachable moment: “If you’re in a bad relationship, you’re a student of how to have a better relationship,” said Oprah.
Everybody has an ego: Ego is any identification with things, such as your possessions or social status, for example. “Understanding the ego is having the awareness of your true self and your ego self.”
Creating the life you want is key: Oprah called Jim Carrey one of her “greatest teachers” after the comedian appeared on her talk show and spoke about how he visualized his success. “If you can see it, and believe it. It is a lot easier to achieve it,” she said.
Don’t allow ego to get in the way: Never let your ego take over your real self. “When you acknowledge your ego, you diminish its power over you,” said Oprah.
Loving yourself begins on the inside: “I am not the shape of my body,” said the former talk show host. “I am more than what I look like, than what I do. The understanding of who you really are is necessary as you get older. As you begin to lose the external attraction, it is your responsibility to cultivate the inner attraction.”
Aging is a beautiful process: Being honest about your age is part of aging gracefully. “When you lie about your age you are denying that part of your life…the years you have earned…those experiences,” said Oprah.
Your calling doesn’t always have to be grand: “Sometimes it is a whisper, and when you begin to follow that you end up being the best that you can be.”
You can only live your own life: “Anyone pretending to be something that they’re not will never become all that they were meant to be.”
“Your life is always speaking to you,” said Oprah. Always be conscious enough to listen.
Loving yourself takes work: “You can’t begin to love yourself, or even be true to yourself, unless you know who you really are.”
“It’s never too late to discover who you really are."
When you know better, you do better: Oprah said this is the greatest lesson Maya Angelou taught her. “You should not be judge yourself for the person that you were, but for the person you’re trying to be now,” she said.
The best students get the hardest tests
“When God has something for you to do, he’s going to test you to make sure you’re ready,” said Oprah’s webcast co-host, Iyanla Vanzant.
Gaga is an example to all of us: “Her being able to do that is really showing us all how to be more of ourselves,” said Oprah.
You are what you believe: “Whatever you deeply believe, you will create.” Your life, good or bad, is the sum of all your creations.
“When you stray from your center, you get lost,” said Oprah, recalling the time she showed off her 60-pound weight-loss on her talk show. Looking back, she says it was her ego that drove her to do that.
Your calling may not always pay you well. “Honoring the calling feeds everything in your life better,” said Oprah. "If you are able to honor that feeling, that is when you most come alive.”
Everybody gets a second chance: Oprah recalled giving birth, at 14, to a baby that did not survive. She remembered how her father told her the baby’s untimely death was the universe giving her a second chance. “I took that chance, and understood, for myself, that now I know better, I would do better,” she said.
“Instead of saying you’re afraid to be alone, say ’I’m willing to be with myself…you’re enough,” said guest co-host Iyanla Vanzant.
Forgiveness is not accepting the pain of your past, but letting go: “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.”
“We keep ourselves small to make other people comfortable then we get mad at them for allowing us to stay there," said Oprah, quoting Marianne Williamson.
You are greater than your thoughts: “You are not the thoughts in your head, or the things that surround you.”
Everybody has a calling: “Your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible, what that is and who you were meant to be and begin to honor that in the best way possible for yourself.”
