I have always loved watching Oprah’s interviews since I think she asks great questions and I love her humanitarian work. I think she’s incredible, so when I found out she was coming to Ottawa I really wanted to but I didn’t dare ask since I knew the tickets would be expensive. I was so shocked when my mom surprised me with tickets for the two of us an hour before the show.
15,000 people filled the stadium that night but it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Our seats were really far away and yet, it felt like she was sitting on our couch beside us in our living room. It was like story time of her life and lessons she has learned along the way. She is an incredible story teller. She is comedic, intense, intelligent and extremely well spoken. There was a perfect balance of emotions throughout the night.
She had quite a few concepts that really stood out to me and I thought I would share a few of them.
Her opening question was “why are you here?”
Simple question right? I don’t think we take the time to ask ourselves this question enough. She said that we all have a calling and we need to listen to it. She told a story about when she was little, when she lived with her grandma and they were poor. Her grandma was doing the laundry and said, “keep watching me because one day you will have to know how to do this for yourself”….and Oprah had her moment where she heard her calling. Inside a little voice said, “No, your not! This will not be my life”. She called this feeling inside her an “emotional GPS” guiding her through life, listening and serving her calling. She said that you can’t hear your calling, until you quiet all the noise around you and are in silence with yourself. Then your calling will reveal itself. It is so true! To find the answer of what your true calling is, you need to be able to listen only to the voice inside of you. You won’t find your true calling if you are constantly listening to others and what they want you to do. When you become at peace with yourself, that’s when everything will become clear.
She asked us what our purpose was. Are you living with purpose?
Our purpose is not a goal, or one big moment, its a feeling inside of discovery, of growth. It’s ALL the moments. (it’s all about the experience 😉 ) It’s every experience that makes us who we are and it is linked with our calling. I completely agree with this. I even had a rubber bracelet custom made that says “it’s all about the experience” written on it and I have worn it everyday for 2 years (along with my other custom bracelets that mean so much to me). I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the goal but more on the journey. That is also why I started this blog three years ago. I have so many amazing experiences every day and I believe that it’s all the ups and downs during the journey that makes you strong. I never want to forget any of these special moments.
She talked a lot about energy. The energy you put out is the energy that will be returned. You only have control of YOUR energy field, no one else’s.
When she talked about goals, she said there is no such thing as failure, it just means that you are hard headed and its a sign that you should take a new direction. She said, keep the big picture in mind but don’t let it be the main focus. FIND THE NEXT RIGHT MOVE.
The concept of knowing when to stop was also stressed. Stop at your peek, and no matter what you do, stay true to yourself. When it comes to decision making, listen to the little “whispers” giving you guidance. Follow your instincts and don’t ignore them. Many of us do unfortunately. These can be little red flags, arrows pointing you in a certain direction, signs, be open minded to seeing them.
One that really hit me, was talking about goals and things that you want really badly. She said that when you have put the work in, and you are the most prepared you can be…this is when you have to let things go, because really, you have no control. Life works for you, not too you. If something was meant to happen, it will, if it doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s fate. There’s no such thing as luck. It is preparation meets opportunity. It hit me because 3 years ago, in that same stadium exactly where Oprah was standing I was training with Grand Master Lan (who was the German National TKD coach) and he told me that same thing. He said that everything is pre-determined so go and embrace the moment for all that it is. I really didn’t understood what he meant, until I stepped into the New Zealand stadium and then I knew what he meant.
When life throws curve balls at you, and things don’t go your way, she said that you are NOT the things that happen to you. You are NOT your divorce, You are NOT your mistakes, you are NOT your disease, NOT etc…..you could feel the energy in the room at that point that so many people were affected by her strong message.The whole concept is being the best FOR the world not just in the world. Striving to be the best possible version of yourself, and then SHARING it with others. Living everyday to the fullest and finding our calling, doing what makes us excited to wake up everyday. I know what gets me excited and I am pretty sure I know what my calling is but I’m just not sure that there are courses in university to help me get there. This is something that is on my mind a lot lately since I will need to start applying soon.
I bet that all 15,000 people would have come out with different messages from the evening. I’ve been so blessed that I have been surrounded by these life lessons my entire life. My family has these conversations daily. That’s one perk of lots of time in the car together going to train 🙂 I’ve also been very fortunate to have a lifetime of great coaches, TKD instructors and teachers and a few friends who all believe the same things. I think this night was so amazing for me because it was the first time that I really realized that I am already doing what she suggested and I didn’t even know it. All these messages and type of mentality have surrounded me for years and have just become a part of my life. Now I get to share some of my own messages and lessons that I have learned in the past few years. That gets me very excited 🙂
The coolest part is that I’m sure if I was to hear all these messages again in a few months I would pick out completely different things since we are always changing and always seeking new answers to our questions. Our perspective changes due to our experiences and stage of our life. I think this is why I found her talk so incredible and why these messages are universal, helpful and timeless. It isn’t always strictly the information given, it is how the information is perceived and applied. I think that having an open mind to REALLY listen to the messages is the first step to growth. Take the time to ask yourself some of the complex and “hard” questions. Take the time to really THINK about who you are, what your purpose is, what you want out of life and what are you passionate about.
Oprah’s wish for us is to continue to evolve and grow and find our own purpose so we wake up everyday and answer the questions…why am I here?
Thank you Oprah for sharing your life lessons and wanting the best for all of us 🙂
