Five Gems from Hanging Out with Oprah

Last month, as part of my 50th birthday celebration, I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with Oprah in Charlotte… And 10,000 of her other friends! This was actually my second time going to see her (she toured in Houston five years ago) so while the novelty may have worn off, the excitement of being in an arena with so many like-minded people was palpable. She is touring with WW (Weight Watchers) right now, so the focus for the event was all about wellness… an excellent topic for someone who just entered her 50s, and someone who teaches the importance of work and life balance to her clients!

I took copious notes, so I wanted to share a few of the gems with you… perhaps something here will resonate for you on your self-development journey.

Five Gems from Hanging Out with Oprah

1. Embrace the shifting flow of life. I absolutely love the visual that this phrase evokes – like the changing ocean tides or the meanderings and rushing waters of a river. When Oprah was sharing her personal definition of wellness, which is “all things in balance,” she then talked about the shifting flow. This makes so much sense to me. I have been teaching about work/life balance for years, but as we know, balance is a bit of a misnomer. You can’t always have things balanced–equally weighted–because different times in your life call for different areas of your life to be front and center. When I think about my women entrepreneur clients who have young children versus the ones whose children are off at college, they are in a very different stage of life. The flow looks very different for each of them. I recall Oprah saying many years ago “Yes, you can have it all. Just not at the same time.” So true!

2. You don’t get what you want in life. You get what you intend. A want is a desire or wish. An intention is a purpose or aim. To manifest what you desire, it’s not enough to simply declare it. It’s important to align energetically with your intention and to put inspired action steps into place toward the manifestation of your intention. Take for example the person who says “I want to be 10 pounds lighter” vs. the person who says “I intend to be 10 pounds lighter by X date.” Then they implement a health and fitness plan to work toward that goal. They visualize themselves as 10 pounds lighter and they read books, listen to podcasts, and talk to other people who are excited about health and fitness. Intention is a powerful force in the universe. If you have never read Wayne Dyer’s the Power of Intention, I highly recommend it as it shares practical tips on how to consciously intend and co-create your world your way.

3. You were born to be full of yourself. At first, that might sound a little boastful, conceited, or “too big for your britches.” But Oprah was talking about it in terms of fulfilling our spiritual destiny. If we are all children of God, created in the image of God, then shouldn’t we live fully into the plan and purpose designed for us? Let that one sink in.

4. Life whispers first before it whacks you on the head. Pay attention to the whispers. Oh boy, do I sure know this from my own life experience. Do you? We are often given inklings, signs, and intuitive whispers to help us wake up, make a change, modify our direction. But if we second-guess ourselves often enough, or allow our ego to override the small, still voice inside… eventually the metaphorical 2×4 comes out and we are forced to make a course correction. Whether you’re getting inklings about making a career change, a relationship shift, an investment in your health or some other intuitive nudge, it’s a whole lot easier when we listen to the whispers, don’t you think?

5. Open up to your power. This was the last note from the day, scribbled into my journal in big letters. It was the message that I heard all weekend from Oprah, from my closest friends, from the tarot card reader that we visited at a metaphysical bookstore in Charlotte, and from the Universe. For me, opening up to my power is embracing my gifts, specifically my intuitive gifts. The more I have clients sign up for my Intuitive Coaching sessions, the more I realize that I have been given the ability to help people with their healing, with their personal growth, with their spiritual evolution. It’s an incredible honor and it’s deep and profound work. The more I do the shamanic journey work in combination with coaching, the more I embrace my power. What about you? Where do you need to open up to your power?

I hope that some of these gems were good reminders for you on your own journey. If you have a favorite Oprah-ism that you’d like to share with me, I’d love to hear it! Simply leave a comment.

Cheers,
Elizabeth