Best known as the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah Winfrey is the undisputed ‘Queen of Media’. Throughout her highly awarded career, she has been a motivator for change, encouraging others to ask questions, take chances, and do good for others.
This list of some of our favorite Oprah Winfrey quotes are sure to help you look at the world, and yourself, differently.
10 Facts About Oprah Winfrey
- Her birth name was ‘Orpah’, but it was misspelled on her birth certificate, and she has been called Oprah ever since.
- She learned to read and write by the age of three.
- Despite the challenges she faced growing up, she graduated from high school with honors in 1971.
- At age 17, she won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.
- Oprah was a gifted public speaker from a young age, and it was this gift that helped her win a speech contest that earned her a full college scholarship.
- At the age of 19, she became the first female African-American news anchor in Tennessee.
- The Oprah Winfrey show made her one of the most well-known faces in the country, with more than 10 million viewers each day.
- Oprah has been acting since 1985, her first role in The Color Purple earning her an Academy Award nomination.
- She is the first black woman billionaire.
- Oprah was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama in 2013.
30 Oprah Winfrey Quotes
These 30 Oprah Winfrey quotes will help to motivate and inspire you. They may even be life changing.
“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.”
“Devote today to something so daring even you can’t believe you’re doing it.”
“Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself.”
“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.”
“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.”
“If you don’t know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it.”
“Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”
“One of the hardest things in life to learn is which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.”
“Surround yourself only with people who are going to take you higher.”
“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.”
“We have to make the choice—every single day—to exemplify the truth, the respect, and the grace that we wish for this world.”
“The answers keep unfolding as your life expands, if you’re willing to see things for what they are—and what they can be.”
“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”
“Every day brings a chance to live free of regret and with as much joy, fun, and laughter as you can stand.”
“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint–and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. ”
“It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there was no pleasure in the climb.”
“The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.”
“Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.”
“You look at yourself and you accept yourself for who you are, and once you accept yourself for who you are, you become a better person.”
“You are where you are in life because of what you believe is possible for yourself.”
“Difficulties come when you don’t pay attention to life’s whisper. Life always whispers to you first, but if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you’ll get a scream.”
“You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more.”
“Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility.”
“I was once afraid of people saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’”
“Life is about growth and change. When you are no longer doing that—that is your whisper; that is your whisper that you are supposed to do something else.”
“Follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.”
“Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.”
“Connect. Embrace. Liberate. Love somebody. Just one person. And then spread that to two. And as many as you can. You’ll see the difference it makes.”
“There’s a difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing that you are worthy of being happy. Your being alive makes worthiness your birthright. You alone are enough.”
No matter where you are in life, these 30 Oprah Winfrey quotes are sure to inspire change and growth.
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