Words of Encouragement


What an inspirational month.   My alma mater (Howard University) presented Oprah Winfrey with an honorary doctorate.  Also, honored were Harvard historian Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. (I am a big history fan), co-owner of the Washington Wizards and healthcare pioneer Mrs. Irene Pollin, and the President of Morehouse College Dr. Massey.
 
When I hear something inspirational from quality influential people I have to share it.  I had the honor of having neurosurgeon and healthcare pioneer Dr. Ben Carson speak at one of my health and fitness events and one of the things he said that really stuck with me was that money, wealth, influence and power really don't matter much when your health is gone.  What can you do when you let your health go...can you buy it back?  Absolutely not.  In fact, nowadays, the best thing you can do for yourself is practice a healthy lifestyle so that you do not have to unnecessarily put yourself in the hands of any doctor or hospital.   . Health is so important.  If you haven't already noticed I believe that true health involves the whole person.  My exercise physiologists and trainers may talk a lot about physical health but that is just one aspect of health.  I believe one is truly healthy when they have quality strategies to address the spiritual, mental, social, emotional, and physical.  With that being said...I think it is great to get an inspirational jumpstart every once in a while (more often if possible).  I had two jumpstarts in the past weekends.  One was having the chance to honor my mother and the other mothers that had a significant impact on my life...another was hearing Oprah Winfrey share some valuable, "time-tested" wisdom at Howard University.  

In case you did not hear her speech here are some highlights starting with the introduction:


Mr President I have the privilege and the high honor to present Ms. Oprah Winfrey to receive at your hand the honorary degree Dr. of Humanities.  Oprah Gail Winfrey preeminent global media mogul in incomparable international philanthropist there is no glass ceiling for you to shatter for you are on an unchartered path guided by infinite divine providence.  You are a universal touchstone personifying living your best life spiritually, physically, productively, happily, generously, faithfully, and fully engaged as a servant leader to all of God's creatures. Your beloved mentor and friend the renowned poet Maya Angelou has said, "She is an honest, hardworking woman who has developed an unusual amount of caring and courage." Your unique gifts from the Creator allowed you to realize your own dreams and your generosity inspires you to help us all grow.  We have grown with you in our own personal spirit-soul selves as you communicate inform, educate, empathize, challenge, commit, care, generate, give, dedicate, dream, trust, love, believe, act and do.  You hold no false boundaries of race, religion or gender.  Demonstrating your limitless ability to relate to all.  You see with a true journalistic eye and intellect but tell the complete story with your heart...a rare gift from God, no doubt, and you use it well.  You believe with every experience you alone are painting your own canvas...thought by thought, choice by choice I always knew I was destined for greatness and you get in life what you have the courage to ask for.  

We herald and applaud your maternal grandmother Hattie May Presley Lee with whom you lived during the early formative years in rural Mississippi.  She is an example of our collective ancestral grandmothers and what they bring to the table of life.  The unconditional love, intuition, understanding, faith, courage, strength, wisdom, and grace all wrapped-up in back-breaking hard work...with no complaints and heaping spoonfuls of more love, hope and heartfelt desires for our rise.  You said,  "I am what I am because of my grandmother.  My strength, my sense of reasoning everything all that was said by the time I was six."  Reading from the age of three you regularly spoke on Sundays at the Faith United Mississippi Baptist Church in your hometown of Mississippi.  You remember the words and little Ms. Winfrey is here to do the recitation...and afterwards lady saying, "Hattie May, this girl is gifted."  And you believed them and talking has always been your forte.  As a teenager in Nashville, Tennessee living with your father Vernon you continued speaking in churches throughout the city.  "When my father took me," you say, "It changed the course of my life."   "He saved me, I was definitely head towards a career as a juvenile delinquent."  You have stated Vernon Winfrey stated the ways of the world to you by saying,"There are those who make things happen, there are those who watch things happen and there are those who don't know what's happening."  In 1973 you left TSU as the first African American TV correspondent and the youngest to ever anchor the news for WTVF-TV in Nashville and began your meteoric rise.  

In a string of firsts bumping Donahue, syndicating The Oprah Winfrey Show, establishing HARPO Incorporated,  portraying Sophia in "The Color Purple,"  establishing HARPO Films, and owning a major part of distribution with KingWorld...making you a leader in the world of marketing and branding.  The Oprah Winfrey show begins it's 21st season on September 8th 2007 and has remained the number one talk show for twenty consecutive seasons.  The door to freedom is education you've said and through your private charity The Oprah Winfrey Foundation and The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program you demonstrate servant leadership by giving back.  After visiting Nelson Mandela in 2000 you pledged 10 million dollars to build a school in South Africa you created the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation...and later expanded that commitment contributing more than 40 million dollars to create and build The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa which opened in January 2007.  The world watched in awe as an ABC-TV Special took us on a journey from conception to grand opening.  Your awesome lists of one-of-a-kind milestones is vast and includes, but is not limited to, Oprah's Book Club, Oprah's Angel Network, The National Child Protection Act...known as the Oprah Bill establishing a national database of convicted child abusers was initiated in 1991 when you testified before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, "O" The Oprah Magazine, "O"  The Oprah Magazine in South Africa, "O" At Home, Oxygen Media, and Oprah & Friends launched in 2006 as a joint venture on XM-Satellite Radio.  Oprah Gail Winfrey dynamic child of God, citizen of the universe, humanitarian, global communicator and entrepreneur, you have created and perpetuated a brighter world for all of us to live, love, excel, and enjoy.  Barbara Walters has said, and we agree," The only thing greater than Oprah's accomplishments is the size of her heart."  Your ingenious enthusiastic giving has established and incomparable and infinite legacy of learning and leadership that enures to the benefit of millions and will live on through eternity.  You epitomize our cherished core values of leadership, excellence, service, and truth.  It is with the greatest of pride and utmost respect and affection that we now name you a daughter of Howard University and honor you on this historic occasion as our commencement oratrix conferring upon you the degree of Doctor of Humanities Honorus Causus.  I now and direct that you be vested with the hood appropriate to this degree and all the rights, privileges and duties pertaining thereto.  Congratulations Dr. Winfrey.


She told the new grads not to worry when uncertainty and fear about life's path starts to set in. ..You are in good hands because God has got your back.  All you need to do is know who you are.  I have as a part of my HARPO Production team two former Howard University graduates Terry Mitchell and Jackie Taylor.  They said when you leave Howard one thing you know for sure is who you are...because Howard teaches you to define yourself by your own terms and not by somebody else's definition.

There is no such thing as failure.  What other people label or might try to call failure is just God's way of pointing you in a new direction.  So, it's true, you might take several paths that might be a dead end for you at the moment.  But this is also what I know for sure.  You must trust in the words of my favorite Bible verse that says the Lord will lead you to a Rock that is higher than thou.  

Every one of us has a calling.  There is a reason why you are here.  I know this for sure...and that reason is greater than any degree, it's greater than any paycheck and it's greater than anything anybody can tell you that you’re supposed to do.  Your real job is to find out what the reason is and get about the business of doing it.  Nobody can tell you what your calling is.  I come from good stock we mentioned my grandmother.  She had a dream for me but it wasn't that big of a dream.  Her dream was that one day I could grow up and get myself some good white folks.  Because my grandmother was a maid and she worked for white folks her whole life.  And her idea of having a big dream was to have white folks that would at least treat her with some dignity...who showed a little bit of respect.  And she used to say I hope you get some good white folks that are kind to you.  And I regret that didn't live past 1963 to see that I did grow up and get some really good white folks working for me.  So have no fear God's got your back.

Sometimes you find out the things you are supposed to be doing by doing some of the things you are not supposed to be doing.  Don't expect the perfect job that defines your life's work to come along next week.  If it happens take the blessing and run with it...but if not

Abide in the space of gratitude.  This is what I know for sure is that only through being grateful for how far you've come in your path can you leave room for more blessings to flow.  Blessings flow in the space of gratitude.  Everything in your life is happening to teach you more about yourself.  Even in a crisis be grateful.  When disappointed be grateful.  When things aren't going the way you want them to be grateful that you have sense enough to turn it around.  I spent 8 years in Baltimore.  I knew in those years in Baltimore that I was unhappy being a television news reporter.  But the voice of my father who thought he knew what I was supposed to do was in my head...and he said, "don't you give up that job girl...you're never going to make $25,000 in one year."  That's my fathers dream for me.  But God can dream a bigger dream than you can dream for yourself.  So I tried to live in the space of God's dream.  The television executives told me while I was in Baltimore that I was just too much.  I was too big and I was too black.  They told me that I was too engaged that I was too emotional...that I was too, too much for the news and so they put me on a talk show one day just to run out my contract and that was the beginning of my story.  So I say, even when things are difficult be grateful...honor your calling...don't worry about how successful you will be.  Don't worry about it.  Focus on how significant you can be in service...success will take care of itself.

Always take a stand for yourself and your values.  You're defined by what you stand for.  Your integrity is not for sale.