Oprah Winfrey has spent her career helping audiences find meaning in their lives, and urging us all to open up about the struggles that can interfere with our happiness and well-being. She has helped pave the way for a more honest dialogue around our internal challenges, and is even teaming up with Prince Harry on a new documentary series for Apple TV, encouraging viewers to have candid conversations about mental health.
Winfrey’s new book, The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose, is an eye-opening guide for overcoming what is holding you back in your life — filled with short stories and powerful anecdotes that have shaped Winfrey’s own journey. Here are 10 of the book’s most inspiring messages:
On taking small steps:
“Your life isn’t about a big break. It’s about taking one significant life-transforming step at a time.”
—Oprah Winfrey
On reframing your weaknesses:
“Harbam means that you have unique gifts. Focus on the gifts. Don’t focus on the weaknesses, because there are other people who will complement your weaknesses, and you will complement theirs. You recognize the gift when you’re expressing yourself in that unique way, giving out your gifts, and you lose track of time.”
—Deepak Chopra
On being different:
“Practice and keep working when no one’s looking. Get comfortable in it. So that when you step on that stage, you’re ready. Then you can literally forget all of it and just be in the moment. And then, do something different. Do something original. Do something different every time.”
—Justin Timberlake
On finding yourself:
“We’re always living a life where we’re chasing a sense of self which feels, underneath it, inauthentic. And then life becomes a compensation for not knowing who we are. It is almost like a wound within us when we get disconnected from the truth of our being… But no matter how much fulfillment we get, there’s that place inside that until we’ve realized the truth of our being, we will feel estranged from our own being. And from each other.”
—Adyashanti
On loving what you do:
“I call it the hum. I get this hum in my head where I feel like I could write forever. Like a frequency where you go from exertion to exaltation. There’s just an endless joy for me. Where I feel like I could write for the rest of my life… It’s really lovely, a real, true happiness.”
—Shonda Rhimes
On seeing the bigger picture:
“I really believe that if I want something, God has three answers. It’s either Yes; Yes, but not right now; or No, because I have something better in store for you.”
—Kerry Washington
On cultivating a growth mindset:
“If you are in a place where you’re more powerful than the people around you, listen as you talk. And if you’re less powerful, talk as much as you listen.”
—Gloria Steinem
On overcoming self-doubt:
“I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly.”
—Oprah Winfrey
On reframing hardships:
“My mother used to say that during hardships in your life, try to look at this moment in the light of eternity… Which is what we see right now, as opposed to the past or the future, which we can’t affect in any way. You can try to see this present moment — whether it’s good or bad, a hardship or a victory — with humility, with acceptance, and with love. You can’t love something until you can accept it.”
—Stephen Colbert
On finding your way:
“What mindfulness is saying to all of us is, Find your own way. Listen to your own heart. Listen to your own longing.”
—Jon Kabat-Zinn
Follow us here and subscribe here for all the latest news on how you can keep Thriving.
Stay up to date or catch-up on all our podcasts with Arianna Huffington here.