My Thoughts on 3 of Oprah's Rules for Success

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Evan Carmichael’s You Tube video “Start Valuing Yourself/Oprah’s 50 Rules for Success.” My love will often leave motivational and encouraging YouTube videos playing, so I can catch the vibes while I’m getting ready to leave the house, or if I’m in my writing cocoon. On this particular day, I was in my writing cocoon when this video came on and caught my attention. I didn’t plan to watch the entire 1-hour + video, but I did. I am an Oprah fan and got so many gems from the video clips Evan compiled. All 50 rules were great advice, but for today’s blog, I want to highlight three that resonated with me.

The Rule: Seize Your Opportunity

“Nothing about my life is lucky. Nothing. A lot of grace. A lot of blessings. A lot of divine order. But I don't believe in luck. For me luck is preparation meeting the moment of opportunity. There is no luck without you being prepared to handle that moment of opportunity.”

-Oprah Winfrey

Why I Love It: It’s a reminder to stay ready. We hear these stories all the time about how people get discovered and start a journey to stardom or other successful endeavors. It’s important to remember they had to bring something to the table that was worthy of discovering. That thing is their skill, experience and dedication to their craft.

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The Rule: You are What You Believe

“The fundamental key to success is what you believe is true for yourself. Not what you want. Not what you desire. It’s what do you believe.” -Oprah Winfrey

Why I Love It: Having a mindset grounded in the belief that you can do what you set out to do is paramount to achieving success. No one can do that for you, you have to do the inner work needed to anchor your thoughts and faith in the belief that you can achieve your goals.

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The Rule: Create the Life you Want

On Manifesting her Role in The Color Purple movie.

“I truly believe that thoughts are the greatest vehicle to change, power and success in the world. Everything begins with thoughts, I mean the chairs were sitting in, the room that we’re sitting in, all started because somebody thought it. So, I thought up The Color Purple for myself.”

-Oprah Winfrey

Why I Love It: I understand now, more than ever that I must stay on a frequency of positivity, faith and abundance with my thoughts to create the life of peace, freedom and creativity that I want. This rule is absolutely true: everything we have and do, starts with our thoughts. If you don’t believe that, take a moment to think about something you have in your life and then trace it back to its origin. That seed you planted was a thought that you watered to make it a reality. That’s why it is important to water those thoughts that will create the life you want.