First and foremost let me say - Yes, I loved watching Oprah. I admit it - I am an Oprah fan - a true blue fan. I'd even set my DVR and record her shows just in case I couldn't make it home to see them and I didn't want to miss them. I didn't know what the show was about every day, and there were some days I wasn't really interested in the subject matter, but I couldn't take a chance that I might miss a "really great" show. I've been very lucky here since moving to Wyoming. I had the chance to watch her show at the standard 4:00 p.m. time or I could watch it on another channel at 9:00 p.m. Boy, did I consider myself blessed.Did I agree with everything she said or did? Absolutely not, but I've seen her influence and change the lives of people in a good positive way. Most shows I watched with a box of Kleenex close by. Those Kleenex might be used for wiping tears of joy, of laughter, of sadness, or "peeing in your pants" hilarity. I loved the road trip with Gayle because I could identify with Gayle incessant singing, I loved the single Alaskan men show, oh there were so many, many wonderful times spent in front of the TV watching Oprah.
Her final show (which I recorded since I was out of town) struck a chord with me. It's something I've thought about for many, many years but a lot more in recent weeks since I've been suffering from "laid off itis".
This is a portion of what Oprah said at the beginning of her final episode..."What I knew for sure from this experience with you is that we are all called. Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it. Every time we have seen a person on this stage who is a success in their life, they spoke of the job, and they spoke of the juice that they receive from doing what they knew they were meant to be doing. We saw it in the volunteers who rocked abandoned babies in Atlanta. We saw it with those lovely pie ladies from Cape Cod making those delicious potpies. ... We saw it every time Tina Turner, Celine, Bocelli or Lady Gaga lit up the stage with their passion. Because that is what a calling is. It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you and hope that you will take from this show. To live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world."
What I want you to know as this show ends: Each one of you has your own platform. Do not let the trappings here fool you. Mine is a stage in a studio, yours is wherever you are with your own reach, however small or however large that reach is. Maybe it's 20 people, maybe it's 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show, and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You're letting your life speak for you. And when you do that, you will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have.
