During Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Weekend” tour in Atlanta, the media mogul said that her fundamental belief is that for every action, there’s a reaction. So if you are putting out jealousy, envy, hate or love, that will come back to you. What are you doing to change that?
Photo credit: Sonya Boatwright
Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour in September 2014 in Atlanta, Ga. I’ll be blogging every day this week about the main messages from the event. Today is Day 1.
By Chanda Temple
In September 2014, I attended Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Weekend” tour in Atlanta, where Winfrey dropped nuggets of empowerment and encouragement into folks’ souls, just like farmers drop seeds into the ground during planting season. With a little sunshine, rain and prayer, those seeds are bound to yield a mighty harvest. I can’t wait to see what develops for my own crop.
If the thousands in the audience at Philips Arena wondered what to expect for the weekend, Winfrey announced it soon after stepping onto the stage: “I’m here to help you turn up the volume in your life,” and to help you figure out your purpose, your passion and your vision in life. And once you realize all of this, what will happen next? You’ll be that much closer to the life you want, she said.
As the audience went wild with applause that first night, I went wild with my note taking. I learned a lot and wanted to share it.
Everyone attending Oprah Winfrey’s weekend tour at Atlanta’s Philips Arena received electronic bracelets that lit up during certain moments of the program. The arena looked like it was full of dancing fireflies.
Photo credit: Chanda Temple
For the next couple of days, I’ll be blogging about the messages from that weekend, which also featured inspiring words from guest speakers “Eat Pray Love” best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert, life coach Iyanla Vanzant, pastor Rob Bell and spiritual leader Dr. Deepak Chopra. Today’s message looks at how positivity helps you live your best life.
To get us rolling with today’s theme, I recalled Winfrey’s challenge of transformation from the first night: Write a new story for yourself and intentionally create the life you want and live your life on purpose.
Here are four of her tips to get you started:
After spending a weekend with Oprah Winfrey, I left energized and ready to move mountains.
1) Listen to your spiritual GPS
Whenever something is going on in your life, it’s your duty to listen to your spiritual GPS. Whenever Winfrey didn’t, she got into trouble. Embrace what God is telling you. Hear it. Know it. Honor it. Remember this: “You can’t hear the voice. You can’t get the call unless you get still enough to hear it,” Winfrey said.
2) Get a mantra
By age 8, Winfrey was reciting the poem “Invictus,” which became her mantra. The last two sentences spoke to Winfrey then and still today: “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” The phrase became her way of living in all that she did, from winning the Miss Fire Prevention title at age 16 in Tennessee to starting her television career. She kept going, no matter the setbacks. And there were a lot of disappointments. Her take on failure is this: Sometimes when you are involved in something that doesn’t work, it’s information. Use it as information.
3) Toss those bitter beliefs
Did you know that we are held back by negative beliefs, and that what we think will shape our intentions and what we become? Instead of the negative talk, try believing that anything is possible.
4) Make a decision
Do you have difficulty finding momentum to keep going after what you want? Decide to follow your curiosity and see what happens. Still stuck in park? Check out the Atlanta video from Winfrey’s friends Gilbert, Vanzant and Bell.
Winfrey’s eight-city tour started in Atlanta on Sept. 3 and 4. There were later stops in Auburn Hills, Mich.; Newark, N.J.; Washington, D.C.; Houston; and Miami. Two more cities are left on the tour: Seattle, Wash. will be Nov. 7 and 8 and San Jose, Calif. will be Nov. 14-15.
Chanda Temple is a former reporter now working in public relations. She blogs about being better in business and more at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple. Contact her at chandatemple@gmail.com.
T.K. Thorne
November 4, 2014 at 2:30 pm (10 years ago)I love this: “Write a new story for yourself and intentionally create the life you want and live your life on purpose.” The first hurdle is to make the leap that we can actually DO this and the next hurdle is to keep reminding ourselves (hence the mantra).