Words of wisdom from "Lady O"

So I have a pretty great group of friends.  A few weeks ago, one of them asked if I'd be interested in a ticket to see Oprah Winfrey in Ottawa.  Truth be told, I was never truly hooked on her show, but when I did watch I was always mesmerized at her ability to captivate an audience, and to ask questions that everyone else was thinking.  Because I wanted to witness that magnetism in person, I jumped at the chance for the tickets (plus it meant a night out with some awesome ladies - win-win!!).

So this past week was the show.  And it was incredible.  Here is this woman standing in front of 15,000 people, and at moments you could hear a pin drop.  You could feel her pull from wherever you were sitting in the audience.  She was as captivating as I thought she would be.  And she was funny.  I'm not sure why I thought she so serious, but she had us in stitches with stories of her childhood, and lots of her experiences.  And even though we were in this massive arena, I felt like we were at a dinner party.  That is her draw - she makes you feel like you are part of the conversation.

While her talk (which lasted over 2 hours with the Q&A session!) centred around her life, it was not an autobiography.  I was awed at her ability to give us snippets of her life story, and translate them into life lessons that could apply to anyone.  I wish I could get a transcript of her talk - there were so many a-ha moments and I'd love to add them to my mantra wall.  Here are a few that stuck:

"If I could believe that a woman could only go so far, I would not be where I am today." - this is a lesson for all our kids. Believe you can be anything you want.

"The energy you give out, is the energy you get back." Should be in the back of everyone's mind for every decision you make or action you take.

"I am the master of my fate."  True.

Finally, the new mantra that is at the top of my wall:

"Do it; do the best you can, then let it go". 

For those who know me, I tend to hang on to things - and my daughter emulates this behaviour to the nth degree.  So I've decided that this is what we will recite in the mornings on our way out - and how we should learn to live our lives.  It will be a work in progress, but in the long run will be an amazing way to live every day. 

So my thanks to Lady O for inspiring me to remember these lessons in daily life.  And for reminding me that these will be the best gifts I can give my kids...a few key words that will guide them through anything that gets thrown at them.

Now if only I could have been the recipient of her Manolo Blahniks :-)