Oprah Winfrey: Proof That Big Dreamers Can Make It

Photo credit (above): Alan Light | Flickr

Oprah Winfrey is without a doubt, one of the most influential people of our time. Of course, she would not be who she is today if not for her past struggles.

People are bound to face failure at least once in their lives. Winfrey is an ambitious, driven individual who continues to not only maintain the name she has made for herself, but also uses her power to give back to society.

She faced many obstacles on her road to achieving her dreams, but was able to overcome them and succeed.

Overcoming obstacles

One of her biggest achievements to this day definitely has to be her world-renowned daytime talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired for nearly 25 years.

Although, at the time of its conception, a talk show hosted by an African American woman was almost unheard of. Winfrey’s hard-hitting, attention-grabbing topics brought in millions of viewers every week.

Her determination to succeed despite being a minority on television shows us that she did not let that apparent obstacle stop her from being the best TV journalist she could be.

She continued to follow her passion despite being fired from her previous job as a newscaster for appearing too “different” from her white counterparts on the network.

Do not stagnate

Yes, Winfrey did rise to fame because of her talk show, but that is not all she is known for.

To this day, she continues to work not only as a journalist, producer, and chief executive officer of her own TV network, but also as a philanthropist.

She continues to help young, unfortunate children the world over. One highly notable example of this was when she founded and opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

She aims to help impoverished, bright young girls by giving them educational opportunities that would otherwise be out of their reach due to their socioeconomic status.

Her continuous involvement in her work after the end of the talk show that defined her career shows that Winfrey has the determination to always dream of bigger and better things.

Now that she has done her part raising awareness of social, political, economic, and medical issues through her show, she works to help resolve those issues.

Conclusion

Winfrey never fails to inspire millions of individuals in the world with all the work she has done. It goes to show that as long as you are capable of overcoming your obstacles and continuously working for a cause you believe in, you too can turn your big dreams into reality.

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Published in English daily The Star, Malaysia, 4 April 2015