Oprah Winfrey is one the most influential woman in the world. The media boss runs her own TV network, publishes a magazine, hosts inspirational shows, executive produces films, and still finds the time to conduct major philanthropic works around the world.
Winfrey’s list of accomplishments is so long it can be difficult not to be in awe and admire her ability to continuously realize her goals despite the challenges – you know she’s had her haters along the way.
It’s hard to imagine what her world and ours would be like if she’d simply settled with being just another talk show host. Instead of resting on the success of her 1984 hosting gig. “AM Chicago – which later became nationally syndicated as “The Oprah Winfrey Show” – she kept challenging perceived limits and the realm of possibilities.
From entertainer to entrepreneur, Oprah leveraged her driven personality to grow her brand – and her businesses – into the household name we know today. There may not be another mogul like Oprah in our lifetimes, but we’d be crazy to not use her roadmap to achieve our own personal business success.
Here are 5 lessons from Oprah to help you achieve your own business success today:
Be True to Yourself
I cannot stress the importance of this enough. From the tender age of three Oprah was captivating her local church with her ability to recite bible verses. She would even ask her dolls and the crows in her yard detailed questions.
You could say that she was born to host her own talk show so if you’re currently working a job that isn’t resonating with your innate passion, consider making a change to see where it takes you.
You Can’t Learn to Walk without Falling
No one is an overnight success… not even Oprah. It took hard work, dedication, and massive strings of failures to achieve what he has today.
Think of failure as a new perspective, a new lesson, another stepping stone to your ultimate destination and never be afraid to fail. Here’s a tip: Try doing something that you’re sure you can’t do – rock climbing, running a race, making dinner from scratch.
Fail at it. And, then try it again. Only this time do it better and see how you feel about it after.
There’s No Such Thing as Luck
“I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” – Oprah Winfrey
In business, you make your own luck. Period. You don’t earn 2.7 billion dollars by thinking that every decision you make is going to be lucky.
Most new entrepreneurs hope for a sudden spike in sales or a rush of traffic to their website, but if you put all of your efforts into hoping instead of doing; you’ll be left discouraged and unprepared to capitalize on the small wins.
Slow It Down
Running a business is like a marathon with a few brief commercial-like breaks of calm thrown in. There’s always something left to check off on some list or something hanging over you that should have been done last week.
The Queen of Media doesn’t just tell her followers to appreciate the slow moments; she does it herself. She takes time each day to recognize all the things she is grateful for and to just celebrate her being. It doesn’t take long and those type of short moments can make all the different for you in your business.
You’re In Charge
There are plenty of people out there who are content to allow life to just happen to them. Don’t be one of those people! You need to take charge and make things happen for yourself.
“I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.”
Oprah knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but went for it anyway. The only person in control of your destiny/business/life is you. There is power in the fact that you get to choose how you run your business and brand. That fact should drive you and inspire you to leverage that power to achieve your own version of success.
-Staff Writer | Not Just A Girl In A Dress
Tipton you may remember, is the first plus-size designer to win Project Runway and whose positive personality and chic eye for style brought back a level of excitement to the show that we hadn’t seen in years.
Tipton shared, “I am thrilled to be a part of the JCPenney Boutique+ brand launch. I look forward to infusing my signature style that is known for distinct designs in bright hues and bold patterns that appeal to young fashionistas looking for clothes that make them feel as good as they look.”
Considering 
Nike and James have had a long-standing relationship for years. After a recently practice James shared, “it’s been an unbelievable time for myself and my family, and I’m just grateful that Nike and [Nike founder] Phil Knight and everyone over there just believed in a skinny-old, skinny 18-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio, and I’m happy to be a part of such a great company.”
Making the choice to go natural wouldn’t seem like a business question to some, but it was for me and many African American women. Even working in the “lifestyle” space, I know that wearing my hair in certain styles may put me in at a disadvantage for job opportunities and with certain clients. For most of my life this really hasn’t been a problem, because my hair has been “bone-straight” relaxed for as long as I can remember.
So, about five months ago I quietly “forgot” to get my scheduled relaxer and am currently 8 months into my natural transition. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell yet, because I’ve been rocking my summer extensions (yup that luscious length is a weave), but I’ve been experimenting with twist-outs, updos, braided buns and pinups for months. I’m getting good with my at-home styling, but I can’t take all the credit.
Thanks to bloggers like 
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