What Oprah Knows for Sure

OK, I admit it, I'm a HUGE Oprah fan. I'm just reading the September issue of "O" this Sunday afternoon and am pleased to see in her column on page 288 "What I Know For Sure" that she's talking about making decisions and making commitments to our decisions.

Oprah quotes mountaineer W.H. Murray:

"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it./Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

I'm also a fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, in the mid-1800s, "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."

Goethe was born in 1749 and died in 1832, so these are not new ideas.

I'm working on a book with a friend of mine, tentatively called "The Beginner's Guide to Life." We're going to look at ancient wisdom and see whether it's still relevant. What we're finding is that, like the title of this blog, we already know this stuff. Emerson also said

"In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty."

How are you becoming what you know you were meant to be? With whom in your life can you practice being authentic? Think about who would be on your own personal board of directors so you can surround yourself with both like-minded people as well as those who will challenge you to expand your horizons.