The first instalment in a new series of book summaries to help you find books that inspire action for self-development, self-help and self-care. Episode 1 - The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose by Oprah Winfrey.
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged and increased constantly, or it vanishes."
Peter Drucker
I have always loved reading! As someone who learned English as a second language, I appreciate the English language and the ability to influence through words.
In my blog Transform Self-help Ideas into Action, I share my love of self-development and self-help books and how they have impacted my career and life. I also share 5 tips to help you gain the most from your self-development reading so check it out if you haven't already.
From that post, I received inquiries on what recommendations I have for worthwhile self-development books to read. There are so many! So I want to create a series of book summary posts for books that have inspired me to action. After all, we can all benefit from a good book recommendation.
As the first instalment of Books That Inspire Action, I want to start with a book I love by Oprah Winfrey titled, "The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose".
This is a book that will make you feel happy and hopeful.
It's an enjoyable leisurely read that can be done in one afternoon with soft relaxing music and your favourite pot of tea. Or listened to on Audible book with Oprah's calming voice narrating and star-studded recordings of her interviews from her vast library of guests on her show.
Oprah describes her hopes for the book as enhancing the journey of discovering more of who you are and who you were meant to be. You benefit from the wisdom of Oprah and the insights of the spiritual gurus and thought leaders from her decades of interviews.
Path Made Clear is not a "how-to" book for finding purpose. It is a thoughtful and introspective book that encourages you to reflect and rethink what purpose means to you and how you find it.
Here are my takeaways from the book...as Oprah coined the term, "Aha Moments". There are so many that it's hard to summarize, so I will limit myself to one for each aptly titled chapter.
One - The Seeds
Two - The Roots
Three - The Whispers
Four - The Clouds
Five - The Map
Six - The Road
Seven - The Climb
Eight - The Give
Nine - The Reward
Ten - Home
One - The Seeds
The first chapter of the book is about finding the seeds of truth for your purpose.
Oprah Winfrey is a queen in the realm of self-development and self-help and is regarded as a champion of self-transformation and empowerment. (Yes, I am a fan.)
The Oprah Show ran from 1986 to 2011 and became an iconic talk show for entertaining and thought-leading topics with powerful interviews. The show covered lifestyle, celebrities, culture, politics, spirituality, leadership, activism and everything in between.
Oprah's success and career are not a result of a big break. She describes feeling misplaced at the beginning of her career as a six o'clock news anchor and how trying to be someone she was not conflicted with her authentic self.
She shares how a demotion from the news anchor role to a local talk show host sparked her calling. In her new role as a local talk show host, she felt aligned with her authentic self and energized by purpose and possibilities.
"There was no doubt that the seeds of what was to give my life meaning and purpose had been planted. That day, my 'job' ended and my calling began." That was the beginning of The Oprah Show.
After 25 years of her show's success, she began to feel misaligned again and ended the show despite how much she loved the work. She found new purpose and possibilities through the creation of a new cable network, OWN. That began her road to a successful multi-media company with even greater impact and possibilities.
The "Aha Moment"
Find what feeds your energy and grow the seeds of purpose. See how you can incorporate more of those activities into your life.
"Every decision, setback, or triumph is an opportunity to identify the seeds of truth that make you the wondrous human being that you are... When you pay attention to what feeds your energy, you move in the direction of the life for which you were intended."
- Oprah Winfrey
Two - The Roots
In this short chapter, Oprah shares how your calling "is already rooted within you, and those roots can be trampled or tugged at but never removed."
This chapter is filled with inspirational interviews and stories about connecting to our root purpose or calling. Many of those stories start with childhood dreams of who people wanted to be when they grew up. Examples of how the roots were always there, even from childhood.
Oprah shares that her deepest desire is for "people to get still enough to identify what makes them unique and connect to hope, possibility, and fulfillment in all areas of their life."
The "Aha Moment"
The roots of your purpose can be nurtured to flourish. Your calling can be expressed differently in various areas of your life, it doesn't have to be tied to your career.
"I have a number of different callings. And I think it's possible to be called away from things I have been called to in the past. There are goodbyes as well as hellos in our callings. Because a calling doesn't have to be for a lifetime."
- Barbara Brown Taylor
Three - The Whisper
This chapter resonated deeply with me. In my life, the biggest changes came when I listened to the whispers telling me when something felt off and when something felt right.
A negative example would be when I ignored the mental and emotional health whispers of burnout that lead to loud physical health warnings with my lymphoma diagnosis.
A positive example would be listening to my gut feeling whispers to leave my corporate career, start my own business and invest more time in my family and self-care.
Whispers are life signs telling us to do the next right thing or to stop doing a not right thing. The problem is that they are whispers and we often don't hear or feel them. And sometimes we just ignore them altogether.
This chapter contains great examples showing positive and negative outcomes that can happen depending on how you respond to life's whispers.
The "Aha Moment"
There are going to be circumstances in life that we can't control, but we can always choose to listen and respond with proactive awareness instead of living on autopilot.
"Whatever form the whisper takes, it's not a coincidence. Your life is trying to tell you something. Heeding these signs can open doors to your personal evolution, pushing you toward your life's purpose. Ignore them - sleepwalking through your life - is an invitation to chaos."
- Oprah Winfrey
Four - The Clouds
This chapter is about dealing with resistance that comes in the form of doubts and fears, the clouds.
Oprah uses her example of being invited to give the 2013 commencement speech at Harvard University to illustrate the power of fear, even with her 30 years of experience as a public speaker. It's comforting to know that even Oprah can suffer from imposter syndrome and the resistance that comes from fear.
Even the iconic Oprah suffered from self-doubt and anxiety that had her asking what could she possibly share with the brilliant Harvard graduate minds that they hadn't heard before.
This chapter contains quotes and conversations on doubt, fear and resistance that comes from the negative voices in our heads. This chapter will inspire you and comfort you to know that the clouds are real for everyone, but can be lifted.
Read my blog Beat Imposter Syndrome with the Power of Personal Purpose for more tools to overcome resistance from fear.
The "Aha Moment"
The resistance that comes from fear is natural, it's a part of our fight or flight instinct. The more something is important to you, the more resistance you will feel, and the more important it is for you to push through the fear.
"The more important an activity is to your soul's evolution, the more resistance you will feel to it"
Five - The Map
The map is about how aligning purpose and intention will help guide you to successfully achieve your goals. This chapter is about how staying true to your intention and using it along with your vision to map out success for your purpose.
Oprah contributes her success to the guiding force in her life, which is intention. She defines intention as her sense of truth and her vision.
She uses her journey to opening The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Johannesburg, South Africa as her example of staying clear and true to her vision and purpose. The opening of the school was met with skepticism and negativity from the media and they questioned Oprah's intent and ability to bring the project to fruition.
She writes about how she "held a vision for what this school could be - a place to build leaders and inspire greatness." She continued with the "purity of that intention was aligned from my heart to my head" and because she had no ulterior motive, the true intent came through in her actions.
The stories and interviews in this chapter are some of the most moving. They show how intent comes through in one's actions to achieve purpose in all situations from families to careers and self-awareness.
Brene Brown's feature interview and her sharing of her family manifesto is a powerful and moving example of intention and purpose. This chapter had me in tears.
The "Aha Moment"
Simply put, start with Why and let it lead you.
"Whether you want to fulfill a long-held dream, find greater success in the career you've chosen, give more of yourself to others, or repair a broken relationship, you must first ask yourself, Why? What is the real intention? And then ask, How ill I execute the action? "
- Oprah Winfrey
Six - The Road
The Road is a chapter about how the state of "flow" can be achieved when you have a purpose.
The road metaphor is inspired by Gloria Steinem, an iconic journalist and political activist.
Gloria describes how living in the "on the road" state of mind "reminds her to stay open to learning because travel brings people out of their heads and into their hearts."
This short chapter is about how a "flow" state can be more easily achieved when you are true to your intention and purpose.
Oprah uses basketball star LeBron James' statement, "I get off my game when I start playing for others rather than playing for myself." as a reminder of how we can get off course in achieving our purpose when we are distracted by what other people think and believe about us.
The "Aha Moment"
Stay true to yourself and your vision.
"And despite the inevitable distractions, when you find that sweet spot, living your truth takes on a breathtaking level of intensity. That is the brilliance of flow."
- Oprah Winfrey
Seven - The Climb
This chapter is about using paradigm shifts to face the challenges we encounter in climbing the mountain to achieve our purpose.
Oprah uses her experience of creating OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) as her example of facing her "Kilimanjaro" of challenges. Her struggles in creating and operating the new network led her to realize that her perspective on challenges was part of the battle.
She shifted from negative reactionary self-talk to a proactive point of view. Instead of telling herself how overwhelming, exhausting and how much of a struggle it was, Oprah shifted her language to "the honour" of having stimulating work and how she will learn and be better from it in the end.
The interviews and stories in this chapter are about the power of paradigm shifts. My favourite was supermodel, Cindy Crawford's approach to aging, "I have the privilege of getting older..."
The "Aha Moment"
We often make challenges even bigger than they are with negative self-talk and a reactionary paradigm, so shift the paradigm.
"There are two levels of truth. One is to see the craziness of what's happening now. And another is to see, from a higher perspective, that what's happening now is a part of our evolution."
- Eckhart Tolle
Eight - The Give
The Give is about considering the legacy you want to have in the world and being of service to another human being.
This chapter is inspired by Maya Angelou, the writer, poet and civil rights activist who Oprah considers to be her "spiritual queen mother" and "ultimate teacher." Maya was a personal mentor to Oprah.
Maya's iconic quote, "People may not remember what you did or what you said, but they always remember how you made them feel." instilled in Oprah a commitment to sustaining a compassionate approach to life.
Oprah encourages us to consider the legacy we want to leave with our lives and work toward that as a goal going forward. Instead of looking back at our lives during our golden years and reflecting on what we could have done, live according to the legacy we want to build.
I love Oprah's viewpoint on how we touch others' lives, "Life can be measured in exchanges of energy. Positive or negative: What is the energy you choose to bring to the world? Positive exchanges multiply and grow. That's why giving on any level feels so great."
The "Aha Moment"
Working toward a clear purpose, even if it evolves and grows with age is better than living life by default.
"Give to the world what you want to receive from the world, because that is what you will receive."
Nine - The Reward
This chapter is about the true reward of working from a place of purpose. Yes, we all need an income, but we are not defined by material success.
Oprah shares stories of how her father instilled the value of a hard day's work into her from a young age. She also learned early on to value herself and her work when others did not.
She shared her attitude on self-worth after experiencing being underpaid for her work as a teenager, "I value my work and myself, and I decided that no matter how much or how little money I made, I would never let that define my worth."
The three lessons she learned about work and money are:
"I am not my salary."
"Sometimes knowing what you don't want is as valuable as knowing what you do want."
"Know the joy of doing what you love and never stop pursuing it."
This chapter contains interesting interviews with insights and stories on the definition of wealth and reward.
The "Aha Moment"
All the material rewards in the world cannot define self-worth. Build a gratitude and abundance mindset for the things that truly matter in a purposeful life.
"What I know for sure is that no matter how much wealth you come to possess, everything passes and changes with time. What is real, and what is forever, is who you are and what you are and what you are meant to share with the world."
- Oprah Winfrey
Ten - Home
The last chapter is about how we all have the power to discover our purpose and live our authentic truth.
In the last chapter, Oprah shares her "aha moment" from the classic 1939 movie, "The Wizard of Oz.", the story of Dorothy, a teenage girl's fantastical adventure after being swept away by a tornado to the magical land of OZ where she finds her way home by finding herself.
Oprah's epiphany comes in the final scene (spoiler alert). Dorothy has faced all the challenges on the yellow brick road to make her way to the Great and Powerful Oz to ask to be sent home to her family only to find out he is a fraud.
Dorothy is devastated that she will never be able to get home without help from the Great and Powerful Oz. Glinda the Good Witch appears and says to Dorothy, "You don't need to be helped any longer. You've always had the power."
Oprah describes this scene as the greatest aha moment of her life, "No matter how far away from yourself you may have strayed, there is always a path back. You already know who you are and how to fulfill your destiny. And your ruby slippers are ready to carry you home."
The "Aha Moment"
Home is where the heart is and where your true purpose resides.
"You have the power to discover your purpose and live your greatest truth. It doesn't matter how many yellow brick roads you encounter - it has always been right there, at home, in your heart.
- Oprah Winfrey
Walk Your Own Unique Path
Oprah's book is not about telling you how to find purpose, her wisdom and the valuable stories and interviews shared in this book will give you food for thought on discovering your uniqueness and your value to be shared with the world.
The action that The Path Made Clear inspires:
Be aware of how you are sowing the seeds of your purpose.
Cultivate the roots with care.
Listen carefully to what the whispers of purpose are telling you.
See through the clouds of doubt with a proactive perspective.
Let your purpose be the compass to guide you as you follow the map, travel the road and make the climb.
Your legacy is what your purpose gives and the reward is your true definition of worth.
Home is where the heart is and where you will find your true purpose.
"Do you believe that you are worthy of happiness, success, abundance, fulfillment, peace, joy and love? What I know for sure is that you become what you believe."
- Oprah Winfrey
I keep Oprah's beautiful hardcover book visible and available on my bookshelf. I have repeatedly listened to the Audible version narrated by her with the real recordings of the star-studded interview segments. Makes me cry every time. I highly recommend The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose as a book that inspires action.
Additional Recommended books by Oprah:
I would love to hear your comments:
What book has inspired you to action?
What book recommendations do you have for me?
What book would you like for me to review in the future?
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