And， meanwhile， I was trying to sit gracefully like Barbara and make myself talk like Barbara. And I thought， well， I could make a pretty goofy Barbara. And if I could figure out how to be myself， I could be a pretty good Oprah. I was trying to sound elegant like Barbara. And sometimes I didn，t read my copy， because something inside me said， this should be spontaneous. So， I wanted to get the news as I was giving it to the people.
And sometimes I wouldn，t read the copy-because I wanted to be spontaneous-and I，d come across a list of words I didn，t know and I，d mispronounce. And one day I was reading copy and I called Canada "ca nada." And I decided， this Barbara thing，s not going too well. I should try being myself.
But at the same time， my dad was saying， "Oprah Gail， this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You， d better keep that job." And my boss was saying， "This is the nightly news. You，re an anchor， not a social worker. Just do your job."
So， I was juggling these messages of expectation and obligation and feeling really miserable with myself. I，d go home at night and fill up my journals， because I，ve kept a journal since I was 15-so I now have volumes of journals. So， I，d go home at night and fill up my journals about how miserable I was and frustrated. Then I，d eat my anxiety. That，s where I learned that habit.
And after eight months， I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didn，t want to pay out the contract， they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show， the moment I did， I felt like I，d come home. I realized that TV could be more than just a playground， but a platform for service， for helping other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down， doing that talk show， it felt like breathing. It felt right. And that，s where everything that followed for me began.
And I got that lesson. When you，re doing the work you，re meant to do， it feels right and every day is a bonus， regardless of what you，re getting paid.
It，s true. And how do you know when you，re doing something right? How do you know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you，re supposed to do something or not supposed to do something， your emotional guidance system lets you know. The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead. Every right decision I，ve made-every right decision I，ve ever made-has come from my gut. And every wrong decision I，ve ever made was a result of me not listening to the greater voice of myself.
If it doesn，t feel right， don，t do it. That，s the lesson. And that lesson alone will save you， my friends， a lot of grief. Even doubt means don，t. This is what I，ve learned. There are many times when you don，t know what to do. When you don，t know what to do， get still， get very still， until you do know what to do.
And when you do get still and let your internal motivation be the driver， not only will your personal life improve， but you will gain a competitive edge in the working world as well. Because， as Daniel Pink writes in his best-seller， A Whole New Mind， we，re entering a whole new age. And he calls it the Conceptual Age， where traits that set people apart today are going to come from our hearts-right brain-as well as our heads. It，s no longer just the logical， linear， rules-based thinking that matters， he says. It，s also empathy and joyfulness and purpose， inner traits that have transcendent worth.
These qualities bloom when we，re doing what we love， when we，re involving the wholeness of ourselves in our work， both our expertise and our emotion.
So， I say to you， forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly， just harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.
So， how do I define success? Let me tell you， money，s pretty nice. I，m not going to stand up here and tell you that it，s not about money， because money is very nice. I like money. It，s good for buying things.
But having a lot of money does not automatically make you a successful person. What you want is money and meaning. You want your work to be meaningful. Because meaning is what brings the real richness to your life. What you really want is to be surrounded by people you trust and treasure and by people who cherish you. That，s when you，re really rich. So， lesson one， follow your feelings. If it feels right， move forward. If it doesn，t feel right， don，t do it.
Now I want to talk a little bit about failings， because nobody，s journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong， you hit a dead end-as you will-it，s just life，s way of saying time to change course. So， ask every failure-this is what I do with every failure， every crisis， every difficult time-I say， what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson， you get to move on. If you really get the lesson， you pass and you don，t have to repeat the class. If you don，t get the lesson， it shows up wearing another pair of pants-or skirt-to give you some remedial work.
And what I，ve found is that difficulties come when you don，t pay attention to life，s whisper， because life always whispers to you first. And if you ignore the whisper， sooner or later you，ll get a scream. Whatever you resist persists. But， if you ask the right question-not why is this happening， but what is this here to teach me?-It puts you in the place and space to get the lesson you need.
My friend Eckhart Tolle， who，s written this wonderful book called A New Earth that，s all about letting the awareness of who you are stimulate everything that you do， he puts it like this: He says， don，t react against a bad situation； merge with that situation instead. And the solution will arise from the challenge. Because surrendering yourself doesn，t mean giving up； it means acting with responsibility.