The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life's Direction and Purpose

by Oprah Winfrey

Your life is not static. Every decision, setback, or triumph is an opportunity to identify the seeds of truth that make you the wondrous human being that you are. I’m not talking just about what you do for a living. When you pay attention to what feeds your energy, you move in the direction of the life for which you were intended. Trust that the Universe has a bigger, wider, deeper dream for you than you could ever imagine for yourself.

when you align your personality with your purpose, no one can touch you.

Your life is always speaking to you. It speaks in whispers, guiding you to your next right step. And in many situations, the whisper is also the first warning. It’s a quiet nudge from deep within saying, Hmm, something feels off. A small voice that tells you, This is no longer your place of belonging. It’s the pit in your stomach, or the pause before you speak. It’s the shiver, the goose-bumps that raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Whatever form the whisper takes, it’s not a coincidence. Your life is trying to tell you something.

Life is about growth and change, and when you are no longer doing either, you’ve received your first whisper. Pay attention to what makes you feel energized, connected, and stimulated. Follow your intuition, do what you love, and you will do more than succeed. You will soar.

When you don’t know what to do, do nothing and the answer will come.

Management is telling somebody what to do. Leadership is inspiring them to do it. And inspiration, for me, comes from three areas. It’s the clarity of one’s vision, the courage of one’s conviction, and the ability to effectively communicate both of those things.

We fall off course the minute our intention shifts from following our heart to responding to what we think others believe. All of a sudden, life feels complicated. That’s because you’ve altered your efforts in the hope of impressing someone else. The goal is to get back to living for yourself, to get back to your flow. And that is not a selfish thing. It’s an honorable thing.

One of my favorite lessons from Joel Osteen is, “What follows ‘I am’ is what we’re inviting into our life.” Meaning when you use phrases like,“I am exhausted,” or, “I am overwhelmed,” you are inviting exactly that kind of energy into your life.

So every problem becomes not, Oh my word. Are we going to make it? But, Well, look what came down the road today. I wonder what this will produce. I wonder what we’ll learn through this. It’s just a shift in how you view life and life together. It’s an adventure in which you actually get to create and cocreate a life.

What follows “I am” is what we’re inviting into our life. You say “I am tired.” “I am frustrated.” “I am lonely.” Well, now you’ve invited more of that in. So the principle is to turn it around and invite what you want into your life. There’s a balance to it. I don’t think you’re denying the facts. You’re just not magnifying the negative. Rather, start saying, “I am a masterpiece. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am strong. I am talented.” I think that is speaking to the core of what God’s put in each one of us. He has equipped us. He’s empowered us. We have what we need to fulfill our destiny. But we have to bring it out. And you can’t bring it out being against yourself.

When you let go of trying to get more of what you don’t really need, it frees up oceans of energy that was caught up in that chase to now turn and pay attention to what you already have. When you actually pay attention to, nourish, love, and share what you already have, it expands. It’s the opposite of what we think. And when people know that, it frees them from this chase of more, more, more, more, more. A shorter way to say all that is, What you appreciate, appreciates. OPRAH: That is such a fantastic tweetable lesson. It’s universal law, actually. What you focus on expands. What you appreciate, appreciates.

Sometimes knowing what you don’t want is as valuable as knowing what you do.

Once you release your grasp, then you give up your resistance, and then that which is for you will come to you.

“Look, I know you love us. Here’s our financial situation. I know you love my family. You’re guys. You like to fix things. Please. Please. Don’t rescue me from this. Because you’re probably going to be interfering with what God is doing in my heart.” OPRAH: So you let yourself fall? PAUL: I allowed myself to fall into trust. And that’s when we learned that the opposite of more is enough. OPRAH: Most people would have said, “Could you loan me the money? I promise this won’t happen again if you only would help