Have you ever written a letter to Dr. Phil or Oprah? Did they respond? Well don’t feel bad because I didn’t get a response either. I guess my family matter wasn’t “Jerry Springer” enough for Dr. Phil and Oprah was too busy migrating from a major network to her OWN network back then to respond. No big deal however because I’ve figured a lot of things out on my own since then. I do hold Oprah in very high esteem; in fact I’ve dreamed of being a “white” Oprah. I used to watch The Oprah Winfrey show as often as I could but since I only have basic cable, I’m no longer able to do that. So for now I just stick to reading her monthly magazine, gleaning whatever wisdom I can from that. I am so excited because it is that time of year again…time for Oprah’s 12-Days of Christmas Give-O-Way!! I feel pretty certain that I am going to win this year. In fact I have already selected some of “my” favorite things from her 87 “Favorite Things”. Yep, I am really looking forward to receiving the rolling suitcases; the I Love Sundays oversized V-neck comfy shirts and the Nespresso machine. I have already alerted several of my family and friends that I will be gifting them great stuff once my name is announced as the winner. Now I’m not trying to look my gift horse in the mouth, but it does seem like Oprah’s lavish and extraordinary gifts are becoming a little more ordinary and not so lavish anymore. I guess the OWN network does not have the same size gift budget as her former network did. In fact if I really wanted to, I could just order her favorite things through Amazon, have them delivered by drone to my door and not even enter the contest. But what fun would that be? There’s something exciting about entering that three digit code and pressing the “submit” button for twelve days in a row. Regardless of the quality of the gifts, I’m still a fan of Oprah Winfrey. I’ve decided that even if I can’t be the “white” Oprah, I would still like to be a part of the real Oprah’s camp someday. I wonder if I could improve my chances of her noticing me by purchasing the premier membership in her Circle of Friends club. Since I’m not in the habit of “buying” friendships, I guess that I’ll just continue to wait patiently knowing that one day when I least expect it, the phone will ring and it will be Oprah’s people. In the meantime I’ll continue pursuing success Oprah’s way; success is preparation meets opportunity.
Now isn’t dreaming fun? If you are a dreamer and any of your BIG dreams have actually come true, please feel free to share them with us.
Below is a copy of the e-mail that I had written to Oprah several years ago asking for her guidance.
Dear Oprah,
It would make my day if you would respond to my e-mail. I am writing to you because I am 56 years old and I have hit a wall in my career. I too am a very faith filled person. I have prayed, trusted, surrendered, cried out from the deepest depths of my soul and it’s still not happening for me. Five years ago I left corporate America to “make a difference” in the world. I too felt like you do; that God has a plan for my life and if I do what I am passionate about and obey God, the money will come.
Initially my platform was a small coffee shop. There was a spirit of love in my shop that was contagious. The positive energy flowed all around. Like most small business owners, I pretty much did everything myself. You may not know this but a barista is much like a bartender and I was trying to “coffee cup counsel” people while making lattes, chicken salad and homemade quiche everyday. It was terribly frustrating at times and I eventually burned out.
I learned something very important while working in that affluent neighborhood back then however. What I learned was it doesn’t matter how much money you have, what type of car you drive or the size of the house that you live in; everyone has stuff that they are dealing with. Everyone has a story to tell, they need to be heard and they want to have their feelings validated. Oprah, since you have been doing this successfully for so many years, I thought that you might be willing to help me. I’m stuck and I need a road map or some type of guidance. My enthusiasm keeps waning because I can’t seem to move forward with my non-conventional vision for helping people. Oprah, how do I begin this work that I believe God has called me to do?
Maybe on your new network, you could offer some “how to” programs. It would be great if you could fill in the pieces of the puzzle for the kindred spirits and entrepreneurs like me who have dreams, hope and desires but lack the knowledge to take it to the next level. It’s easy to buy a business and to sell tangible product; a little more difficult to create a platform that will generate income doing something that you love. Please help!