Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey have a lot in common. And they have a lot to teach us about coloring outside of lines, following your own path, and making a difference. Neither of these icons of our era were born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Yet both “made a dent in the universe,” to use Steve’s maxim. Oprah began her life in rural Mississippi. Steve began his in foster care in northern California one week after his birth. Both of them started from what we euphemistically call “humble beginnings” and by dint of their own efforts, became cultural icons and entrepreneurial phenomenon in their lifetimes.
What can we learn from these two people. Steve Jobs often said,”stay hungry and stay foolish.” What he meant was that in order to make a difference in the world you cannot focus simply on making money. If you “stay hungry” you will always be striving to become better; you will be willing to look beyond the ordinary. And if you “stay foolish” you will be willing to color outside of the lines; you will take chances and follow your dreams rather that playing it safe.
Oprah decided at the age 14 that she was going to have her hand-print in cement outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theater along side other celebrities who have earned their place in Hollywood history. She started in rural Mississippi and moved to Chicago where she dominated the airways with her down home, direct, and compassionate conversation with ordinary people with whom she shared her story.
Both of these ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives followed their passion. Neither allowed the naysayers to dissuade them from their mission. They wanted to make a difference. They decided that they knew better what Americans wanted than the most people themselves knew.
Oprah became the most celebrated talk show host in history. Her name is known throughout the world. She changed the way people thought of themselves. She gave people a sense of hope believing that if Oprah can do it, so can I.
Steve Jobs began in his garage with Steve Wozniak developing a computer concept that would change the way people looked at computers. He made them user-friendly, beautiful to look at, and fun to play with. He showed the world that a company can focus on producing amazing products that can be accessible by ordinary people, and deliver from the laboratory to the consumer, where aesthetics, design, performance, marketing, packaging, and costumer service, can be seamlessly integrated. He changed the way people look at computers, music, and technology in general.
If Oprah and Steve can take themselves from the bottom to the top, on their own, with virtually no support or help from anyone else, then what is your excuse for not moving ourselves from sitting in front of the TV watching another Seinfeld re-run to fulfilling our own potential? Follow your passion and you won’t have to work a day in your life. Passion never feels like work. At the end of the day you will say, “I got paid for doing something I love…how cool is that?!”
[Dr. Dreyfus is a nationally recognized clinical psychologist, relationship counselor, sex therapist, and life coach in the Santa Monica - Los Angeles area treating low sexual desire, premature ejaculation, sexual addictions, drug and alcohol abuse as well marriage and relationship communication and intimacy issues. The profits from his latest book, LIVING LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT along with his other five books, are being donated to charity through the website Book Royalties for Charity and can be purchased through Amazon.com. Please become a fan on his Facebook Fan Page by indicating "like" on the page by clicking here. You can also find more tools to help you experience a more fulfilling life by clicking here to visit his website.]
Tags: awareness, life changes, life enrichment, living consciously, Personal Growth, self-help
