Oprah Winfrey: The Life, Lessons & Rules For Success  

In the words of Oprah Winfrey, “What I know for sure is that if you want success, you can’t make success your goal. The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant, and the success will naturally follow. ” Oprah Winfrey is one of the greatest African American humanitarians in the history of all time and became the first black female billionaire in 2003(2017). The book Oprah Winfrey: The Life, Lessons & Rules for Success, that was originally published on February 8, 2018, discusses the life, lessons, and the hurdles she had to overcome to be in the successful spot that she is today as a black billionaire. This book will leave you with an amazing, influential guide to the top 10 principles of becoming a successful leader and inspire those who want to build a business and to stay on top. In my leadership, critical analysis essay, I plan on educating and encouraging you on Oprah’s Winfrey's views on becoming a successful leader.

Oprah Winfrey’s life is displayed as a true inspiration of what staying productive, being persistent, and commitment can achieve and how to live a successful and rewarding life. In her book, Oprah breaks down the top 10 rules to success approach to becoming a leader of a business. I will be breaking down these steps and incorporating why these steps can develop a good leader in healthcare. Oprah Winfrey’s first rule for success is, “Rather than overwhelming yourself with the big picture, ask yourself what the next right move is”. It’s easy to feel intimidated by having everything on your plate, so instead of facing such an enormous proposition, take things one step at a time(2017). As a leader in healthcare management, it is important to the delivery of good health services that you have a vision of what can be achieved, communicate to others, and evolve strategies that can help others picture that vision you have in mind. Winfrey believes that success isn’t one giant leap it’s a series of baby steps. Oprah implies that one mistake in your career won’t be defined by that one mistake because you are going to make any mistakes on the path of being successful. The second rule of success is “When you see an opportunity, take it”, the key to being successful in Oprah’s book is to recognize when a great opportunity is in front of you and seize it. When working as a healthcare manager, healthcare, manufacturing industry faces multiple challenges that influence the management and the growth of its workforce. Succession planning is what I consider to be the most important role in health care because it identifies future leaders or employees who have the skills and qualities, to be able to move up in an organization. This ensures that employers can think on their feet and provide skillful abilities to take on a position to advance their career opportunities.

Winfrey's rules three through five, “Forgive yourself for your past mistakes”, “Never stop improving yourself”, and “Go as hard as you can” explain how looking at those past mistakes as teachable opportunities and continually working on yourself, your skillset, and your network so that you are in the best possible position to make a difference. There is always room to be improved if you want to get ahead and recognize that you have control over your performance. As a future health systems manager, I understand that coming into this profession in the beginning mistakes will be made but you can't beat yourself up about it. Developing a great strategic plan can help things run more smoothly in your organization/facility. Also allowing stakeholders to have an opinion on the same priorities and path to improvement will help balance everything out. For example, Winfrey explains in her book how she was starting with her talk show, she knew that there were lots of other shows competing for guests, topics, and airtime, but she also knew that she had no control over any of that. Rule number six in Winfrey rules to success, “Don’t just dream — believe”, in Oprah’s book, “ Oprah Winfrey: The Life, Lessons & Rules for Success”, she talks about how if you are going to be successful, you have to do more than a dream. You have to believe that the life you aspire to lead will one day be yours.

In the words of Oprah Winfrey, 'What I know is, if you do what you love, and the work fulfills you, the rest will come. ' Winfrey’s, seven and eighth rule of success, “Remember that people are more alike than they are different” and “Find your purpose in life”. When you find your purpose in life you can live with integrity and I also believe when you know your purpose, it's a key way of knowing who you are deep inside. To be able to find our true purpose in life is to make ourselves uncomfortable. Working in healthcare management as a great leader progresses values, mission, and vision to maintain organizational culture.

As Oprah said in rule number seven we are more alike than different in a way we are all the same because we are human. We all have similar dreams and goals in life, it just all comes down to who you are as an individual and how distinctive your creativity can inspire a change in the world. Oprah’s rule of success number nine, “Keep yourself grounded and centered”, staying consistent and on top of goals is a super important rule of being a good leader. Oprah believes a strong team can help build a strong leader. Staying focused, compassionate, and always seek to understand and connect with others, you can improve your chances of being successful. Last but not least rule ten, “Try to remember that everything will be OK”, Oprah Winfrey explains how scary and overwhelming being a successful leader can be in the beginning, but it’s important to stay true to yourself and to keep the faith.