Jan 07, 2017 11:55 PM EST By Chris Brandt, UniversityHerald Reporter

Oprah Winfrey is no doubt one of the most powerful women in the world today in terms of influence and money. Decades ago, however, she was the opposite. In fact, her beginnings looked like she was bound to failure. But she refused to fold in and rose to become one of the most influential women of our time. Here are some of her practical tips how to reach your dreams.

Be excellent

Oprah Winfrey lives and breathes excellence even during the worst times of her life, even in the midst of prejudice. In fact, she said that excellence is the best weapon against sexism and racism. When everybody thought it was impossible for her to become a talk show host, she proved them all by becoming the number one daytime talk show in the United States. She did this by being excellent which is evident in every episode of her show.

Turn negatives to positives

She had a lot of misfortunes which could make another person cower in insecurity, even towards mental deterioration. She was a victim of rape, a recipient of racism and sexism, and extremely poor. She took responsibility for herself and turned all these negative things into something positive.

Be grateful more often

A lot of people do not think that gratefulness is an important element of success but Winfrey thinks otherwise. Most of all, she stresses to be thankful to those people who are under you, those regular people. Winfrey showed that gratefulness when she gave her staff and their families (a total of more than 1,000 people) a Hawaiian vacation. In turn, her employees are happy, loyal, and also excellent.
Moreover, being grateful makes you much happier and according to research, happiness makes you feel more successful.

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