A Sense of Deja Vu

So I’m reading Oprah’s “Here We Go” column in the “Success” issue (Sept. 2001) and I feel like I’ve read this advice before.  Oprah says you have to define what success is for you–you can’t try to fit into someone else’s definition–and that this issue is devoted to helping you figure out what your own “voice of success” is.   For Oprah, success is:

For me, success is about knowing who you are, and then using who you are and what you do to serve yourself, your family, your community, our world.  It’s knowing your strengths and building on them–and knowing your weaknesses and working on them.  It’s being so confident in your own character and style that no on else can even tell you how to dress–or, more important, how to live.  You have a certain way of being in this world, and your imprint is what matters.  There’s never going to be another one like you.  So take it to the max!

But wait.  Beyond the instasnark comment of wondering why Oprah has fashion pages if you don’t need to be told how to dress, I couldn’t help thinking that I had read something like this before.  Oh yeah.  It was in the Trust issue in volume 1.  There you had to figure out who you were so you could rely on yourself.  This sounds about the same–you define what success is.

I understand that “success” has different definitions for different people, but for me I think it’s being able to be a published writer/humorist/essayist who could make a living off of the writing and not need to rely on my husband for most of the income in the house.  Somehow I think this issue is going to go more general because frankly, not everyone is going to be a bestselling writer or have a Top-40 hit, so you’ve got to find ways the average person can be and feel successful.

I’m hoping the article “Success: The Real Thing” is helpful because it’s apparently about taking “time, and trial and error, to hear the calling of your inner voice–and then be willing to listen.”  I’m anticipating needing to hear about the patience factor and am curious about trial and error.

I do fear not getting anything out of this issue–that it will be too much like the others.  We’ll see though.  Once again, this time I’m just reading the themed sections to deal with perceived competition from Living Oprah.  Maybe by the time I’m done, I’ll have found “Excellence” and can look at that issue again.