Happy Birthday Oprah!!!
Happy Birthday Oprah!!!!
I mention Oprah quite often in my various blog posts. She has been such an inspiration to me as a business woman and a person of good will. So it is only right that on her birthday, I dedicate this post to her.
24 Fun Facts About Oprah via Channel 24:
1. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on 29 January 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to a teenaged Vernita Lee and coal miner Vernon Winfrey. Her parents were never married and split up soon after her birth.
2. On her birth certificate, she is Orpah, which is a biblical name. But because her family struggled to pronounce the r before the p, they called her Oprah and it just kinda stuck.
3. While Oprah wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth, there must have been a microphone nearby. Her grandmother taught her to read at the age of three, and she was known as “The Preacher” at church for her ability to recite Bible verses.
4. Oprah always held onto her book smarts. She was an honors student and won a scholarship to Tennessee State University where she studied communications.
5. But she’s not just a smart cookie. Oprah was voted Most Popular in her senior year class and she won the 1971 Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.
6. Despite this, Oprah has always battled privately and publicly with her fluctuating weight. Surprisingly, it’s never had an impact on her popularity as it has with most other famous personalities.7. Who does Oprah like to talk to most? Her bestie Gayle King, of course.
8. Rumor has it that Gayle and ‘O’ are more than friends… but Oprah simply describes their relationship as ‘other-worldly”.
9. Oprah has been together with her longtime partner, academic Stedman Graham since 1986. However, Stedman apparently moved out in August and it’s also reported that Oprah has cut him out of her will. There’s no official word on their current relationship status.
10. Oprah’s most public love relationship is with her dogs. In March 2008, her first dog, 13-year-old Sophie died after suffering years of kidney trouble. The world shed a tear with Oprah as she bid Sophie farewell with a video montage on her show.
11. Her annual holiday feature, Oprah’s Favorite Things, is the most watched episode of her show each year. It’s also the one show EVERYBODY wants to attend because the audience members receive everything on that year’s list as a gift! <SEE VIDEO CLIP BELOW>
12. Speaking of favorites, green is her color.
13. Her favorite book is the American classic, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
14. Things she definitely doesn’t like include shoes (she prefers to walk barefoot), bubblegum and heights.
15. With a net worth of over $2.3 billion, she can have all of her favorite things, all of the time.
16. She doesn’t keep it all to herself, though. Oprah’s Angel Network has raised more than $51 million for various charities, and she regularly matches the public’s sum donations, as she did with the Hurricane Katrina relief fund.
17. In January 2007, The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girlswas opened in Meyerton, South of Johannesburg. Oprah donated $40 million to establish this facility.
18. Just recently, Oprah helped her mom out of a lawsuit claiming Vernita Lee owed $155 000 in unpaid clothing store bills.
19. The world respects Oprah’s opinion. She was so instrumental in electing Barack Obama as US President last year, the governor of Illinois considered offering her Obama’s vacant senate seat.
20. If you hadn’t already guessed, her production company, Harpo Productions, is her name spelled backwards.
21. Like all big shot celebs, Oprah likes to branch out. You may have seen her in Beloved as well as in The Color Purple, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Sofia.
22. Her magazine is named after her nickname, “O“, and the editor is her best friend Gayle King.
23.She appears on the cover of every single edition. This year, after many impassioned pleas from Ellen Degeneres, Oprah invited the other talk show host to join her on the cover of the Christmas edition.
24. The only other person to share the O Magazine cover with her is Michelle Obama. Not even Oprah would say no to Obama!
So these are just a view of some of Oprah’s dynamic “fun facts”. It is my hope that I will manifest a life similar to hers! She is just simply AWESOME!!!
Happy Birthday Oprah!!!!
Love,
Candace M. Braddock
The Power of A Dream Team
This weekend in Austin, Texas was absolutely amazing. I always have heard the saying, “There is power in a team”, and this image shows that. This weekend I was at the Empower Network “Release Your Inner Bad A**” event and all I can say is, OMG!!
First, I have never met any of these people in person a day in my life, but the out pour of love and compassion was simply overwhelming. I was greeted with so much love and acceptance, I was moved to tears a few times. I masterminded with those that have been through struggle and trials, but managed to manifest a better life for themselves because of Empower Network.
Second, I have never seen company owners who are so invested in their leaders. They truly treat them like kings and queens. This creates a culture of leadership and development that is something that I have never seen before.
Prior to boarding the plane to Austin, I thought that this was going to be a typical business event. That was so far from the truth! I sat up until the wee hours of the night being encouraged, inspiring others, sharing goals and dreams, and having so much fun. When I heard the name of the event, “Release Your Inner Bad A**”, I didn’t know what to expect. It sounded like a WWF Live event :). But now I truly understand the concept behind the theme. Through all of the amazing testimonies, I realized that releasing your inner bad a** meant becoming the best you that you can be. It means taking your dreams out of your and putting them before you. It means being excited to BE YOURSELF It means doing all that you can to live your life, impact others, and start experiencing life instead of just existing in it.
Design Your Life,
Candace M. Braddock
P.S. If you would like to experience freedom of self, being apart of an amazing team, and making all of your dreams come true, I highly suggest that you CLICK HERE, and let’s start LIVING TODAY!
You Matter…A Lot!
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson
Hi Everyone,
This quote is pretty profound. If you are here today that means that you are here on PURPOSE! Make today count and give it your all!!!
Don’t Let what others say about you dictate what you do or who you are! Fail Your Way To the Top!
Design Your Life,
Candace M. Braddock
P.S. If you are interested in building a business, while having a life at the same time by blogging, CLICK HERE!
Look Guys, I am Sorry…
I know that you have not heard from me lately. Many things have been happening in my life. I just moved and I am excited about the next 3 months.
I am packing (AGAIN) as we speak for my trip to Austin, TX.
This is the first time that I will be traveling alone in my life.
I didn’t want to go…
I am actually still afraid.
But one thing that I have learned over the years is that you have to do things, AFRAID.
I am going to a LIVE EVENT with my company.
I have been building my business online for the last 5 months and I have had moderate results.
And I think I know why…I was missing one last step that all of the multi-millionaire earners tell you to do…
I never went to an event…
So now I am going and I am excited!!!
I have a neat camera and I will be sharing all kinds of videos and pictures with you guys when I come back.
Until Next Time,
Candace
P.S. If you are interested in building a business, while having a life at the same time by blogging, CLICK HERE!
Word of The Day-Expedite
Hi Again! Okay, so yesterday we said that we were going to “subdue” our destiny. I shared with you how procrastination was something that inhibited me from taking action in the past. So imagine my surprise when I was searching for a Word of the Day and I stumbled upon the word EXPEDITE. How appropriate!
How many times have you ordered something online and you wanted it so bad, that you may have paid an extra $20-$30 to have the shipping expedited? I know I have. I was so impatient that just to have that “thing” an extra day was so satisfying to me.
In 2013, I set the intention that I will approach every area of my life with the same sense of urgency. It is ironic that the things we tend to expedite certain things and not others. For instance, I am writing a book and to be honest it was supposed to be done months ago! I kept putting it off and procrastinating. However, I have been urgent with things that are not as relevant….hmmm. So what has to change? We need to make a list of five projects, goals, etc., that will make a huge impact on our lives. Now that we have that list we know what needs to be expedited, let’s figure out how to tackle these things
“To accelerate the process or progress of”
Here are a few tips that will help us expedite things that are of priority in our lives.
- Make a To Do List….everyday!!! If we don’t know what needs to be done, how the heck can we hurry up and complete it. If you are like me, you may think that you can remember everything, but you just can’t. A tool that I like to use is Evernote. You can download it right onto your smartphone or tablet and you have your To Do List along with other cool features right at your finger tips.
- Sacrifice Sleep: I know that it sounds harsh, but sleep is a luxury. I have interviewed many successful people and they all have told me that on their road to success, that had to sacrifice sleep. Does that mean sleep all together and we need to become zombies? No, not at all. However, we do not need 8-10 hours of sleep, especially when there is work to be done. So if your To Do List has plenty of pertinent things that need to be “crossed off” , do not go to sleep until they are finished. Look this is a temporary sacrifice for a long term gain. You will be okay….trust me.
- Get an Accountability Partner: You need someone who is going to refocus you, if you decide to procrastinate or fall behind. Make sure that you choose someone who is at a higher level than yourself. You want to be pushed towards greatness. It may sting at first, but it will be worth it.
There are other strategies and tips, but this will get you going on the right track.
Candace M. Braddock
Design Your Life, Build Your Future
P.S. If you would like more tips or inspirational advice sign up for my newsletter!
Word of the Day-Subdue
Hello Everyone!! I am excited about sharing “A Word A Day” with you. I will be drawing these words from various sources. This morning I was reading an article on New York Times.com, and I found the word subdue. For the sake of this post I am going to use this specific definition:
” get on top of; deal with successfully”
I have seen the word subdue used in reference to excessive force by police officers, but I never seen the word used from this perspective before. So since it is a “new year”, let’s start to look at words from a new vantage point! I believe that it is time to SUBDUE our lives. Meaning, it is time to get on top of our goals, intentions, and plans AND deal with them successfully! I don’t know about you but there are somethings that I have allowed to inhibit me from subduing my destiny. Here are a few:
- Procrastination: I tend to over think things and that puts me in a state of “Paralysis of Analysis” and what happens is…I do nothing :(. I now know that in order for me to subdue my destiny, I have to let that ugly trait of being a procrastinator go. If you are like me, don’t worry about things being perfect, just do it! You will never know what to improve upon if you don’t put yourself out there and receive some criticism. It’s okay to let someone give you their opinion. Take the good with the bad and improve upon what you can. Failures expose greatness and create blueprints for what NOT to do.
- Stinking Thinking: “I don’t deserve success” “I am not worthy of greatness” Those are some examples of what I used to tell myself. Not because I had low self esteem, but because I felt like I always had to put others before myself and help others reach their goals FIRST. Now don’t get me wrong, you should want to help others…always. BUT if you have not followed your own advice and get yourself on track, how can you even help others? One thing that I have learned over the years is : “Inspiration comes from examples”. Being able to see the results of your advice as opposed to just the advice itself. So I had to learn not to be a “quote grabber” and start being a “quote liver” (I think I just made up a term…but you get the point :)…)
These are the two most detrimental aspects of my mindset that I had to get rid of in order to subdue my destiny, my passion, my future.
What are some of the things that are holding you back from subduing your destiny?
I hope that this post has helped you as much as it has helped me to be cathartic and share it with you!
Share your thoughts below!!
Design Your Life!
Candace M. Braddock
The First Day of 2013
The Word For the Day: ANEW
One of the definitions for anew, according to Merriam-Webster.com means:
in a new or different form
I know that you probably have been bombarded with thoughts of “new years resolutions” and all types of hype. Some think that New Year’s resolutions are taboo or all hype. I do not believe that you should wait until the beginning of the new year to change, But I do feel that if you are yearning for change close to the New Year, it is a perfect time to start.
Here’s why…
The fact remains that with some things in your life, the clock has been reset. Major strides in life often happen in 60-90 day cycles and then 6 month and 12 month cycles. For example, you can either destroy or rebuild your credit in 12 months. However, it is what you do in those 60-90 days that contribute to the annual result. Let’s look at weight loss, (fortunately it is a popular subject) a person can lose 100lbs in 1 year, but what cannot be ignored is DAY 1…The start day. The day you start is the most pivotal day of your life, it is when your perspective, your energy, and your actions are all made anew.
The First Day Is a Beautiful Day!
Here is the perspective that I am adopting on this new day of this new year: Every day is the FIRST day. Now I don’t mean that you can keep “doing over” life each day. However, it is important that you know that you have the opportunity to make each day the best day possible. If you keep that perspective and focus, you will find that 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, 1 year down the line you have achieved things that you never dreamed of.
Lesson For Today: Don’t focus on the year, month, or the week. Focus on today…the most beautiful day ever! Every day that you wake up, you have a chance to LIVE. Treat every day as a gift and you will feel more fulfilled and honored to receive it.
Create each day anew.
~Morihei Ueshiba
Design Your Life!
Candace M. Braddock
iDesignLife 