101 Inspirational Oprah Winfrey Quotes On Success, Life, Leadership & Love

We all know the famous Oprah Winfrey! She's a media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer, and philanthropist — even has her own TV network, OWN, and her own magazine.

Oprah fought through a lot to get to where she is today. She went through a difficult childhood, where she was born into poverty in rural Mississippi, and she's an inspiration to many today.

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Oprah accomplished so much and proved many people wrong. Having built up a brand that now makes her one of the most powerful and influential people in the world, she continues to share personal stories with the world about her own life, and she helps others open up about their own personal struggles along the way.

She believes in living "from the inside out," and uses her power to make waves as an activist, fighting for many causes, including childrens' rights to education, community development initiatives in Africa, and a leadership academy for girls in South Africa.

In honor of Oprah Winfrey's continuous work to make the world a better place, look to our collection of the best Oprah Winfrey quotes about life, love, success, and passion to inspire you to make your own impact.

101 Best Oprah Winfrey Quotes

1. "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness." — Oprah Winfrey

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2. "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." — Oprah Winfrey

3. "Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility." — Oprah Winfrey

4. "Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure." — Oprah Winfrey

5. "If you want to feel good, you have to go out and do some good." — Oprah Winfrey

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6. "Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." — Oprah Winfrey

7. "Money is worth nothing if it can't buy you the opportunity to love more." — Oprah Winfrey

8. “When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.” — Oprah Winfrey

9. “The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.” — Oprah Winfrey

10. “Everybody has a calling. And your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible what that is, who you were meant to be, and to begin to honor that in the best way possible for yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey

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11. "The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams." — Oprah Winfrey

12. "It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you – always." — Oprah Winfrey

13. “If you are still breathing, you have a second chance.”— Oprah Winfrey

14. “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” — Oprah Winfrey

15. “The miracle of your existence calls for celebration every day.” — Oprah Winfrey

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16. “Follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it.”​ — Oprah Winfrey

17. "With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice." — Oprah Winfrey

18. “When you have done everything that you can do, surrender. Give yourself up the power and energy that’s greater than yourself.”​ — Oprah Winfrey

19. “If you’re sitting around waiting on somebody to save you, to fix you, to even help you, you are wasting your time because only you have the power to take responsibility to move your life forward.” — Oprah Winfrey

20. “When you live with an open heart, unexpected, joyful things happen.” — Oprah Winfrey

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21. “Your journey begins with a choice to get up, step out and live fully.”​ — Oprah Winfrey

22. “Worrying is wasted time. Use the same energy for doing something about whatever worries you.” — Oprah Winfrey

23. “You need to dream a bigger dream for yourself. That is the lesson. Hold the highest vision possible for your life and it can come true.”​ — Oprah Winfrey

24. “You can have it all. Just not all at once.” — Oprah Winfrey

25. “Self-esteem comes from being able to define the world in your own terms and refusing to abide by the judgments of others.” — Oprah Winfrey

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26. “Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.” ― Oprah Winfrey

27. “True forgiveness is when you can say, "Thank you for that experience.” ― Oprah Winfrey

28. “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” ― Oprah Winfrey

29. “I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint — and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” ― Oprah Winfrey

30. “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ― Oprah Winfrey

31. "Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you." — Oprah Winfrey

32. “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” ― Oprah Winfrey

33. “Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.” ― Oprah Winfrey

34. “I don't want anyone who doesn't want me.” ― Oprah Winfrey

35. “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.” ― Oprah Winfrey

36. "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." — Oprah Winfrey

37. “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” ― Oprah Winfrey

38. “I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.” ― Oprah Winfrey

39. “We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” ― Oprah Winfrey

40. “You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world.” ― Oprah Winfrey

41. "Where there is no struggle, there is no strength." — Oprah Winfrey

42. “As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you — the first time around.” — Oprah Winfrey

43. “Every day brings a chance to live free of regret and with as much joy, fun, and laughter as you can stand.” ― Oprah Winfrey

44. “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.” ― Oprah Winfrey

45. “You look at yourself and you accept yourself for who you are, and once you accept yourself for who you are you become a better person.” ― Oprah Winfrey

46. “If you want your life to be more rewarding, you have to change the way you think.” ― Oprah Winfrey

47. “I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself.” ― Oprah Winfrey

48. “Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself.” ― Oprah Winfrey

49. “Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” ― Oprah Winfrey

50. “I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, but it hasn't changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I'm just wearing better shoes.” ― Oprah Winfrey

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51. “Your calling isn’t something that somebody can tell you about. It’s what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that you are supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.” ― Oprah Winfrey

52. “Opportunity may knock only once but temptation leans on the doorbell." — Oprah Winfrey

53. “You aren't your past, you are probability of your future.” ― Oprah Winfrey

54. “I don't believe in failure. It's not failure if you enjoy the process.” ― Oprah Winfrey

55. “I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our lives is to become aware. And awakened. To answer the call.” ― Oprah Winfrey

56. “You teach people how to treat you.” ― Oprah Winfrey

57. “You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more.” ― Oprah Winfrey

58. “My idea is to give hope, because where there is no hope, there is no vision, and where there is no vision, people will perish.” — Oprah Winfrey

59. “The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.” ― Oprah Winfrey

60. “Always take a stand for yourself, your values. You're defined by what you stand for.” ― Oprah Winfrey

61. "You become what you believe, not what you think or what you want." — Oprah Winfrey

62. "Turn your wounds into wisdom." — Oprah Winfrey

63. "Every stumble is not a fall, and every fall does not mean failure." — Oprah Winfrey

64. "You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others." — Oprah Winfrey

65. "Being human means you will make mistakes. And you will make mistakes, because failure is God's way of moving you in another direction." — Oprah Winfrey

66. "The challenge of life, I have found, is to build a resume that doesn't simply tell a story about what you want to be, but it's a story about who you want to be." — Oprah Winfrey

67. "Whatever has happened to you in your past has no power over this present moment, because life is now." — Oprah Winfrey

68. "What I know is, is that if you do work that you love, and the work fulfills you, the rest will come." — Oprah Winfrey

69. “One of the hardest things in life to learn is which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.” — Oprah Winfrey

70. “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance — and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” — Oprah Winfrey

71. “We have to make the choice — every single day — to exemplify the truth, the respect, and the grace that we wish for this world.” — Oprah Winfrey

72. “Our goal must be decency and respect for every human we encounter.” — Oprah Winfrey

73. “The answers keep unfolding as your life expands, if you’re willing to see things for what they are — and what they can be.” — Oprah Winfrey

74. “I refuse to be quiet in the face of injustice.” — Oprah Winfrey

75. "Passion is the log that keeps the fire of purpose blazing.” — Oprah Winfrey

76. “Look inward—the loving begins with you.” — Oprah Winfrey

77. "Alone time is when I distance myself from the voices of the world so I can hear my own.” — Oprah Winfrey

78. “Good riddance to decisions that don’t support self-worth.” — Oprah Winfrey

79. “The best gift anyone can give, I believe, is the gift of sharing themselves.” — Oprah Winfrey

80. “When you’re open to receiving them, the possibilities just keep on coming.” — Oprah Winfrey

81. "The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” — Oprah Winfrey

82. “The reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.” — Oprah Winfrey

83. “You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it.” — Oprah Winfrey

84. “Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey

85. “If you don’t know what your passion is, realize that one reason for your existence on earth is to find it.” — Oprah Winfrey

86. “Over the years, I’ve interviewed thousands of people, most of them women, and I would say that the root of every dysfunction I’ve ever encountered, every problem, has been some sense of a lacking of self-value or of self-worth.” — Oprah Winfrey

87. “Some women have a weakness for shoes…I can go barefoot if necessary. I have a weakness for books.” — Oprah Winfrey

88. “You are responsible for your life. You can’t keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.” — Oprah Winfrey

89. “It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there was no pleasure in the climb.” — Oprah Winfrey

90. “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don’t know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” — Oprah Winfrey

91. “To love yourself is a never-ending journey.” — Oprah Winfrey

92. “You are where you are in life because of what you believe is possible for yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey

93. “Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.” — Oprah Winfrey

94. “So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground.” — Oprah Winfrey

95. “The best of times is now.” — Oprah Winfrey

96. “Difficulties come when you don’t pay attention to life’s whisper. Life always whispers to you first, but if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you’ll get a scream.” — Oprah Winfrey

97. “I’ve learned not to worry about what might come next.” — Oprah Winfrey

98. “I am a woman in process. I’m just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.” — Oprah Winfrey

99. “I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.” — Oprah Winfrey

100. “Every one of us gets through the tough times because somebody is there, standing in the gap to close it for us.” — Oprah Winfrey

101. “I was once afraid of people saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’” — Oprah Winfrey

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Lauren Margolis is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture and relationships.