Was just watching Oprah a very powerful episode today on Living with Secrets.
One of her guests had interviewed Gayle, Oprah's best friend and I can't remember the question it may have been what makes Oprah so special? Gayle responded "Once she is pulling herself up with one arm she is helping pull others up with her other arm.
A great lesson in leadership. Team captains are leaders that are chosen for their ability to be selfless, to set an example, to sacrifice, to go above and beyond to organize-both themselves and their teammates, to take on responsibility often not only theirs but that of others.
Newsweek's cover story is How Women Lead with of course my hero Oprah Winfrey on the 
cover.
There is an additonal article which profiles eight female leaders but Oprah's profile "How I Got There" is absolutely amazing. What I found so great was confirmation of the lessons I've learned on my own and with the help of my performance coach just in these last few months where I've made "me, myself and I " a priority. Something I haven't done since I got back from Italy 7 years ago.
I understand that the common denominator in the human experience from the thousands of people that I've talked to is that everybody just wants to be heard.Opray Winfrey
Wow, this is exactly why I started this site. So many female volleyball athletes have stories to tell, share, comment on and learn from and I wanted to create a place where everybody could come and tell their story and be heard...
How do I accelerate my humanity? How do I use who I am on earth for a purpose that's bigger than myself? How do I align the energy of my soul with my personality and use my personality to serve my soul? My answer always comes back to self. There is no moving up and out into the world unless you are fully acquainted with who you are. You cannot move freely, speak freely, act freely, be free unless you are comfortable with yourself. Oprah Winfrey
It doesn't matter how old you are to begin asking yourself these questions. You can be 13,15,17 or 19 learning how to be comfortable in your own skin is an ongoing process.
Playing volleyball for me has always been an expression of who I am. If I didn't play or compete in some way, shape or form I didn't feel right. Also whenever I play it seems to release or activate my creative juices in all other areas because that's when I come up with my best artistic/business/creative ideas. In fact I've learned to carry an idea notebook with me to write things down when Im working out.
Whether it was photography or my writing or creating this blog or creating ideas for other businesses my best ideas were produced when I was physically active playing or training for my sport.
I tell women all the time that you have to fill up yourself so that you have enough to give to other people. Running around on empty does not serve you or your family or your work. If I go too long without a break, I start to feel it. It's like an engine running out of gas. I just physically don't have what it takes to be as up, clear and connected with the audience. So I have to give myself rejuvenation time. For me, that's walking through the woods with my dogs. That is sitting under the oaks reading or doing absolutely nothing. I have to replenish my well; it's essential for me. Oprah Winfrey
This is ONE of the biggest lessons Iearned from my performance coach, Alfonso. He had me re evaluate/re"look" and redefine the words "selfish" and "selfless" and I learned from him to look at those two concepts completely differently. And as I reported in my previous post you have to allow for time off to rejuvenate, rest and relax. "Its an investment in yourself" as my performance coach says.
Oprah Winfrey Child Predator Watch List. Recently on our show, I asked viewers to help me track down child predators. Within 48 hours, we had captured two of the men we featured. As a victim of child molestation, this was big for me and for millions of others. When you can use your voice in a way that really speaks to people, it resonates. Whether it's a school or a book or just an idea. That's what fun is. That's what living really is. Living with a capital "L". Oprah Winfrey
Enough said.
Tags: team captain leadership success management Communication Managing oprah winfrey newsweek how women lead oprah how i got there newsweek msnbc usa volleyball olympic volleyball aprils beach volleyball blog girls volleyball
