When the going gets tough

continued from: When the going gets tough

She was equally determined in doing something for the society, especially for bringing down child abuse. It is her continuous efforts that had led the president of USA to pass the `Oprah bill', a law made for the child protection against any sort of societal abuse (The national child protection act). How many have made such an impact to the society? She has also contributed millions of dollars to charities and higher education institutes but without seeking any media attention.

Like the two sides of a coin, a person's life has also got both the positive and negative sides. It applies in the case Oprah Winfrey also. Like Jack Welch, Steve Jobs and many other leading business leaders, Oprah too has been criticized on many counts; foremost among the criticisms is her way of enforcing strict rules on her employees and giving them a tough time. Her employees complained of not getting any special attention from her whenever their project got recognition or won ratings or awards. She was more interested in completing the project.

She was also criticized for her statement that she would never eat a hamburger again in her life. Some cattle producers blamed her statement saying that it was the reason for the drastic collapse of the sales of their products, and some even filed a suit against her.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. She was proved to be innocent of the mad cow disease case, as the court clearly stated that whatever she had said were her personal views, i.e., her statements were not illicit and one could not consider her the reason behind the collapse in their product's demand. Talking about the employees of Oprah, you cannot have the guarantee, that they would not have said anything harsh of her work culture, if Oprah would have praised them while making it to the awards and ratings, and not when they have completed the project. Some people have the habit of sensing dissatisfaction irrespective of what they have. They keep on stinking for this or that. Oprah did what she was doing from the very beginning of her career. Entrepreneurships taught us to accomplish the goal and not the awards or ratings and recognition. She feels that awards and recognition will come to an individual once he/she achieves his/her goal. She did exactly that by praising at the time of completion of the project, thus matching with the norms of entrepreneurs, which matter the most.

According to the entrepreneurship center at Miami University, Ohio, the definition of entrepreneurship is: Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying, developing and bringing a vision to life. The vision may be innovative idea, an opportunity, or simply a better way to do something. The end result of this process is the creation of a new venture, formed under conditions of risk and considerable uncertainty.

The awards she received and the recognition she gained as an idol in the minds of millions of people, itself speak of her hard work, popularity and success. One of the important characteristics of entrepreneurs is their consistency with which they perform things. And her record reveals her consistency in being among the top three positions while talking of favorite TV personalities from 1993 to 2001. No one can ever get closer to her unique feat. Her talk-show has been the number one show for 16 long years and this clarifies and further proves her popularity. The love her audiences have for her further clarifies that she is the most trusted woman in the history of television. She was ahead of her time and set an identity for herself, which will be an inspiration for the upcoming young women. It is not just that whatever she achieved was based on fluke; she had worked hard for whatever she is today. Her empathy, courage, gut feeling, honesty towards her work and of course the love of people have made her one of the most beloved and memorable women in America. It's a delight to read, think about and watch her. The way she dealt with her success, wealth and fame by not allowing them to distract her attention from her goal is a sign of great mental maturity and humbleness. Her show is a delight to watch. One should at least watch her show once and he/she will sure become a fan of her from that very moment; such strong is the character of Oprah Winfrey. Undoubtedly and unarguably, she walked through the fire and instead of letting the fire overtake her she forged the fire within herself. The numerous rewards and honors won by Oprah Winfrey and her work are ample proofs of her entrepreneurial excellence. Clearly, Oprah has developed into a successful entrepreneur. She will always remain as the `queen of the souls'.

Lessons one should learn from the life of Oprah Winfrey.
1. "One becomes what one believes-"There is always a chance of betterment in life, i.e., there is always a scope for improvement.
2. Entrepreneurs are not born, rather they are made.
3. Successful entrepreneurs build a team, an organization, and a company and then learn to lead and work with others.
4. Change is inevitable and one should keep on changing with time as change is the only constant and pure thing in the Universe.
5. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. There's always a possibility to triumph.
6. One should listen to his/her feelings /instincts, i.e., be ones self.
7. There is nothing like luck in this world. Luck is simply preparation meeting opportunity.
8. You have to have the courage to go sometimes against the crowd.
9. Never loose your focus of your life, i.e., not to become complacent.
10. One should have the gut feeling to take quick decisions.

 

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