From the course: Career Advice from Some of the Biggest Names in Business

Oprah Winfrey on having a vision

From the course: Career Advice from Some of the Biggest Names in Business

Start my 1-month free trial

Oprah Winfrey on having a vision

“

- I started out, I wanted a million dollars so I could buy my dad a house on a hill or something, you know? I didn't see the possibility for a long time, until I was in it. And then I saw it and then I said, oh this is more than what I thought it was. This isn't just the vision to, because when you're in television, as I was starting out, the big vision is, oh gee can I get a network job? And I had this idea, I literally had said to my agent, when I was in Baltimore, I said could you get me the substitute job for Joan Lundon, on Good Morning America? I would just like to, when Joan Lunden doesn't want to be there or when she's on vacation, could I just have that job? Yeah, fill in. And he said, this was 1982. He said, you're not going to get that job cause they already have a black person. I go, they don't have a black person. He said Bryant Gumbel already has that job. Well, ABC doesn't have a person. He goes, you're not going to get that job. Not even as a substitute? No, not even a substitute. So I let agent go, but that was my thing, oh gee if I could just get to the network, if I could just get to the network. If you can get to a larger market, if you could get to, and the top three were New York, Chicago, no, New York, L.A., Chicago. I knew it wasn't going to work. I wasn't going to be accepted in L.A. in 1982 cause I wasn't the right minority. - And that's why Chicago? - And I literally chose Chicago because of that. And then I happened to be, I thought well Chicago. And then I was on someone else's tape and I got a call from Chicago, I go oh, that's a sign. - But when you wanted, when you envisioned yourself being a backup, what was the greater goal? That was a step in the right direction, so that's something. - Okay so my goal was, is that I would be the backup for Joan Lunden and they would see how good I was and then they'd want me to back up more and then when Joan left for a vacation or Joan decided that she no longer wanted to do it, they'd say what about that girl that stood in for Joan. Yeah, that was my goal. - And then you'd be on air, you'd be the personality, but again, to what end? - Yes, because I didn't have a vision beyond being successful on network television. It wasn't until I was literally on television, had my own show, made the decision that I was going to own the show, meaning I would take the risk if it worked or it didn't work, that I thought about what does this really mean and actually, I guess the vision was inspired by, I used to speak in high schools all the time, and I remember speaking at a school and a kid said to me, you're that lady, oh you're the one that plays on TV. And I said, no I don't play on TV, it's actually my work, I use TV as my work. And when I journal every night, and was thinking about that, yeah. A lot of people think, and for a long time I thought it was just a job, where you're going to play on TV, you're going to act on TV, you're going to have this job, but it was around probably two or two and a half years into it, around 88, 89, that I started to see oh this is bigger than... - It's a platform. - Yeah, television, that it's actually a platform. And speaking to the KKK and skinheads one day, when they were obviously, I thought, I'm going to change the way they feel about black people, and at least get to what stems from, how that vitriol came about, and I realized they were using me, that they understood it was a platform more than I understood. - [Jeff] In real time you realized that, while you were taping the show? - While I was taping the show. I saw them signaling each other, and something inside of myself said, oh they're using this and they're using me. Oh, they get what this is. And you know, for the 25th year, 25th season, I had two of those guys back and they said to me, yes we were, we used that show as our recruitment tape. We used going on your show as a recruitment tape. But I said after that conversation with the skinheads, I went to my producers and said, I will never do this again. And if I have to do this kind of show, then I will get out of television. - Sensationalistic television? - Not just sensationalistic, cause it wasn't sensational, it was, I was interviewing them about their beliefs. - When you said, I won't do that again, what was it? What was the it? - The it was, I understand that this is a platform, it's an energetic, vibrational force. - You're not going to amplify negative energy like that? Without a specific reason. - Yeah, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it in any form. - That explains why, in so many shows, where you would have a controversial subject or it wasn't always clear, what the goodness was, you would actually frame it very explicitly and you would say... - This is why I'm doing it.

Contents