Life Coaching - Say Goodbye to a Much Loved TV Host: Oprah Winfrey

The Oprah Winfrey show has been broadcast into homes across America and around the world since 1986. During these past twenty-three years Oprah has become a household name and a cultural icon. She was America's first black billionaire but still gives a significant portion of her earnings to charity. She is a media mogul with her own talk show, magazine, book club, radio station, and Broadway producing credits. Soon she will own her own cable television channel: OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. Because of this new development Oprah plans to say goodbye to daytime television in September of 2011 after twenty five years on the air.

Even though Oprah will still make her voice heard through her television channel and magazine, Oprah's talk show will be gone from our lives. Oprah's phenomenal success has prompted many studies about why she is so popular. The reason that we will miss Oprah is best summed up in this way: Oprah connected with people who were sitting at home alone watching television during the afternoon. She took those isolated people and let them hear the stories of other people, both famous and ordinary. Oprah is a fantastic and empathetic listener. Through her, her viewers get to see that every stranger on the street has a story to tell.

Oprah has touched a chord in the hearts of the entire world. She is popular in the United States but also has a huge following abroad, especially in countries where women are oppressed such as Saudi Arabia. Over the years, Oprah has brought a lot of sensitive issues to light and let people discuss taboos on the air. For instance, throughout her career she has always actively campaigned for equal rights for gays. In the eighties, before it became fashionable, she took her show to West Virginia town that has ostracized an openly gay resident with HIV.

Oprah took her talk show away from tabloid topics and put it in the heart of America. Her shows are about real people. Rather than the sensationalistic content of other daytime talk shows, Oprah likes to talk about self-improvement, spirituality, and even literature. Her book club has influenced the reading choices of millions of Americans for ten years. She picks both new books as well as classics such as East of Eden. She has a portion of her website called Favorite Things that endorses products Oprah likes that millions of other Americans have found that they also like.

It doesn't stop there. Oprah is also a major presence in philanthropy and runs a girls' school in South Africa with her own funds. She also has her Oprah's Angel Network that has given away over fifty million dollars in charitable contributions. Oprah uses her show as a vehicle to promote her philanthropic activities.

Oprah inspired me into take the leap of faith to becoming a life and business coach and then to step into becoming a budding entrepreneur! I guess I see her as a mentor. Although I didn't make my personal goal of appearing on her show by the time I was 40, I'm hoping that one day I will inspire her enough that she will ask me to be on her radio show instead!

When the Oprah show goes off the air, there will a hole in the lives of many Americans who have invited her into their homes for the past twenty five years. In so many ways Oprah portrays the real America, sentimental, imperfect, but with endless curiosity and a huge heart. She will be missed.

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Janet McNally is a entrepreneur, life coach, business coach, motivational speaker and broadcaster. She is the Founder of Life Playground a place dedicated to inspiring other into take action through a number of self development and Page1hit , a new business committed to web presence and lead generation for small to medium sizes businesses.

"Life's a Playground, not a Prison... Live as you Truly Desire..."