Oprah Winfrey Show: My Favorite Things

my worldLeaving a Legacy

Do you have a bucket list? Can you relate to not wanting to write some items down because of their seemingly impossible nature?

I've been working on my bucket list lately and I wanted to include "attend a taping of the Oprah show" on it, but yah, right! This is her last season and when would that be possible? So, I held off.

I shouldn't have doubted, because Friday, thanks to some amazing friends, I attended a taping of the show and got to check off that unwritten bucket list item. *Insert big fat happy dance right here!*

Five Things I Loved Most About the Oprah Show

Here are the things I loved about my Oprah Winfrey Show experience.

1. Feeling Oprah's genuine personality. After the end of the show, Oprah took about 5 minutes to show her gratitude for the audience, thanking us for our time, for the work we went to to get ourselves there, and for being such a huge part of the show. This thank you wasn't canned and it touched me like nothing else during my experience and caused me to reflect: "How good am I at showing heartfelt gratitude to those in my life?"

2. Seeing the Oprah Winfrey Show village in action. Oprah not only thanked the audience, but also thanked her team—the entire village it takes to produce her show. I noticed this in spades from the second we entered the building from the woman who greeted us at the door and the security guards who went through our purses to the ushers who led us to the studio and the myriad people behind the scenes who helped line up the speakers and produce the show. The most wonderful part? The Oprah Winfrey Show village is one nice village to visit!

3. Seeing "What's your intention?" in practice. This past summer I heard Andrea Wishom speak at the Evo Conference, where she told us how Oprah asks employees and guests alike: "What is your intention?" I have thought long and hard about working in an environment with such purpose, where not only every action you take must be proceeded by the thought: "What are my intentions?", but also where accountability is focused on that. I thought to myself, "If I were to go throughout one day, asking myself: 'What is my intention?' before I took a single action, how would it would impact my choices?" How would it impact yours?

4. Celebrating Friendship. Before the show started, the music was pumping, the vibe was positive, and Sally Lou, one of my favorite Oprah villagers, asked us to stand if we were there with a friend. Then she asked us to hug each other. Next, she asked us to link arms with the people we were sitting next to and celebrate being "one people." The environment was one of love, goodness, and energy. I had to resist the urge to rush the stage and dance on it. For those of you who know me, you know that was no easy feat!

5. Seeing the legacy that is "O"! My most favorite part? Just being in the presence of someone who has done so much for people everywhere. Oprah's positive influence is a fabulous legacy that reaches all around the world. During the show, she reminded the audience that "we are worth it." I wondered what the world would be like if everyone realized inside and out that they are worth it. Think of the love that would exist and the things we'd all accomplish.

You can see from the things I've listed that my favorite things had everything to do with how the show made me feel. From start to finish, Oprah has created a community focused on the fabulous part of each person's story. And, as you hear those stories and see her in action, you can't help but feel the awesomeness, value, and uniqueness of your own story. I can't wait to see how her legacy unfolds as her 25th season comes to an end.

What's on your bucket list?

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An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.

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