Quote Of The Day By Oprah Winfrey: 'Every Year Should Teach You Something Valuable...'

From growing up in poverty to becoming a self-made billionaire, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most inspirational figures in modern culture. Throughout her life, she has persevered through incredible hardship and childhood trauma to break down barriers for women everywhere with her historic career. After decades spent in the industry and her lifetime dedication to philanthropic work, Oprah has no shortage of knowledge and wisdom to share about life, resilience, and empowerment.

Born into poverty in rural Mississippi in 1954, Oprah's early life was plagued by strife and struggle. She endured severe abuse as a child, including sexual abuse, before running away to live with her father as a young teen. It was then that Oprah was given the home life and the structure she had yearned for. By the age of 19, she was the first.  Black  woman and the youngest person to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV, kickstarting what would become a revolutionary career in television. By 1986, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" entered national syndication, where for the next 25 years, Oprah would inspire and enlighten millions of viewers.

After a historic run, Oprah's talk show eventually ended in 2011, but her massive cultural legacy was thriving more than ever. Oprah now has her own network, her own multimedia production company, and a lifestyle platform. Not only Oprah has made a name for herself as a self-made billionaire, but she is also a dedicated humanitarian as well — she even received the Presidential Medal of Freedom under President Barack Obama in 2013. Despite her humble beginning, it's safe to say that Oprah has literally done it all, which is why we can all benefit from listening to some of the sage advice she has to share.

Oprah Winfrey once said, "Every year should teach you something valuable; whether you get the lesson is up to you. Every year brings you closer to expressing your whole and healed self. I celebrate that. Honor it. Hold it in reverence. And I'm grateful for every age I'm blessed to become." She penned the inspirational message in an essay featured in the May 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, where she reflected on the conversations on aging she'd been having with guests on her talk show.

At the time, Oprah had spent six months posing the same question to women over the age of 40 who appeared on her show, including stars like Barbara Streisand, Christie Brinkley, and Bo Derek. She specifically asked how they felt about growing older, finding it helpful to learn from each other and feel comforted by the shared experience. "There's so much wisdom to be gained from people who are celebrating the process with vibrancy and vigor and grace," Oprah wrote in her essay.

Oprah Winfrey's quote helps to put things in perspective when it comes to aging. Even though so many people dread getting older, and often will go to great lengths to minimize the evidence of age on their physical body, Oprah encourages us to think about it in a different way. We can reframe how we think about getting older if we think about each year, each birthday, as a gift, rather than a curse. In 2024, Oprah spoke with Al Roker on "Today" as he marked his 70th birthday, a milestone that Oprah had actually looked forward to. She remembered that as a young girl she "always thought" she would never make it to her 60s or 70s — which is precisely why she said, "I'm excited to make every number."

If we take Oprah's advice, we can look at each added year of our lives as another year of blessings, something that not everyone is afforded. As Oprah said in her 2011 essay, she keeps a positive perspective on aging by thinking of those who aren't fortunate enough to grow old. She wrote, "I think often of all the angels of 9/11 who won't"— that's nearly 3,000 people who will never have the chance to get older.  

Oprah is also keenly aware that we live in a "youth-obsessed" culture, as she noted in her essay, which is why she actively speaks out about accepting her age, and refuses to shy away from her menopause symptoms. "I refuse to let a system, a culture, a distorted view of reality tell me I don't matter," she wrote. "That only happens when we buy into the propaganda."

• "We have to make the choice—every single day—to exemplify the truth, the respect, and the grace that we wish for this world."
• "The answers keep unfolding as your life expands, if you're willing to see things for what they are—and what they can be."
• "I look for the stillness beneath all the noise of the world, where everything is timeless."
• "Passion is the log that keeps the fire of purpose blazing."
• "When you're open to receiving them, the possibilities just keep on coming."