Lessons from Oprah Presents Master Class
The biography series shares hard-won insight from extraordinary achievers whose paths have inspired Oprah—and countless others.
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"
Master Class started with Sidney Poitier and
Maya Angelou, both of whom I've spent hours on the phone with over the years, just listening and taking notes. More than any other people on the planet, Maya and Sidney are my teachers. I wanted to share the life stories of these two wise thought leaders—and many others I admire—because I believe any life well lived can inspire our own." —
Oprah
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Maya Angelou, Author and Poet
"Try to be the best human being you can be. Try to be that in your church, in your temple. Try to be that in your classroom. Do it because it is right to do."
Read Oprah's interview with Maya Angelou
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Lorne Michaels, Television Producer and Creator of Saturday Night Live
"I push people pretty hard, and the only thing that justifies the abuse is the exhilaration of [a skit] working, because when it does it's a joy to behold. But whether the show was good or bad, there's a new celebrity host sitting in my office on Monday afternoon, and we begin again. There's always a chance for redemption."
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Condoleezza Rice, Former United States Secretary of State, Professor of Political Science at Stanford University
"My students ask me, 'How do I get to be who you are?' They mean, 'How do I get to be secretary of state?' And I say, 'Well, you start out as a failed piano major and you go from there.' You can't plan every step in life."
Read Oprah's interview with Condoleezza Rice
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Simon Cowell, X Factor Creator and Former American Idol Judge
"You've got to think with your heart and not your head. That's where most people in the music business screw it up. They don't think with any emotion, and emotion is absolutely key. I always say that if I like it, chances are other people will like it."
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Diane Sawyer, Anchor of ABC's World News
"Sometimes I'm on a plane and I'm going from Afghanistan to Haiti or whatever I'm doing, and I think, 'I can't do this.This is the day that I just can't do it anymore.' Then I look down and I open a folder. I go, 'Well, that's kind of interesting, actually.' The next thing you know I've got 14 questions, and I'm refueled. I so believe in curiosity."
What's on Diane Sawyer's bookshelf
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Jay-Z, Rapper and Entertainment Mogul
"A huge lesson for me was that if I was gonna be successful, I had to be successful as myself—I couldn't be successful doing what other people were doing. I had to do what I believed in and what felt real to me and felt true to me, because the worst thing to be is successful as someone else."
Read Oprah's interview with Jay-Z
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From the
January 2011 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
