I'm on a mission to upgrade my life in every way I can.

Every Oprah Show I ever taped, every magazine article I've published, every Lifeclass and Super Soul Sunday I've done—they all originated with the intention to upgrade.

Don't get me wrong: I feel blessed to have the life I'm living. Several times a day I look around in awe of how someone like me, born in apartheid Mississippi, got to where I am. It's still a wonder to me. And yet each day I enhance and expand the material goodness and grace I've received by connecting to the deeper Presence within everything that's alive.

Throughout the day I find moments to just exhale deeply, then inhale and exhale again, taking the time to notice my breathing. It always gives me a little recharge, a surge of energy that reminds me I'm alive. Here. Now.

It's an upgrade in capital-A Awareness.

Being aware turns up the volume in your life. You are tuned in to the present moment instead of the jumble of thoughts in your head. And you begin to understand that you are not your thoughts—or as Eckhart Tolle explains in Stillness Speaks, "you are that awareness, disguised as a person." That's when everything changes. You gain clarity. You stop giving power to your past. You know that no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, you will be okay.

Because capital-A Awareness grounds you in capital-B Being.

What I know for sure: That realization is the mama jama upgrade. Nothing I've ever learned or said is as important as knowing that the constant chatter in your head has only the power you choose to give it. Learning not to let your thoughts be a runaway train leading your life off track is the key to a masterful existence that's perpetually getting better.

This fall I'm going on the road to share this knowledge and use my life the way I feel I've been called to do: helping other people see—and reach for—the best in themselves. You may have heard about the Life You Want tour I'm embarking on in September. The life I've always wanted involves speaking to people directly about our potential, as human beings, to soar beyond our dreams.

I teach what I most need to be reminded of myself. And I hope we meet up in a city near you.

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