Did you know that The Oprah Winfrey Show is one of the longest running programs in television’s history? It lasted for 25 years until the final episode of May 25, 2011.

This widespread success was only possible by the visionary standards spearheaded by Oprah Winfrey whose unique ability to connect with the audience revolutionized the talk show industry. Experienced talk show hosts and those looking to learn the trade continue to draw in inspiration from The Oprah Winfrey Show, which is partly why the ultra-popular show remains authentic even today. 

If you were to dig in for clues as to what made the show such a big success, you’ll find all the telltale signs of a bonafide entrepreneur looking to disrupt the way things are done. One could argue, that Oprah Winfrey’s talk show did to TV what Facebook did to social media. It changed trends and brought a brand new idea on the table, one that was almost non-existent and confined to a particularly small niche.

Inspiring Lessons from Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey continues to inspire entrepreneurs looking to start their own journey. Here are a few things we can pick up to make way for success.

Learn to Invest in Yourself

Oprah Winfrey spent a significant amount of time and resources grooming herself to become the entertainment mogul she is today. She was always continuing to refine and improve the standards she herself created. Most entrepreneurs are so absorbed into their daily routine and administrative duties that it’s almost impossible for them to take out time for self-improvement.

This is where Oprah Winfrey stands apart.

Take Responsibility for Your Actions

It is common to mess up every now and then. After all, as an entrepreneur the entire business and the fate of its employees rests on your shoulders. The important thing after botching something up is to own up to your mistake. Oprah is a good example of what you should do when critics start giving you the short end of the stick.

Instead of looking for a scapegoat or making up nonsense PR stories, Oprah would step to the stage and own her mistake, promising to fix it in the future. And fix it she did.

Diversify Your Audience

This is good both from a capitalistic perspective and as a humanitarian effort to bridge different classes of people. Oprah is well known for the significant amount of time she would spend learning about different communities outside of her own. This obviously required her to go beyond her comfort zone, but Oprah was willing to brave the terrors of uncharted territory. The best part is that any information she gathered, she would share with her community.

This ability to seamlessly blend ideas from different communities together with her own thoughts prevented toxicity and fostered innovative thinking. In other words, Oprah was able to influence her community positively by rapidly making connections outside of her community.

Make up For Your Weaknesses

Even billionaire entrepreneurs and philanthropists like Oprah Winfrey have weak spots in their arsenal of skills. They are not jack of all trades and specialize in only one or a few areas. Oprah stands out in this regard because she not only recognized those weaknesses but built a team from the ground up to fill in for those weaknesses.

The end result? A product that continues to impress long after its lifecycle.