Up close and personal with the woman behind Oprah

We have a sneak preview of what’s coming in the Women on Fire members’ care package for October!

If you attended the Women on Fire Retreat in Chicago a few months ago, and if you’re like most of the women who were there, you fell in love with keynote speaker Sheri Salata, the president of the Oprah Winfrey Network.

So many of you were so inspired by what she said that you asked Debbie if her talk could be made available for you to hear again.

What a genius idea. 🙂

So for all of those members who wanted to listen to this again — as well those of you who weren’t able to make it to the retreat or who are brand new to Women on Fire — today you are in for a treat.

We’re giving you a wonderful taste of Sheri’s interview that brought down the house at our 2015 retreat.

In the full interview, you’ll discover:

  • Sheri’s recipe for life
  • The incredible story of how she got hired to work for Oprah and rose through the ranks to be OWN’s top executive
  • What Oprah’s really like to work for
  • Why you should never give up before the miracle
  • And SO much more, including a candid Q+A with audience members

If you’re not yet part of our membership inner circle, please be our guest and listen in today for free to one of the many inspiring moments from Debbie’s interview with Sheri.

Press PLAY for a quick (2:30) audio clip.

If you are already a member of our Women on Fire inner circle, enjoy this preview of what’s already coming to you in early October!

If you aren’t yet a member and want to receive this Women on Fire exclusive, make sure to join us today.

*** You have until midnight EST Friday, October 2 to sign up and receive Debbie’s full interview with Sheri. ***

Sheri touched our hearts and inspired our minds at the 2015 retreat with her insight, love and authenticity. So if you’ve been thinking about becoming a Women on Fire member, this would absolutely, positively be the perfect month to do it!

 

P.S. Are you struggling with something big? Something small? Something you just can’t get your head around?

Want Debbie’s help?

TUNE IN to Debbie’s live monthly Members’ Master Class and Chat on October 13 at 8 p.m. EST where she’ll be answering YOUR questions LIVE!

Join us for a very special live chat this October where you can Ask Debbie Anything and receive personalized coaching on whatever you’re struggling with.

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Announcing our special SURPRISE Women on Fire retreat speaker!

Our biggest and best event of the year – the 2015 Women on Fire Retreat – will be held in Chicago, April 23-25, and we have a surprise for you!

We are thrilled and proud to announce that Sheri Salata, president of the Oprah Winfrey Network and Harpo Studios, will be our guest speaker on Saturday, April 25. Sheri is one of the most accomplished and prominent professionals in television today.  And, at the same time she is one of the kindest, most caring and genuine women I’ve met. You will LOVE her!
She first joined Harpo Studios in 1995 and served as executive producer of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from September 2006 through its finale in 2011.
She only occasionally speaks outside of her industry, so it is a special honor to have her on our Women on Fire stage.During her session, you will learn about her life and work, her ups and downs, and you’ll be able to ask her your questions!As a Woman on Fire, you are invited to attend this amazing weekend retreat, which will be filled with inspiration, strategies and support and much, much more.  Please check out all the details for this nurturning and uplifting weekend here.

There are are only 21 seats remaining, so please grab your seat now. When all seats are taken, there will be no more available and the Retreat will be SOLD OUT. We keep these events small and intimate so that you can have the best experience possible.

If you have already registered, good for you, and you are in for a major treat to hear Sheri in person!

You also will walk away from our weekend together refreshed, re-energized and re-inspired after meeting other like-hearted Women on Fire and learning from roles models such as Sheri.

To register now, please go here.  Or contact Dianne@womenonfire.com

Thank you for being a part of this incredible community of women who lift each other up to live the lives we dream of.

Love,
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Inspiration from Ms. O to Start Your Week

Hello from Miami and American Airlines Arena!

The weather was overcast and rainy, but that did not stop Ms. Oprah Winfreyfrom bringing the sunshine to nearly 10,000 women (and quite a few men) last weekend on the Miami leg of her The Life You Want tour.

I was fortunate enough to go, and I am thrilled to share some of the wisdom and inspiration from Oprah and her “trailblazers” — Deepak Chopra, Rob Bell, Elizabeth Gilbert and Iyanla Vanzant.

Several Women on Fire have attended the tour when it was in earlier cities, and you can read what they took away during Oprah’s live event on the blog.

Gayle King, Oprah’s best friend as well as editor of O Magazine and co-host of CBSThis Morning, shared her gracious presence all weekend.

She and I had a nice little chat about …what else? Women on Fire!  She truly is a fireball and I know many of you love her too.

Oprah got the show rolling with her brand of inspiration and wisdom, first sharing her personal story of her life and then introducing her special guests.

The energy and excitement — and the party that Oprah and her team created — will stay for a long time to come!

Here are some of the highlights from the speakers I thought you might enjoy.

From world renowed author and spiritual leader Dr. Deepak Chopra:

  • You cannot connect with spirit if you let the voices of the world drown you out.
  • See the world as a reflection of your inner state and shift from fear to love.
  • Multi-tasking is the only thing that gets worse with practice. If you’re fully present, you’ll have all the time to do what you need to do.
  • When your intention is aligned with your purpose there is flow.

He told the audience he meditates for two hours every single day. He led a brief meditation that was heavenly.

He answered an audience member’s question: What if you fall asleep during meditation?

“If you fall asleep while meditating, it means you need more sleep. The body is wonderful in that way!”

I know many of you have done the Oprah and Deepak 21-day Meditation Challenge.I highly recommend it as a way to learn meditation, which we all know has incredible physical and emotional benefits to stay calm and focused. (And you don’t have to make it a two-hour commitment!)

From best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote Eat, Pray, Love about her midlife journey to discover herself:

  • ‘I’m leaving’ were the two most dangerous words I ever said.
  • Don’t do what I did, do what I asked. What is my place in the world?
  • Some people we must love from a safe distance.
  •  We can be the heroes of our own lives. We just need to BEGIN!!
  •  What have you come here to do with your choices?
  •  If you want to have real transformation, it is never painless or easy.
  •  It’s better to live your destiny imperfectly, than to live someone else’s perfectly!

From pastor and best-selling author of Love Wins Rob Bell:

  • May you embrace this miraculous nature of life. It all matters.
  • Every point of the universe is actually the center of the universe.
  • We often rush through the very things that have the most power to transform us.
  • Do you believe in miracles? That’s not the question. It’s all a miracle, isn’t it?
  • You can say YES to this moment and experience a joy that cannot be put into words.

From the indomitable author and speaker Iyanla Vanzant, host of OWN Network’s show Fix My Life!:

  • Life always tell you the truth …your job is to recognize it and accept it
  • Courage is the strength to do something before you’re forced to.
  • When you’re birthing something, you need someone to hold your hand. But be careful what you grab onto.
  • The life you want is on the other side of the labor pains it takes to birth it. Don’t get stuck in the pain.
  • How not to be drained helping others? I don’t help anyone. Help is the tool of the ego. When you’re focused on “helping,” when they succeed, they forget you; if they fail , you beat yourself up.
  • You get to choose who you are in relationship to other people.

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And from the amazing Ms. Oprah herself:

  • You can only help people to the capacity they can accept your help.
  • Spend no time messing in other people’s territory. You have no power there. Your kids. Your husband. Your friends. You can only control your own territory!
  • Your purpose has already happened. The question is: are you living it and being it on purpose?
  • You become — not what you want — but what you believe.
  • Life sends you a message in a whisper; then a pebble when it’s a problem; then a brick when it’s a crisis and a brick wall when it’s a disaster!
  • It’s not about fame. It’s about stepping into the call of your life and the expression that is uniquely you. When you leave this Earth, you want to have blown it out, the highest, purest expression of yourself!

There are still two more live Oprah weekends with tickets available in Seattle and San Jose.  If you get the opportunity to go, one thing I know for sure: if you are a Woman on Fire, you will be inspired!

Wishing you a beautiful and successful Oprah-kind-of week ~

Love,

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Links That Light Us Up

22nd Edition

Hello Woman on Fire!!

TGIF!!! We hope you have big plans for the weekend, whether that includes spending time with friends or relaxing at home. But before Friday is officially over let’s get straight to the links 🙂

Best Girlfriends Getaway- It’s that time of year!! Registration for the annual Women on Fire retreat- Ignite Your Life and Soar 2014, opens next Monday, November 25, 2013. We have limited spots so make sure to register early!

Save The Date Women on Fire Retreat 2014

Best Impulse Buys- This list is pure genius, we don’t even have words. Check out the 24 clothing items by Peggy Wang from Buzzfeed.

24 Genius Clothing Items Every Girl Needs by Peggy Wang from BuzzfeedPeggy Wang

Best Brain- Are you a lefty or a righty? Take the 30 second test from Sommer + Sommer to find out.

The 30 Second Brain TestSommer + Sommer

Best Insta Artist- @Cintascotch is taking Instagram art to the next level. We were immediately drawn to the photo below for obvious reasons… P.S Paris Registration opens December 2nd, are you on the list?

Best Instagram @cintascotch@Cintascotch

Best Roasted Brussels– Our resident chef and favorite food blogger Phoebe Lapine of Feed Me Phoebe has crafted an absolute masterpiece with our favorite vegetable — brussels sprouts!! She even went the extra mile and paired them with Gruyere and toast- DELICIOUS!

Brussel Sprouts and Gruyere Toast from FeedMePhoebe.comFeedMePhoebe.com

Best Winter Tune- If you need a break from Christmas carols in the coming months but still want a winter theme, try this tune from Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. It’s appropriately titled “Winter Song.”

Best Body Double- Need to run some errands but don’t have the time? Check out this new app called Postmates and find someone to run to the drugstore, pick up groceries and grab your dry cleaning all with the click of a button.
Postmates - The best NEW task request appPostMates

Best ‘You Go, Girl’- We announced this on our instagram months ago when it was first released, but are happy to report that Gloria Steinem, Oprah Winfrey and Sally Ride were all officially awarded their Presidential Medal of Freedom this week! #yougogirls

Cheers to these Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients

We hope these links brought some light into the end of your week! Let us know if anything is lighting you up on the web 🙂

love,

The Women on Fire team

P.S. Did you miss last week’s links? Check them out here!

She Said What?!

The outdoor shower has been turned on.  Shiny, ripe strawberries are ready for picking.  Students are being celebrated at graduation parties.

It’s that time of the year.

And, one of my favorite pastimes in June is to read the inspiration and wisdom from celebrated speakers at college commencements across the country.

This year, I was inspired and uplifted by three speakers, in particular, including what Oprah had to say at Harvard.

“It doesn’t matter how far you might rise, at some point you are bound to stumble,” she said.  “Because if you’re constantly doing what we do, raising the bar.

“If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher, the law of averages, not to mention The Myth of Icarus, predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do,” she warned, “I want you to know this, remember this: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us into another direction.”

“It’s okay to feel bad for a little while,” Oprah said. “Give yourself time to mourn what you think you may have lost. But then, here’s the key: Learn from every mistake because every experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes, are there to teach you and force you into being more of who you are.”

If you have a half-hour, I encourage you, if you haven’t yet, to watch Oprah’s entire speech.

(And, note the many times the camera zooms in on Woman on Fire member Sophfronia Scott who was in the audience celebrating her 25th graduation from Harvard!)

*This week’s Spark PINspiration*  

Pin to Pass on the Love!

See what Oprah, Arianna Huffington and Katie Couric all have in common in this week's SPARK- www.debbiephillips.com Women On Fire[pinit]

And while I adored everything Oprah said, I really loved how Arianna Huffington inspired graduates at Smith College.

Arianna is the president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post and the sister to beloved Woman on Fire Agapi Stassinopolous, author of Unbinding the Heart: A Dose of Greek Wisdom, Generosity, and Unconditional Love.

(Agapi’s book, by the way, is a great gift for a new graduate!)

Arianna urged Smith graduates to lead a new kind of women’s revolution; one that defines success in a new way.

“At the moment, our society’s notion of success is largely composed of two parts: money and power,” Arianna said in her remarks.

What is needed now is a new, third metric to define success: “one founded on well-being, wisdom, our ability to wonder, and to give back … because the world you are headed into desperately needs it.”

She went on to explain that “more and more people, very successful people, are toppling over. Basically, success the way we’ve defined it is no longer sustainable.

“Already, women in stressful jobs have a nearly 40 percent increased risk of heart disease, and a 60 percent greater risk for diabetes. And in the last 30 years, as women have made strides and gains in the workplace, self-reported levels of stress have gone up 18 percent.”

She warned how sleep deprivation is harming our creativity and shared how The Huffington Post is making an effort to put a dent in the problem.  They have installed two nap rooms in their offices.

At first people were hesitant to take naps, she said, because they feared others would think they were shirking their duties.  “I’m happy to say, our nap rooms are now always booked. Although the other day I was walking by and I saw two people walking out of one of the nap rooms. But, hey, whatever it takes to recharge. Just don’t tell HR, ok?” 😉

And, finally, Katie Couric, who lost her husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998, wrapped up her speech with this powerful thought for us all when she spoke to Randolph Macon College graduates in Virginia:

“The losses I’ve experienced have taught me something else: We are all terminal. You have to appreciate the gifts that every day of your life will bring: Your family. Your friends. A beautiful sky at sunset. A perfect ear of corn in August. The first snowfall of the year. A baby’s tiny hand. Be grateful for the time you have and savor the joy that comes your way.”

Congratulations if you or someone you love is graduating this year. I wish you a joy-filled week – and plenty of sleep!