It’s official.  Summer’s over.

No matter how many years you’ve been out of school, doesn’t it feel like you should have new shoes, clothes, a fresh notebook, and a pep talk to start anew? 🙂

*This week’s Women on Fire Pinspiration*

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I’d love to hear how you are starting off your fall. And, I hope you had a great holiday weekend. We spent ours hosting a wedding!

Photo by Rob Berkley

Our wonderful friend and colleague (of course, a Woman on Fire!) Regina Blos married her sweetheart Romildo in our living room.

There was lots of extra excitement and joy here on Martha’s Vineyard — and  Wilber wore his finest for the occasion. (Even though it looks like he had a little too much Champagne!)

Photo by Rob Berkley

These last few days of summer also were some of my best days of the year and I’m eager to share with you all I learned.

Woman on Fire Jodi Salata invited me to attend two tapings last week of Oprah’s Life Class with Dr. Brené Brown at Harpo Studios in Chicago.

On the set with Brené and Oprah

(If you aren’t yet familiar with Brené, be sure to check out one of her TED talks, especially the video on vulnerability that has been viewed by nearly 11 million people. Her newest book Daring Greatly also was named our Book To Live By in July.)

After the tapings, Jodi’s incredible sister-in-law and my sweet friend Sheri Salata, the president of Oprah Winfrey Network and Oprah’s Harpo Productions, made sure that we were invited to meet with Oprah and Brené informally in Oprah’s “living room” (complete with a roaring fireplace!)

On our way to Oprah’s “living room” inside Harpo studios in Chicago

Not only were the Life Classes with Brene filled with great inspiration and strategies to live your best life but to be behind-the-scenes at Oprah’s, to be in her surroundings, and to watch her work and have fun were as equally rewarding!

Because there is so much to tell you, I have decided to write a three-part series My Visit To Oprah’s, which will start tomorrow.

On the first day of the series, I’ll share what it was like to meet Oprah 27 years ago when she was promoting the national launch of her talk show and hardly anyone had ever heard of her — and what it was like to meet up with her today.

Has she changed? I’ll tell you tomorrow!

On Day 2, you’ll meet Brene Brown and I’ll share what I learned from her and what she was like to meet in person.

Definitely two Women on Fire!

She’s famous for her academic research that proves “vulnerability is absolutely essential to whole-hearted living. ” And, she packed her lessons during Life Class with brilliant nuggets such as this:

“You can’t do anything brave if you’re wearing the strait-jacket of what will people think.”

On the third and final day of the series, I’ll tell you what the people, offices and atmosphere were like at Harpo. And I’m happy to answer any of your questions about the Oprah experience.  Already I’ve received a number of questions so feel free to email me yours.

Here’s a preview of answers to questions so far:

No, I didn’t cry or surprisingly even feel nervous when I met Oprah. Yes, we talked about The Butler (the #1 movie in the country for the third week in a row.) You won’t believe which scene she re-enacted for me!

Mostly though, I can’t wait for you to see the Life Classes shows with Oprah and Brene for yourself.  They were uplifting and ones that every Woman on Fire will learn and gain valuable insight from.

They are scheduled to air on OWN Network on September 22 and 29.  And there are special Women on Fire appearances that you won’t want to miss! 😉

So, I hope you will treat yourself to whatever inspires you to start fresh as we head into September.  What do you want to accomplish between now and December 31?

Have you taken a look at your goals lately?  Maybe now is a good time to celebrate them, or update them, or decide the next steps for them.

We’re here to support you!  And, as Oprah would say, “how will you live your best life?”

See you tomorrow and happy, happy end-of-summer!