It’s a major award. Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
I’m kind of bummed because this past Christmas, we never put a cutout of Oprah’s face on top of our tree.**
Right after Thanksgiving, the murmur began about who would be getting this high honor.
But, you know, the “academy” has a toddler running around and ALL of the nominations were incredible.
You know how it is looking at a shelf of toothpaste? It takes a long time to make a decision.
You could very well leave without buying toothpaste.
That’s basically what happened. We got decision fatigue and went through the holidays with no Hollywood star atop our fake tree.
It’s a shame because our annual tree topper is always a great conversation piece, and it’s one of the few traditions that my husband and I have come up with to make the holidays our OWN (no affiliation. YET).
So you can imagine my relief when I learned a few nights ago that Oprah received the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes.
Thank the gods she got something to make up for our oversight!
All jokes aside, she gave a rockin’ acceptance speech that made me just a wee bit weepy.
And in it, The Great & Powerful O said: “What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”
Except, I kinda winced when I heard “speaking your truth.”
I know that Oprah makes these wonderful woo phrases famous, but it was just a touch too Super Soul Sunday for me at this point. I’m pretty burned out on all of that shit.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater of the truth. I’m just more interested in the specifics.
Of course, Oprah’s speech went on to be specific, but a lot of times, this type of vague phrase stays vague.
So here are a few of my specific truths:
- Running a business is HARD, but I’ve been way more AFRAID of it than I have been CHALLENGED by it.
- Moving an IDEA into ACTION takes COURAGE and COMMITMENT.
- People will never KNOW you’re THANKFUL unless you EXPRESS your GRATITUDE.
I’ve got plenty more specific truths that I’ll share in the coming weeks.
But I’ll pause here to say Thank You for reading and responding, and for sharing this with your friends. Thank you for your support through the years and on into the future.
Care to speak your truth? Hit reply and dish!
May your decisions be swift and your truth be verbalized,
Sharon “WWOWD” Seyna
**Past year’s honors have been awarded to: Mr. T, Mr. Rogers, and David Bowie.
p.s. Here’s the link to Oprah’s speech, where she recalls watching Sidney Poitier receive the same award. One of my first gigs working as an aspiring bartender in New Orleans was at a reception for Sir Poitier who was in town to give the Keynote for the The People of Color’s Conference. I poured him several drinks. Wassap, Sidney!!! (Yeah, he’s not on my list. YET.)