For over 14 years, I have been a massive fan of Oprah. Why? because she came from nothing and is now one of the world’s most powerful people. She was not born into wealth, she didn’t have contacts in her industry, she began at ground zero. She fought many hard battles and worked damn hard to get where she is.
This inspires me so, so, so, much, I’m just a boy from a small coastal town, who has massive dreams, a truck load of goals – with a long way still to go!. I’ve had to work hard to get where I am today. I’m a massive fan of ‘The Secret’ and firmly believe in the ‘laws of attraction’. You must believe with total clarity what you want from life.
Next to my desk is my ‘inspiration wall’, filled with images of things I hope to achieve, things I hope to own and people I hope to meet. And yes Oprah’s face, was stuck on this very wall five years ago, and today I got within 3 metres of her. In Oprah’s closing message today, she said “Good things go to people who give back”. It’s so true, but you also need to be grateful for what you have. And for the Oprah experience I enjoyed today , words cannot express my gratitude.
Now to the fun part, let me give you a quick wrap about Oprah’s first Sydney show today. With the Sydney Opera House as the amazing backdrop and mother nature kindly giving us a warm summer day. 6,000 insanely happy people were packed into the Opera House forecourt. Before Oprah even arrived we were dancing and singing. When the Black Eye Pea’s song “Time of my life” sang out, everyone was on their feet, singing, dancing and fist pumping the sky. The energy was electric, and Oprah had not even arrived yet. To the sounds of Aboriginal didgeridoo’s, Oprah soon arrived walking down the red carpet, wearing an orange floor length dress. She looked stunning, her dress perfectly matching the brightly coloured stage. She wore an Aboriginal stone necklace that had been given to her in Uluru. A nice touch.
First guest was Russell Crowe, he looked dapper in his black suit, white shirt and black slim tie. He brought along with him players from the Souths Rabbitohs who wore their jerseys. He truly is a great ambassador for Australia. His wife Danielle was in the audience with her mum. Next up was Hip-hop superstar Jay-Z. Looking suave in a dark suit. They showed a clip of him surprising school boys from the Canterbury Boys School. The teachers and boys of the school were shocked. Oprah then surprised them again with her first giveaway for the day. All the boys received computers and digital equipment thanks to HP. The school boys all erupted in cheer, so did we the audience. Bindi Irwin, her mother Terri and younger brother Robert t then came on to talk about the legacy of their late father -Steve. Before they spoke, they showed an emotional montage of moments with Steve. The Kleenex packets started to come out, when Terri broke down on stage, the collective sound of sobbing of people around me, was almost as loud as the four black hawk helicopters that circled above.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more emotional. Australian father (and cancer patient) Kristian Anderson, and his wife Rachel came onto the stage. Remember that YouTube video made by a cancer patient, that starred Hugh Jackman?. Kristian made the emotional video, to thank his wife for all her love and support during his battle with cancer. They showed some clips of his video and audience tears (including mine) began to flow freely again. His wife Rachel has had to go back to work to support the family. So Oprah surprised them with a $250,000 cheque, so that she did not have to work and they could spend quality time with each other. OK, so by this stage the sobbing intensified (Kleenex should have been a sponsor).
Music legend Jon Bon Jovi, then performed ‘Living on a prayer’ and ‘It’s my Life’. Everyone was up dancing again. By this stage, I could have died a very happy man. But Oprah had one more sneaky surprise giveaway, she then gave all 6,000 people in the audience a Kailis pearl necklace. Just beyond amazeballs. Only Oprah – right?!
To summarise, it truly was one of the most magical, memorable, emotional, life changing days. It was a true reminder to never give up, aim high, believe in your dreams, always give back to others and believe in yourself. Anything is possible. So I’m now raising my old dream, ‘to see Oprah’ (tick), to one day meeting her and doing makeovers on her show. I want to make Oprah viewers look great and feel amazing. Thank you Oprah for being the incredible inspiration that you are.