In the above supercut from Oprah’s “SuperSoul Sunday” interviews, four leaders in their fields ― life coach Iyanla Vanzant, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, palliative care physician B.J. Miller and best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert ― reveal the wide-ranging pieces of advice they wish they’d listened to in their youth.
Some of it is inspirational, some of it is practical. All of it, however, has value. As Oprah says, “That’s good advice for anybody.”
1. Sit down, shut up and listen.
“I would give her, actually, the advice that my father gave me. And at the time, I didn’t value it, but it has become one of the grounding forces in my life: ‘Sit down, shut up and listen.’ Sit down, shut up and listen ― I do it every day.” ― Iyanla Vanzant, life coach
2. Do more of what you can uniquely do.
“I would say, ‘Do more of what you can uniquely do, and less of what other people can do.’” ― Gloria Steinem, feminist icon
3. Hang in there.
“Basically: ‘Hang in there. One foot in front of the other.’ You can’t see where it’s all going. And you know what? I don’t really care to see where it’s all going. That’s the mystery part, that’s the curiosity part.” ― B.J. Miller, palliative care physician
4. Avoid romantic entanglements.
“There is absolutely no advice that I could have given my younger self that I would have listened to when I was younger ... But, if I were to have listened, I would have said, ‘Avoid romantic entanglements in your youth and focus on yourself.’” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, best-selling author