This story originally appeared on Essence.com.
Oprah Winfrey delivered an unforgettable keynote speech at the 2016 ESSENCE Festival this weekend. The media mogul began by asking, “ESSENCE, what took me so long?” before delivering an empowering speech that touched on finding your purpose, letting go and letting God, and surrendering to the dream. Watch a snippet above and, below, read a few of the most memorable quotes:
On the Creator’s Dream For You:
“I am living the dream. And I want you to live the dream. I’m not living the dream because I’m special, but I was obedient to the call of the dream. I’m living in the space of the dream and the dream is good. There is a bigger dream for you. What is God’s dream for you. What does the creator’s dream hold for you?”
On the Things You Get:
“This is what I know for sure, you don’t get what you wish for, you don’t even get what you hope for. You get what you believe.”
On Surrendering:
“The magic is to surrender to God’s dream for you. Quit fighting and pushing against and disallowing against and stop trying to tell the Creator what you’re supposed to do. Get still and know that His dream is for you.”
On The Importance of Your Energy:
“The energy of what you do, what you say and the energy of who you are goes out into the world, your home and into your relationships and that energy is always coming back to you. You’re responsible for the energy you put out into the world.”
On Intentions:
“Before you think about the thing, you have an intention about the thing. The intention in which you give determines the outcome. My intention to live to the highest calling and be pressed to the mark of the highest calling.”
Watch the full speech below:
