© Getty Images

When people show you who they are, believe them - Winfrey has said that this is her favorite piece of advice—a lesson she learned the hard way about a partner, with the help of Maya Angelou—that if someone shows you they are untrustworthy, selfish, etc., believe them the first time.

© Getty Images

Be authentic - Winfrey is someone who constantly seeks self-improvement through a relentless examination of her own life, but it took her some time to first realize that people just wanted her as she is. "I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I've become. If I had, I'd have done it a lot earlier."

© Getty Images

Fight prejudice with excellence - In a field of white male news anchors, a black woman who didn't fit beauty standards was an easy target for prejudice. But she was the best at what she did, and made her talent impossible to deny: "Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism."

© Getty Images

Find the good in the bad - Winfrey's past is full of unimaginable struggle—she grew up poor, was sexually abused as a child, and had a son at the age of 14 who died in infancy—but she credits these events for giving her more capacity to relate to the pain of others. "Turn your wounds into wisdom," as she says.

© Getty Images

The "power of service" - For her commencement address at Smith College, she advised students to focus on how they can serve. She wants you to ask yourself, "How can I be used?"

© Getty Images

There's no such thing as failure - "Go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground." Winfrey looks at what most people consider failure to be a chance at seeing things from a new perspective, learning a new lesson, or finding a new route. She told Harvard's 2013 graduating class that "failure is just life trying to move us in another direction."

© BrunoPress

Challenge the status quo - Obedience we learn in school is sometimes the antithesis to success in business, and Winfrey is a great example of that. At her first job as a news anchor, she didn't read the news in a dry, objective tone as everyone else did, but rather delivered emotion and empathy. It was a risk, but producers and audiences loved it.

© Getty Images

Believe in the "why" - If you don't know why you're doing your job, it will not give you fulfillment. Understanding the "why" behind the "doing" gives both you and the work meaning, which is why Winfrey advises you only do things in alignment with your truth.

© Getty Images

Try, try again - Winfrey encourages everyone to run head-on towards the thing they're scared they cannot do, and to keep trying after they fail. "Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better."

© Getty Images

Give yourself time to cope - While she doesn't advise giving up, she told the Harvard 2013 graduating class that "it's okay to feel bad for a little while," but that the key is getting up with new knowledge, so as not to have wasted the mistake.

© Getty Images

Make your own luck -

There is a good degree of luck in crafting a multi-billion-dollar net worth, but Winfrey believes "that luck is preparation meeting opportunity." The only reason she could take every opportunity that came to her was because she had already put in the work.

© Getty Images

Just focus on the next step - Winfrey advises that you focus on the "next right move" and only from there should you focus on the step after that. One thing at a time.

© Getty Images

Stop doubting yourself - During a visit to Stanford Graduate School of Business, she told students that even when they're not sure of their long-term goals, they must banish self-doubt to achieve anything.

© Getty Images

Trust your gut - Winfrey is a big believer in instincts, and she's made big decisions like deciding when to retire based on that wordless, inner compass. She believes that if you find yourself consulting other people for an answer, you're going in the wrong direction.

© Getty Images

Own everything you do - Winfrey famously said, "This is your moment. Own it." Owning it comes in many forms, from being fearless in your pursuits to literally taking ownership of your ideas and making them reflect the things you believe in.

© Getty Images

Help yourself by helping others - She's put more money into philanthropy than any other entertainer in America, and while she does care about others, she knows a little secret about karma: "The surest way to bring goodness to yourself is to make it your intention to do good for somebody else." Helping others demonstrates your own value, encourages reciprocity, and builds networks.

© Getty Images

You can have everything, but not at the same time - Winfrey mastered balance in all parts of her life, but especially after partnering with Weight Watchers. She wisely said, "I can eat anything I want; I just can't eat it at the same time."

© Getty Images

Embrace an attitude of gratitude - Perhaps the reason Winfrey hasn't made headlines for blowing her millions, and perhaps the reason she stays grounded, is because she is always grateful for what she has. "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

© Getty Images

Surround yourself with positivity - Winfrey advises that you surround yourself with only the people who will lift you higher, because everyone else is holding you back.

© Getty Images

Forgive and move on - On her show, she defined forgiveness as accepting what has happened and giving up hope that the past could have been different. "I don't hold grudges for anything, or any situation, and neither should you," she said. "It's letting go, so the past does not hold you prisoner."

© Getty Images

Keep a stillness inside you - As one of the busiest women in the world, she's had to develop ways of coping with packed schedules. When she feels overwhelmed by her to-do list, she stills herself for a moment, looks at a tree or the sun's light reflecting off a window, and she remembers "love is available. I inhale it, exhale, and get back to work."

© Getty Images

Success is easier when you love your job - Many people wonder whether they're on the right path, and Winfrey believes you're on the road to success when you would do your job and not be paid for it. She's also said, "Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every paycheck will be a bonus."

© Getty Images

How to pick your friends -

As a rich and famous person, it becomes hard to distinguish between real and fake friends. Many people will want to ride with you in the limo, as Winfrey says, though "what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."

© Getty Images

Say "thank you" more - So much of life is based on perception, and if you choose to celebrate what you already have, you'll be surprised at just how much there is to be thankful for. As Winfrey says, "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."

© Getty Images

Love and fear are choices - Winfrey believes that "every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear," and that everyone has the power to choose.

© Getty Images

Stop worrying - One of the things Winfrey wrote in her 'What I know for sure' column is that if you make a choice that goes against what people think, the world won't actually fall apart!

© Getty Images

Take care of yourself - Winfrey is big on self-love, and she has repeatedly advised that you should fuel yourself with love, positivity, good food, good company, and at least five minutes of stillness every day.

© Getty Images

You're in charge -

While it can feel like some people are fated to succeed and others aren't, Winfrey emphasizes that we're all responsible for our own lives and "no one else is or even could be." It rings true for her, as she overcame a world of external obstacles set in front of her by other people.

© Getty Images

The greatest advice she ever received - Maya Angelou once told Winfrey that your legacy lies in every life you've touched. It shifted the way she looked at her legacy and her huge philanthropic donations, particularly in the realization that it's the interactions you have every day, rather than the grand gestures you make, that people will remember most.

© Getty Images

The biggest secret of all… -

Winfrey once said that "the big secret in life is that there's no big secret." Rather, the results you get out of life are due to the work you put in.

See all: Famous women reveal the moment they felt successful

© Getty Images