On January 29, 1954, the woman that would make a meteoric rise to become not only the richest female in America, but also the first ever African-American billionaire was born.

“What I know for sure is that if you want to have success, you can’t make success your goal,” says Oprah Winfrey. “The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant – and the success will naturally follow.”

Today, Harpo has 263 full-time employees, modest turnover (10% to 15% a year) and earns $275 million in revenues. It is a media powerhouse that competes with giants like Lifetime and AOL Time Warner. And, Oprah remains as committed as ever: “I believe I’m just getting started.”

Oprah’s success has not come easily, but rather as the result of a number of crucial factors:

“I always knew I’d be a millionaire by age thirty-two. In fact, I am going to be the richest black woman in America. The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work. If you believe you can only go so far, it is an obstacle.

Be quiet. Part of your responsibility is to honour the quiet inside yourself so you can hear the call. Take five minutes to centre yourself in the morning…set your intention every day…if you don’t have five minutes, you don’t deserve to have the life of your dreams. Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.

You get in life what you have the courage to ask for. Always continue the climb. Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand. You can take from every experience what it has to offer you. And you cannot be defeated if you just keep taking one breath followed by another.

Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you’re going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal, and by maintaining focus. You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more. The right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it.

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. I said I knew how to edit when I didn’t. I said I knew how to report on stories. When I went to my first city council meeting, I wasn’t quite sure of what to do, but I told the news director that I did.

It’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life. Making other people happy is what brings me happiness. I have a blessed life, and I have always shared my life’s gifts with others. I will continue to use my voice and my life as a catalyst for encouraging people to help make a difference in the lives of others.

What I know is, is that if you do work that you love, and work that fulfills you, the rest will come. And, I truly believe, that the reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is because my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.

You can be pursuing a profession because your parents say it’s the best thing. You can be pursuing a profession because you think you will make a lot of money. You can be pursuing a profession because you think you are going to get a lot of attention. None of that will do you any good if you are not being honest with yourself.

You become what you believe. You are where you are today in your life based on everything you have believed. I don’t believe in coincidences.

I don’t care about being bigger, because I’m already bigger than I ever expected to be. My constant focus is on being better. Should I be doing multimedia video production? Or seminars on the Internet? How can I do what I’m already doing in a more forceful way?”