I pivoted from a career in the corporate sector at Fortune 500 companies to one in higher education because of one Ms. Oprah Winfrey.

Yes, you read that correctly. If it weren’t for Oprah (and, well, a timely and meaningful article in one of her O Magazines), I don’t know that I would have ever considered higher education to be a place for me.

Eight years ago, I lived in Minneapolis, MN with my husband and dreamed of moving to somewhere that was warmer. If you know me, you know cold just isn’t my thing. But, more than that, I realized that while I had learned so much in each and every role I had ever had, I needed a job that felt more meaningful to me.

Then, on a random trip to SF to visit a friend, I picked up an O Magazine to read at a coffee shop before my flight. Unlike most pieces of advice I’d ever received which say to “follow your passion” as though it’s the simplest thing in the world to identify and do, Oprah asked me more basic questions that didn’t have the pressure of the overarching passion question (yes, folks. she was talking directly to me…).

These questions included things like:

I am the go-to person when my friends need help with…
If I could star in my own how-to TV show, it would be about…
If I won first prize in a talent show, it would be for…

See below for a picture of the actual magazine activity with my notes from that day. You never know when/where inspiration will hit. As Oprah said at a conference that I recently went to: we need to listen to the whispers, i.e. the little clues and self-talk that show themselves from time to time. Thanks, Oprah. I’m glad I listened to the whispers that day, with a little help from you.