“To live better, you've got to love yourself.” That is the message from Iyanla Vanzant. Now that is easy for her to say, what is there not to love about her? She is beautiful inside and out, then she goes around helping people all day. But somehow, she makes it easier for us all to love ourselves and each other more. Now that is not easy. In a world filled with discord and discontent Iyanla speaks a message of love and understanding, and she mixes her down to earth wisdom with understanding and humor. Now you have got to love that. We all should take a few minutes and think about what she is telling us: it does not matter who we are, to be truly happy we have to look inside, love ourselves, then align with a higher self that lets us spread that love out into the world around us.
Life has not always been easy for Iyanla, a rape survivor and teenage mother; she scraped by on welfare until she pulled everything together and put herself through law school. For many people that alone would have been enough. That was not the case for Iyanla; she went further and shared her struggles and triumphs with the rest of the world. As special as we all find her, she saw how others could make the changes they wanted to see in themselves. Seeing this, she wrote, gave talks and wrote, doing whatever she could to make people’s lives better. In this, she was a success as well.
Iyanla’s books have sold eight million copies. They include “In the Meantime” and “One Day My Soul Just Opened Up.” Obviously, her message is reaching people. It does that because her message is important. We may see her as a special person; however, that is not how she sees herself. She sees herself as an ordinary person doing special things. . Perhaps that is why she can touch so many lives. She remembers what it was like to be poor and discriminated against. She also know you can do something about it, and seeing herself as no one special she is an inspiration to us all. Just as she fought, refusing to bow down and conform to other people’s image of her, she does not just tell us how to make life changes she shares how she has done it herself. Her advice reflects her inner vision of herself as an ordinary person, with that conviction she can convey how other ordinary people can also do special things.
On her web site, she shares with us that “My greatest desire is for people to know who they are from the inside out and to use that knowledge to create the life they desire and deserve.” . To further that goal she put together a spiritual organization that reaches out to people of all ages, races and sexes. She encourages people to evolve, to find the spiritual wellspring within themselves, then bring it out. The steps she has taken, and encourages us all to follow are simple as well. The first step is to know yourself. The next step is to understand our own spiritual principals. Finally, we need to bring the two together, and align ourselves with our own greater higher selves. In her own words, “ we become a divine expression and experience of that life is meant to be.” . For that we do not need all her degrees, an Emmy, a Rosa Parks Award or a NAACP Image Award like she has, we just to look inside and reach out to that higher self that is within us. Einstein once pointed out that any intelligent fool can make thing bigger and more complex, but it takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Iyanla Vanzant has both genius and courage. She may think she is just an ordinary person. The rest of the world is more likely to agree with Maya Angelou when she said Iyanla Vanzant is a Phenomenal Woman!
Works Cited
The Oprah Show. "Iyanla Vanzant Returns to The Oprah Show." 16 2 2011. The Oprah Show. 15 4 2012
Answers Corporation. "Iyania Vanzant." 2012. Answers Biographies. 15 4 2012
Vanzant, Iyania. "About Us." 2012. Inner Visions. 15 4 2012
Works Cited
