Updated March 26th, 2012

“You are responsible for your life, and doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”―Oprah Winfrey

Positively Positive is all about inspiring and empowering people to live to their highest potential. Throughout her career, Oprah Winfrey has possibly inspired more people on this planet than anyone living today. When my wife and I started Positively Positive, we made a list of people we wanted to surround ourselves with, and Oprah was always number one. When the call came in from the Oprah team, it was a personal and professional dream come true, and the perfect example of manifesting our desires.

I have been invited to travel with Oprah as part of her Oprah’s Lifeclass: The Tour. We will be traveling to St. Louis, New York, and Toronto. Other guests include Iyanla Vanzant, Tony Robbins, T.D. Jakes, and Deepak Chopra—an added bonus, because both Tony and Deepak were on our list with Oprah.

We will have incredible access to Oprah and her amazing guests and will be reporting back to the Positively Positive community via Facebook and Twitter.

Beginning tonight, March 26, Oprah is bringing the world’s largest classroom to you and thousands around the globe. Every Monday night at 8/7c for six weeks, Oprah’s Lifeclass: The Tour will feature eye-opening discussions with superstar teachers on television, via the web, and in person.

In the live season premiere, Iyanla Vanzant will join Oprah as they inspire viewers to make peace with their past and find the loving relationships they deserve. Iyanla will present the ultimate lesson plan for Lifeclass students to kick things off.

Here are ten questions/steps from the lesson plan that will be addressed in the show:

Please comment below on your thoughts and share with the community. To go deeper and learn more, be sure to tune in to the first episode LIVE tomorrow, Monday March 26.

  1. The first step is to identify what the pain is. In ten words or less, finish this sentence: My pain is ____________.
  1. If you have trouble answering question one, take a deep breath, relax and notice: What is causing you the most discomfort right now? Whether the problem is physical or emotional, you’ll feel it in specific areas of your body.
  1. Answer these questions: What hurts? What size is the pain? What texture is the pain? What temperature? As you give it your attention, what thoughts come with it?
  1. Look deeper into that particular pain—write down three things you’re holding on to that are causing it. These may be objects, relationships, situations, or beliefs.
  1. Anger—like other forms of pain—is actually teaching us the shape of the change we wish to see in the world. List five things that bring up some version of anger (from grumpiness to rage) for you.
  1. For each thing you listed, write an “anger rant” that describes how you really, truly feel. Don’t hold back. Say whatever you really want to say.
  1. Working from your anger rant, write a list called “X should Y.”  Examples: Tom should be more considerate of my needs. Politicians should stop bickering and try making people’s lives better!
  1. Now write another list called “I could Y” by substituting “I could” for “X should.”  Examples: I could be more considerate of my needs. I could stop bickering mentally with politicians and try making people’s lives better.
  1. Notice how much more challenging it is to live your ethics than to focus on what others should do. How will this change the way you direct your energy next time you get angry?
  1. What corrosive thoughts have you been keeping to yourself (like, “I’m hate myself” or “Everyone’s against me”)? How can you rewrite them as a declaration of what you intend to change (like, “I love myself” or “Everyone is in my life for a reason”)?

Here is the full Lifeclass schedule and themes:

March 26 Stopping the Pain with Iyanla Vanzant
April 2 Living Fearlessly with Tony Robbins
April 9 Living On Purpose with T.D. Jakes
April 16 Forgiveness with Iyanla Vanzant, Tony Robbins, T.D. Jakes,  and Deepak Chopra
April 23 Spiritual Laws of Success with Deepak Chopra
April 30 Gratitude with Iyanla Vanzant, Tony Robbins, T.D. Jakes  and Deepak Chopra

If there are any questions you have for any of the guests, please put them in the comments below and I will do my best to try and get some of them answered. And remember to tune in on OWN or HERE


Eric Handler is the co-founder of Positively Positive. He recently spoke at TEDx. Follow Eric on TWITTER