You probably know Oprah Winfrey as one of the most prominent billionaires on the planet. Did you also know she was fired from her first job as a reporter, because she "didn't have the look" and wouldn't be able to "connect with viewers"?

Here are a few other things you probably didn't know about Oprah:

  • She is the daughter of an unmarried teen mother.
  • Her family was so poor when she was young that, as a schoolgirl, Oprah was teased for wearing dresses made of potato sacks.
  • In 1986, Oprah spoke openly about surviving childhood sexual abuse on a special episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show focusing on the topic.

Oprah is a massively successful woman with a difficult past. This makes her views and opinions on life, business, and the pursuit of happiness well worth considering.

Here are 25 Oprah Winfrey quotes you aren't likely to forget:

  1. "You can have it all. Just not all at once."
  2. "I would like to thank the people who've brought me those dark moments, when I felt most wounded, betrayed. You have been my greatest teachers."
  3. "They say getting thin is the best revenge. Success is much better."
  4. "I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint -- and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."
  5. "One of the hardest things in life to learn is which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn."
  6. "It's much easier for me to make major life, multimillion-dollar decisions than it is to decide on a carpet for my front porch. That's the truth."
  7. "Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."
  8. "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate."
  9. "If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay."
  10. "You don't become what you want, you become what you believe."
  11. "It makes no difference how many peaks you reach if there was no pleasure in the climb."
  12. "Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different."
  13. "So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground."
  14. "When people show you who they are ... believe them!"
  15. "Dogs are my favorite role models ... I want to love like a dog, with unabashed devotion and complete lack of concern about what people do for a living, how much money they have, or how much they weigh."
  16. "Your calling isn't something that somebody can tell you about. It's what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice."
  17. "I was once afraid of people saying, 'Who does she think she is?' Now I have the courage to stand and say, 'This is who I am.'"
  18. "The truth is that the naysayers in your life can never be fully satisfied. Whether you hide or shine, they'll always feel threatened because they don't believe they are enough."
  19. "Wherever you are in your journey, I hope you, too, will keep encountering challenges. It is a blessing to be able to survive them, to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other--to be in a position to make the climb up life's mountain, knowing that the summit still lies ahead."
  20. "It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you -- always."
  21. "I still have my feet on the ground. I just wear better shoes."
  22. "Even people who believe they deserve to be happy and have nice things often don't feel worthy once they have them."
  23. "I don't want anyone who doesn't want me."
  24. "I know for sure that in the final analysis of our lives -- when the to-do lists are no more, when the frenzy is finished, when our e-mail inboxes are empty -- the only thing that will have any lasting value is whether we've loved others and whether they've loved us."
  25. "My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato and someone to share it with."