Author of bestseller Wild reveals Oprah’s key to success
REACHING Oprah-level success is something most could only hope to achieve but now the author of ‘Wild’ has revealed what the secret might be.
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SINCE the start of Oprah’s television show, millions have yearned for the talk show host’s success.
Despite her iconic show ending in 2011 after a 25 season run, the talk show queen has remained one of the most successful people in the world — and one author has finally figured out her secret.
Cheryl Strayed, author of the New York Times best-selling book Wild, headed to South by Southwest on the weekend and spoke to podcaster Tim Ferriss.
The 48-year-old author met Oprah back in 2012 when she decided to revive her famous book club, reports The New York Post.
Winfrey’s original book club was met with such popularity that it quickly became known as ‘The Oprah effect’ because any book the talk show host chose would rapidly rise to the top of bestseller lists.
Many obscure titles that were chosen would even report sales by the millions after their book joined the exclusive club.
When Winfrey launched her Book Club 2.0, Strayed’s book Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail became the first to be chosen and the famous author recounted what it was like to meet her.
“I went to her house in Montecito near Santa Barbara [California]. I was brought to this little guesthouse which was nicer than any of our houses,” she told Ferriss.
“She’s interviewing me on the show. It’s this big kinda moment. They tell me to go down this path through these Redwood trees. At the end of this path, there’s Oprah,” Strayed added.
And despite it being the first time they met, Strayed remembered Oprah happily yelling “Cheryl!” before giving her a hug.
“The thing that struck me … this is why Oprah is successful, is that … the look on her face and what I could see in her eyes is her vulnerability,” Strayed said.
“I was meeting Oprah and I wanted her to like me. Oprah was meeting me and she wanted me to like her.
“She was still this incredibly humble human who was really looking to have an authentic human connection with me. This what’s driven her success — her genuine desire to connect with people and be open. That kind of curiosity has driven her to these great heights,” she added.
“To me, the mark of success is staying open in this whole way,” Strayed revealed.
Strayed’s hugely popular novel Wild documented her hike across the US after the death of her mother and her own divorce.
It was adapted into a movie in 2014 with Reese Witherspoon starring as Strayed and Laura Dern as her mother.
Both actresses earned Academy Award nominations for their performances.
Originally published as Author of bestseller Wild reveals Oprah’s key to success