Book Summary of Oprah Winfrey’s ‘The Path Made Clear’

The title of Oprah Winfrey’s The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose (2019) is misleading. This book is no more than a hodgepodge of think-positive sound bites from Winfrey’s luminary show-guests.

Winfrey opens each of the ten chapters with a short personal anecdote of her hard work, persistence, and gratitude. Her meditations illuminate her passion-driven inner self: “Pay attention to what feeds your energy, you move in the direction of the life for which you were intended” and “Your life is always whispering to you.”

Aside from the prologues, the poorly organized reflections of Winfrey’s guests don’t build up to helping find purpose and living it. Some of the guests’ thoughts are poignant and thought-provoking:

• “When problems show up, relax, and lean away from the noise that the mind is making. Give the noise room to pass through and it does. It passes right through. Don’t let fear take over. Like if you get on a horse and you’re scared, you’re not going to be a very good rider, right? But that doesn’t mean you let the horse go wherever it wants. You learn how to interface and interact with life in a wholesome, participatory way. Letting go of fear is not letting go of life.”—Michael Singer, Meditation Teacher
• “Inspiration comes from three areas. It’s the clarity of one’s vision, the courage of one’s conviction, and the ability to effectively communicate both of those things.”—Jeff Weiner, Executive Chairman of LinkedIn
• “Don’t pray to have a challenge-free life. Pray that the challenges that come will activate your latent potential.”—Michael Bernard Beckwith, New Thought Writer
• “Luxury is a matter not of all the things you have, but all the things you can afford to do without.”—Pico Iyer, Essayist & Travel Writer

Recommendation: Scan The Path Made Clear. Put this beautiful book on your coffee table or nightstand to leaf through and contemplate, but it’s got nothing substantive.