Oprah, T.D. Jakes talk faith, business and Diddy party rumors
Photo via The Good Soil Forum.
WASHINGTON - Media mogul Oprah Winfrey joined world-renowned religious leader Bishop T.D. Jakes for a wide-ranging conversation Thursday about the importance of faith, alignment and intention.
The two powerhouses took part in a fireside chat during Jakes’s annual Good Soil Forum in Dallas.
More than 2,000 people attended the three-day conference aimed at equipping minority business owners with resources to strengthen their companies through a series of breakout sessions, panels and a $500,000 Seed Capital Pitch Competition presented by Wells Fargo.
The fireside chat was centered in both business and faith and how to operate through it all with changing business models, self-limiting beliefs and the growing presence of artificial intelligence.
Winfrey and Jakes walked out to eager attendees and a rousing, standing ovation inside the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Winfrey proudly proclaimed upon entry, "I’m here for the good soil!"
Jakes guided the conversation with Winfrey who touched upon her broadcasting career, how she made tough decisions in order to evolve and her commitment to her own spiritual practices. Winfrey said, although she grew up poor without any running water or electricity in rural Mississippi, she absorbed everything her pastor taught.
"When he said, ‘you are God’s child. I believed it!’" Winfrey recalled.
"I have been God-led and spirit-led from the beginning. And every decision that I have ever made that has led to any sort of success, whatsoever, has come from sitting with the spirit and asking God, ‘What would you have me do first?’" Winfrey said. "And every time I have made a mistake and have been in a struggle, it's because I was led by my own mind and not by God's mind for me."
She went on to share her network, OWN, struggled at the onset after she left her trailblazing daytime talk show in 2011 because she didn’t "get still" but instead rushed into it. Winfrey insisted some people around her urged her to leverage the moment immediately. Winfrey encouraged the audience to always be intentional and obedient before making decisions especially in haste.
"Opportunity comes your way by being clear about what it is you actually really want to achieve and having everyone else in the room in alignment with that vision and how to execute that vision," Winfrey insisted. "Everybody is in synergetic vibration to bring it into fruition and manifestation."
Jakes then shifted into the topic of artificial intelligence and its pros and cons. He said AI helped save his life after he suffered a heart attack in the pulpit of his Dallas-based megachurch, The Potter’s House, last November. He also said it can help streamline parts of business decision-making but warned it can be detrimental to human capital and laws haven’t caught up with the technology.
Oprah agreed and mentioned there were nude, AI-generated images of her with disgraced rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs online. She added she had unsuccessfully tried to get YouTube to take them down. Jakes and Oprah talked about rumors that they had attended Diddy parties. Both denied the claims.
"First of all, I have never been near a Puff party. I have never been near a Puff party. And anybody who knows me knows if there is a party, I am the first one out…the nature of my personality is that I am not a party person. That is not who I am. I like to sit at home with my thoughts by the fire, with the dogs," Winfrey declared.
Jakes also weighed in saying he once stopped by to see Diddy and wish him ‘happy birthday’ but left within 30 minutes. He said he didn’t party with Diddy and people often perpetuate lies they spot online.
"Not only do they not know it but they help spread it…I am almost 70 years old, what do I look like?! I am a grandfather. What do I look like at this late day going? But that is the kind of world that we are living in," Jakes contended.
Diddy, known for parties as much as his music, is currently on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
The chat with Winfrey and Jakes ended how it started with a standing ovation. Winfrey drove home the point of keeping the faith and working through good soil (opportunities, resources) to achieve success.
The Good Soil Forum included other dynamic speakers, including Operation HOPE Founder John Hope Bryant, financial educator Wallstreet Trapper, entrepreneur and artist David Banner and Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole Hayes.