Take action (Oprah Winfrey)

This forward-looking quote was from award-winning television personality, entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey.

Born to a single teenager mother in rural Mississippi, Oprah's youth was marked by poverty and child abuse. However, her ambition and decades of tireless work made her into a global icon. To reach such great heights from such humbling beginnings takes incredible tenacity and optimism, the kind of determination that motivates you to look ahead no matter where you may be.

This particular quote speaks to that determination. It's a reminder that what we do today shapes our tomorrow. Sometimes we might feel that our present, the now, hardly matters, or that our circumstances and our failures are impossible to overcome. But if we have the courage to believe in our potential and tenacity to work through our setbacks and sorrows, we can use today right now to author our own futures.

So today pick up that book you've been meaning to read; start a new hobby you've always wanted to learn; set a goal for yourself that might seem impossible. Even the smallest step can lead to possibility.