Ralph Lauren, Part 1: Celebrating 50 Years of Design

0:00This episode is sponsored by HeyGen. HeyGen turns a script, photo, or presentation into a polished video of you. In minutes, no camera or crew required. It's how real estate agents, financial advisors, attorneys, and creators show up consistently on every feed and build a brand that brings in clients without spending their whole week making content. Rated the number one AI video platform for small businesses on G2 with the most realistic AI avatars in the industry. trusted by a community of over 30 million people and 85 % of the Fortune 100 and built to work in over 175 languages so you can reach your audience in theirs.

0:33Here's the wild part. Record yourself for just 15 seconds and HeyGen builds an AI avatar that makes professional videos for you on demand so you can post everywhere your audience is, as yourself, without filming every time. Your first three videos are free at HeyGen.com slash pod. That's H-E-Y-G-E-N dot com slash P-O-D.

0:56I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time. Taking time to be more fully present. Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now. Ralph Lauren, welcome to Super Soul Conversations podcast. and O Magazine's Year of Big Questions. Now, the last time we had a conversation like this was in 2011, and we were at the double RL, and I told you the story about driving past and counting the miles to your fence, seven and a half miles, and how aspirational that had been.

1:40And now I think of you when I go to Colorado. Do you think of me? And I think, is Oprah still looking at the fences? Yes, I am. So it's been a while. It's been a while. But today we're at your iconic restaurant. You know, this is my favorite restaurant in the world. Isn't that nice? That's great. Yeah, this one and Chicago, because Chicago actually started before this one. Right. Yes. And I remember telling you that when RL's opened in Chicago, it was a cold winter's night that was so deep. It was like a blizzard. And I remember saying, we've got to go, we've got to go. and we walked across the street because RL's was right across the street from the Water Tower.

2:23But I'm happy to be celebrating with the rest of the world your 50th anniversary. Well, it's very wonderful that I'm going to be celebrating with you. Yeah. Because I'm very, very, a little in love with you. Thank you. Well, you know that you're an international fixture. You're an innovator and a true legend. and when you hear that, all of the accolades and all the accolades to come as we're all celebrating what it means to be who you are for 50 years, what does that mean to you? Does it register? It doesn't register. I've been asked that question before and life is very quick and time is quick.

3:08So I see things moving very fast, and I love what I do. I never start to say what year it is and how many years I've done it. Every once in a while you have an anniversary, but 50 years is interesting to look at somebody else. I still think that I'm 22, 32, 42, and I really feel that way. So I don't feel, I don't know where the time has gone really in terms of how do I feel about it. I'm happy that I'm well and that I have a good family and I'm enjoying my work. And it's exciting and I think I'm in the best place I've ever been. Well, you know, I love the beautiful coffee table book, the Ralph Lauren book, where you riding a horse on the front.

3:56And I've actually loved reading it as much as seeing all of the pictures. And you opened by saying, when I was very young, growing up in the Bronx, I saw the world through a glass window. Not the one that looked out on the schoolyard where we played basketball, but the one that looked out on my dreams. And like most young people, I didn't know if I would ever achieve those dreams. Because when you're not born with money, and you have to go out and work to buy a shirt or pair of pants, you take nothing for granted. Take your time, because we're just going to take it. That's the question. I was saying, how did you know to dream big enough to become Ralph Lauren?

4:34And what is your message, actually, to someone of any age on how to fulfill their dreams? Because you're just, I love the fact that you have the pictures of you as a kid. And we see this picture as a kid who became Ralph Lauren. And that's just because you had big ideas for yourself. Well, I didn't know what the ideas were. You know, I felt special, but I didn't know if I was special. In that time, my world was very small. My friends lived on a cross street from a park, and my friends were singing rock and roll songs, and I was just happy to have friends, and I never thought about where I was going.

5:14I never knew what a designer was. I had no concept that I would be that. I have two brothers, and I wore some of the hand-me-downs, and I thought it was cool. and it was cool because I felt like hey it looks like I went to college and then it looks and nowadays we call those hand-me-downs vintage and so vintage has a big word now in fact my show that I'm just doing right now is it has a lot of that spirit and you say I always loved the girl in the convertible with their hair blowing in the wind when I started to design clothes for women they were for that natural girl I didn't like the girl all the makeup and the high heels I like the girls in jeans and a white shirt with rolled up sleeves.

5:56And you're still designing for that girl. My wife is that girl. Yes. But that's still what I'm attracted to. When I pick models that are walking in, it's always the natural girl that gets to me. It's always the natural sensibility that I feel is what works for me. And through the years now and designing, it's all about my life, really. and it's about the clothes that I want for myself and for my wife and for my kids. And so my work has never been, it's never been another world. It's never been in the fashion world. I've been in the world that I created. And how I did it from the Bronx, I don't know.

6:39I think I went to work. I went to work in a store called Alexander's when I was 16 years old, when I was going to high school, and I hung up returns with a blue uniform on. and I never thought of any of those things. And then I went on, I got a job in one of the buying offices, but it was always very personal to me. It wasn't about ever being a designer, it was about... When you first created the, because it all started with the ties, the big ties. I wanted to be Frank Sinatra. You wanted to be Frank Sinatra? I wanted to be... Didn't you want to be Joe DiMaggio too? I wanted Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle.

7:15and you know and Cary Grant and some of those people I've got to know so you know I think what's been wonderful for me is really to relate to anybody in that growing up and having a plan my scrapbook said one of the high school books when they hand you would you sign this for me Ralph and I said what do you want to be it said millionaire and everyone holds that and says you said it, you knew where you were going. Yes. I had no idea where I was going. I did the same thing. I didn't know what a millionaire was, but it sounded like a good thing to be. Right. Yeah. I loved what I did, and it was really not to design for the world, but to, I guess, at a young age, movies were very important to me.

8:03Books were very important to me. And I dreamed through the books. I dreamed through all of it. And someone once said, you write through your designs. Yes. And I think that's what comes out of me. What's been wonderful for me is I never had any formal training. I never went to fashion school. And I got in there and I got a job selling ties for a tie company. And then I had the tie. I saw the making ties and I said, look, I think we should do these wider ties. And I asked my boss, he said, the world is not ready for Ralph Lauren. And so I knew that I had to, I liked the company I was with, but I knew I had to express myself.

8:47And so I spoke to some other one, and I got this job designing ties. I created a company and called it Polo. And I never played Polo. And most of the people, when I saw them, they'd look at me and say, What is Polo? Is that Marco Polo? In reality, the world of Polo was very glamorous to me. It was very stylish. It was very international. and for some reason, maybe through the movies, the exposure to the world of wealth and the world of privilege was desirable as it is to many people. So you had seen, had you even seen a polo game? I had never seen a polo game till now. I've seen a few now. Yes, of course.

9:33But I named it Polo because of that reason. You named it Polo because it was aspirational. It felt like something. It was rich and there's an international flavor to it and women and men that went to polo matches all look stylish and there was a European-ness to it as opposed to American-ness. Even though I do a lot of American, what people call me American designer, you know, it really is not about America, it's about what I love. and I did as I grew and as the ties started to sell and as consumers started to buy my things, I started to develop the idea of doing more things. What about this moment, Ralph?

10:19I love this moment when you have gotten Bloomingdale's to look at the ties, they want the ties, and then they say, yes, we want your ties, we like the ties, we want to put our name on them. And there was something about your young self even then that you knew, I'm going to keep these ties and I'm going to give my own label or create my own brand. How did you know that then? Because weren't you like 24? I think there was a story I've said to many people that sort of works for me. I don't know why. When I was about 12 or 14 in the Bronx, we had a fight with the kids across the parkway. And I got on my head.

11:04We had sleds and we had a snowball fight. And all during the snowball fight, it wasn't a serious one, but it was semi-serious. The kids on the other side that we were throwing snowballs to said, We want Ralph. We want Ralph. And for some reason, I was incensed by their demand to sacrifice me. And it all came out. I got on my sled and I went down the hill and I said to the guys, All right, come and get me. And they all ran away. And I don't know why that came out that way. I'm not a guy who's always looking for a fight or anything like that. But it gave me a sense of just watching these kids all of a sudden run away.

11:46Now I'm not 6 '4". And I was little as a kid. And all of a sudden they all ran away. And there was a sense of power, of a sense of being able to handle something yourself. And I saw stars. I knew that I had to do what I had to do, but I didn't know what the consequence was going to do. But I was willing to go down and do it. Maybe that came from the movies, maybe it came from my parents, maybe it came from something that I don't know was unconscious. So when I went to Bloomingdale's years later and showed them the tires that I had developed, the store management, the buyers looked at the tires and said, Ralph I love the ties but they're too wide could you make them narrow and would you put the Sutton East label which is our Bloomingdale's private label and we really would love it we've got great ties and I said to him I said look on my hearts and my miles I can't do it I can't sell you I'd love to sell you I'm dying to sell Bloomingdale's but I can't do it I can't do it if I I got a change in name.

12:55And I said, I'm closing my bag, and I left. Wow. And six months later, they called back and said, we can't find your ties anywhere. And they put in a whole case of my ties in the store. And that was the beginning of a - With your name on them, with your label. My name, Polo. And it was - Can you imagine, had you given them the right to use their name, you might not have been here. So the idea that I didn't have a business, was the idea that I was a young guy just starting out. I used to deliver the ties and label the ties and ship them myself. And occasionally my wife would help, and occasionally my father-in-law would help.

13:37And so could you imagine Thanksgiving when I'm packing these gifts to send out? I remember sending these ties to a few of the stores in Beverly Hills, and one guy calls me back and says, Hey, Steve McQueen, we just bought 17 of your tires. So I've seen excitement in my life that was very, very pure. It wasn't about anything. I bet in the beginning it was just thrilling. Now, celebrities wear your clothes all the time, so it's quite a different kind of world. Well, it was just being unknown with stories, you know, when you're feeling that you're coming up with something and someone is liking your things.

14:16And you say, wow. Wow. This episode is sponsored by HeyGen. HeyGen turns a script, photo, or presentation into a polished video of you. In minutes, no camera or crew required. It's how real estate agents, financial advisors, attorneys, and creators show up consistently on every feed and build a brand that brings in clients without spending their whole week making content. Rated the number one AI video platform for small businesses on G2 with the most realistic AI avatars in the industry. Trusted by a community of over 30 million people and 85 % of the Fortune 100. And built to work in over 175 languages.

14:52So you can reach your audience in theirs. Here's the wild part. Record yourself for just 15 seconds and HeyGen builds an AI avatar that makes professional videos for you on demand. So you can post everywhere your audience is. As yourself, without filming every time. Your first three videos are free at heygen.com slash pod. That's H-E-Y-G-E-N dot com slash P-O-D. So you hadn't even thought about being a visitor. So you went from ties immediately to women's clothing? What my goal was was really to have the opportunity to do what I wanted to do and to make a living for my family. I had no grand thoughts.

15:32I had no thoughts except I felt like I can do certain things and I was available to make it happen. I pushed it. I went forward. I was all alone. I had a little drawer in the Empire State Building. So, Ralph, when did this idea to become a designer... I think I went with the time. It just came. It started, I made the ties, I made the shirts, I made suits. all of a sudden people were coming to buy it and the store said what else can you do and all of a sudden i was a name and at that time the names were coming from europe there was hardy amy's and pierre cardan and and all european fashion designers in women's not men's i guess i had a head start because when that happened i had bloomingdale's loving my things and and other stores were Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, they all started to go and say we want Polo, we want, and I added Ralph Lauren to it when they talked about designer names and it wasn't the brand, they wanted the name.

16:40The name. So that's how I added Polo and I added Ralph Lauren to the name. And you describe your designs as, I've heard you describe them as having integrity and And you know it's interesting because that's exactly how people describe not just you. It's the word that's most often used, I would say, when people talk about you. They talk about your brand, your company, about how you live your life. The word integrity comes up more often than anything else. How do you define that for yourself? What does that mean? With that honesty, you know, I love what I do. I think I've had a very good life as a child.

17:19I never knew where I was going to go. My parents didn't have a lot of money. My father was an artist. I had a loving family. I didn't have a bike as a kid. And I was able to never think that my parents didn't give it to me, but always sort of loved them. Because I felt the warmth. And as I grew up... You didn't have a bike because you couldn't afford it. Yes. And as I grew up, I worked with lots of young people. And having the team work together and support me and feel the camaraderie that's so important is where the integrity is. Because it's not the clothes, it's the spirit behind it for me.

18:02How has your integrity actually been tested over the years? Because I would imagine that you would have challenges that would test your integrity, the integrity of your work, integrity of your company. Well, companies go up and down, you know, and I've lived through good times and I've lived through some tough times. I've also lived through a brain tumor. You know, life doesn't go one way and those are days that challenge you tremendously. And you live that life and you're going through it. And you don't stop and think about it, you just go through it. But there is a foundation that I think I have.

18:37I've had success. I've enjoyed that success. and I like when I work with people that have the success with me. It's no fun having the success alone. And, you know, from everything I've read about you in previous conversations, that your central goal was always something bigger than the design or the name for the design. You know, your central goal, the reason why we all relate to your design is because it comes from a sense of living and family. Right. Yeah. Yeah, and experiencing life. And I think that carried through, and as I've had more success, I was able to somehow feel almost like a teacher.

19:19I wanted to be a teacher when I was a young kid. As did I, yes. I wanted to work with people, and I had a teacher who had a tweed jacket and crepe-sew shoes, and he smoked a pipe at that time. And it was a very interesting role model, because there was a sense of, when I was talking about teaching, I never thought about money when I was working. I didn't have a lot of money, but it was about doing what I love to do. And I also, once I started to have some form of success, I worked with people, and I loved that they were part of it. And what you learn when you work for a company is you don't wait for them to say, we have to give you a raise.

20:06You want to give. and I work my company, people work hard, but at the same time I want them to feel my success with them. Is each season, or some seasons easier than others? I mean after 50 years is it hard to come up with what is the thing? It's always, I have it every six months. I'm working on so many things at once and it's always the beginning for me. It's always, oh my God, what am I gonna do now? I don't know. What am I gonna do? I feel it now. Really? Already? I remember walking down the runway of my first show and people stood up and applauded and on the way back I said, oh my god, what am I going to do next?

20:49I didn't even give myself five minutes to enjoy that pleasure. Yeah, the trip down the runway you didn't give yourself. Fifty years did not change that. Fifty years, I have maybe a little more expertise in areas I didn't have but basically the love of what I'm doing and the passion for it and the working with other teams and working together is very good to me and I find that that's one of the good things in life and I'm not a poet and I'm not going to talk to you about how great I am as a human. I'm a good person. I want to be a good person but you know we all make mistakes life is got lots of ups and downs but I think so speaking of that what's the lesson it's taken you the longest to learn well I think for some reason believe it or not I was always very similar as a kid I was always sensitive I was always very thoughtful even when I was 12 years old I wasn't I was a regular guy I played ball in schoolyards I was a kid that went roller skating but I I think my parents gave me something special it gave me a good sense of honesty and integrity do you think it's because your parents were immigrants and that experience shaped your life being new in America for them well what did it teach you I saw them struggle I saw them worry I experienced that and but I had sensitivity towards them because they were kind people so getting to love something or what did I learn over the years you know one year goes by after another and you work your way and if you work hard you know you're living your life and you have your you have some days when you're it's hard you have some days and you're so elated you can't believe that this is happening to you and sometimes I would feel I remember someone was coming over to do a story on me and I was up in Bedford, New York and I was all dressed up and I felt like oh my god, really, look at me.

22:59And I was sort of thinking that to myself and I said why do I have all this? Why am I getting all this and other people don't have it? Why is so much coming my way and I felt that to be overwhelming and I'm much happier sometimes when the day is just easy and well I'm watching TV really I work hard I love what I do I I'm a competitor I love work I like to do best I can I like to learn are you still even competitive because now you are Ralph Lauren 50 years I mean the New York Times says this about you no one else has conveyed a design vision as broad, as consistent, and as successful as Ralph Lauren.

23:48So in a world, in an industry that's constantly changing and fickle, for you to be proclaimed as, you know, this stable of integrity in design and in life. Those are the good stories. You haven't heard the bad stories. If you read some of my reviews, you say, oh my God. You know, you live through everything and you work and you think you work hard and you think, well, when I get there, I'm going to really, it will be amazing. And then I realized today is where is there? Where am I getting to? Where is there? Aren't you there? If you're not there, I don't know who is. I'm there. I'm there physically, but I have that there is in wanting peace.

24:36honestly as you do get older and you realize that life is not forever and as things change you realize that you don't want it to change you see some wonderful connections start to see life a little clearer because time has gone by and you're getting older and so as much as I love what I do and I love dreaming and I love, I feel good about life and I enjoy beauty and I enjoy all the things that the world has to offer. I really love having my family and my wife. Mm-hmm. And the last time we spoke, you had two children who were engaged and now you have four grandchildren. Yes. How has that changed you?

25:21It hasn't changed me. They walk right by me and they,

25:28I guess what you start to see What's it like to see the offspring of the offspring? I don't know, you're going to have to ask them soon But I see my children changing What is interesting is I see how they're handling their children And you see another dimension of your children Instead of yours I mean, you're seeing them grow And you see them talking to their children You see the struggle they're having And you see the anxieties The same ones you had when they were children. The same ones I had. Some of them, they had more anxiety than I had. I think on some levels I had less. Why? Because the world's so different now?

26:08I think you realize that it's not so easy doing all these things. It's not so easy working. It's not so easy to express yourself and to take care of your family and be an individual. And also, as some of them kids say, you know dad was not easy being your son and I said what are you talking about you have everything you can do anything you want no dad it's not the same they want to make it on their own how do you find yourself in that yes they want to make their own statement and sometimes that's added to not only am I living my life I'm living their life to understand and want them to be happy and realize that time does go fleeting and they have to learn to feel good ideally would you wanted all of the children to be a part of the business no no you wanted them to find their own way i want them all to do what they want to do and they're very creative and they all have different talents i find that it's a struggle for them on some levels you know i had no choice when i was growing up i had to get a job i had to go to work i i remember sitting and trying to calling an agency up and saying I want to get this job and I they offered me they there was a job offer to me at Stacksworth Avenue and this employment agency said we think you'll get that job and I said you know I'll take I'll take nothing can you give me that job I'll show you how good I was I don't I don't need it let me let me I'll show you your kids don't have to do that they don't have to do that.

27:44Is that a good thing? I think it offers you comfort, it offers you the sense that you don't have to worry about certain things, but it doesn't offer you fulfillment of doing something that's coming out of you that's successful. And the joy that I have found is loving what I do and working and when I work on a show sometimes in the beginning it's a mess because you don't know where you're going you sort of find your way and then all of a sudden you hit their stride and you say I got it. And that excitement is very inner, it's very exciting for yourself to catch that moment where you feel like you've done a job and you've done it really, you hit a home run.

28:35Do you feel that way every season? Every season. I find, and every season I come back to the same spot where I do the shows, and I say, oh my God, another opening, another show. And I go through the, it's sort of you're inside yourself in a way. Everyone's working, everything's going on, and you're inside yourself. And you say, oh my God, I've got to go through this again. Because creating a show, especially in women's, is very complicated and women's clothes change so often. Yes. Shapes change and lengths change. And, you know, I don't worry about that except I just wait for the spot where I said, I got it.

29:19Got it. This episode is sponsored by HeyGen. HeyGen turns a script, photo, or presentation into a polished video of you. In minutes, no camera or crew required. It's how real estate agents, financial advisors, attorneys, and creators show up consistently on every feed and build a brand that brings in clients, without spending their whole week making content. Rated the number one AI video platform for small businesses on G2 with the most realistic AI avatars in the industry. Trusted by a community of over 30 million people and 85 % of the Fortune 100, and built to work in over 175 languages, so you can reach your audience in theirs.

29:56Here's the wild part. Record yourself for just 15 seconds and HeyGen builds an AI avatar that makes professional videos for you on demand so you can post everywhere your audience is, as yourself, without filming every time. Your first three videos are free at heygen.com slash pod. That's H-E-Y-G-E-N dot com slash P-O-D. Do you have a favorite design, a favorite or iconic look that you created? Or is that like asking you know do you have a favorite child you know I grew up loving army-navy surplus I love rustic things I look Safari I like things that are romantic and rugged at the same time I don't like fashion I don't like fashion because I don't want things to go in and out yeah what you're wearing is beautiful but it's timeless there was no age I've always believed in that and And I've been able to take a timeless sensibility and make it a dream.

30:59And when I saw you walk in today, you looked great. Thank you. And I think this is like four seasons old or something. Yeah, but it's never going to be out of time. Never be out of time. So that's what I love. I love the ability to, when I did a show last year, I did a show with cars that I've collected and clothes and I wanted to show how the cars have a timelessness as well as the clothes this is not about fashion it's about forever and I think there's something about the clothes that becomes an identity as to who you are if you had to show new clothes all the time it's not the same as being someone has their own clothes and has her fashion and they make a statement about themselves At the Academy Awards, sometimes when you see people coming up to talk about master ceremonies, you would say, what are you wearing?

31:54Who are you wearing? Who are you? I hate that. Sometimes I squirm in my seat and say, oh my God. If I had to go through one of those runways and have someone ask a question, who are you wearing? Who are you wearing? Yes. It's become the thing now, you know? It's over. It's over. It's over. I hope it's over. I hope it's over. After five decades, you're still creating runway shows, hit runway shows, and releasing innovative collections. Where does the inspiration come from? Does it come from you can just be someplace and you get an idea? Where does it actually come from? Do you sit with your team?

32:33Do you talk about what's in or out? Sometimes it's something you see. I see someone more. It really comes from anywhere. that painting I bought that painting at Sotheby's years ago and I loved the way they looked in the park and I loved the way it looked and all of a sudden I said yes they're riding through Central Park you know whatever it is I'm reading through it what I'm seeing there is a beautiful life with a lifestyle that is sort of a little old world but it has a romance to it and I guess I am somewhat romantic. I love movies. I guess I always wanted to do a movie if I could but I realized as time went by that you know you've got to earn your way.

33:21So my inspiration comes from so many different places. It comes from people, it comes from someone walking by. You'll see something, you'll see a fabric or see a... And I'll never know why. It's not, sometimes it comes when the most unexpected things and the ideas have come, I think, if that was the, there was a gift given to me honestly. How did I do this? I finish a show and it's over and people are standing and applauding and they're coming up to me and say, how did I do this? When you looked at the WWD's 50 years of Ralph Lauren and all of the various designs and stories about those designs over the years, were you a little bit in awe yourself?

34:07I like to look at the guy who's handsome at that time. I see the changes. I think when you see your body of work, when I finished this book, both of these books, but this one particularly my young people that I was with who helped me with the book said, well Ralph, how do you feel about the book now? and I burst out crying. Sounds terrible, but it's a draining because it's like your whole life is in that book. Well, I'm looking through 50 years of Ralph Lauren, beautiful coffee table book, by the way. I hope people get it. And this is your life? I would cry, too, if I was looking at this. I would be in awe of my own life, as I am in awe of my own life.

34:56I don't know who this is. You don't know who this is in the pages of this book? You know, the difference is, I think we all, we earn our way, we know who we are, we're working, but we look, and all of a sudden I'm looking at that guy, and I say, who is he? You know what? Yeah. I'm looking at the, I like them, but I, I don't know. Does this feel like your life? Does it? It does. It does. It does. It's a, it's a dream. Yeah. It's the life that I always wanted. Yeah. And it's the life that I've gotten. I love though that you, Ralph Lauren, can say, even to yourself now, that you look at your life sometimes and say, how did this all come to me?

35:39Well, I do that and I've done it for years. But you keep going. You've done a lot of right things in order to make that happen. Well, you mentioned earlier about a brain tumor and something that nobody can prepare for. how did that inform the way you lived? Well, it's a major nightmare. That's a major interruption in this beautiful life. So the balance of this guy who's walking down the runway, who's getting a standing ovation, and this other guy whose doctor says, Ralph, we saw something and we'd like to have an x-ray. Did you feel something first before they saw something? No. My ears were ringing.

36:23So if anyone has ringing ears, forget it. It's called tinnitus. It's not the same thing. My ears were ringing. I don't know if I yelled at my kids one night. I don't remember. I woke up and my ears were ringing and I was somewhat panicked. They said, this doesn't stop. What is this? So I went to a few doctors and one doctor said, let's take a CAT scan. I took a CAT scan and it had nothing to do with the ringing of the ears. but he said we see a little a little small punaya meninchioma they call it and I said what I mean so if you want that's the real person who said look at I've gotten all this why did God give me all this yes and then this guy is saying to me you have a brain tumor out I'm in the top of the world and I have a brain tumor at the same time that's about the most extreme thing that you could live with the nightmare of your life it's one of the night because then you start immediately go I mean listen I had a swollen salivary gland a couple months ago and I was like oh my god what does this mean before I could get to the doctor you start playing the story in your mind of everything right yes right exactly you're gonna have to alter your life and so very quickly it just goes right through you yes so I had that I went through it but it was I remember you know having it and saying what am I gonna do we're what should I who would doctor should I see who yes who's gonna help me and it was very frightening but I met the surgeon he said we can take care of this this is nothing you know and believe it or not I went running in the park the next day and and I did get you know was operated on and fortunately I think I came back with a vengeance because after it was over, after I was recuperating, I really think I got stronger than I ever was.

38:23Did it scare you though? It's a nightmare of your life. I mean, there's very few things that you ever want to be told. Because I remember walking past a friend of mine on Fifth Avenue when I was told that I was going to have to have an operation. And I saw him and he had a tumor of some sort. and his right leg was paralyzed and and i said oh my god what what happened how did he get this and is this going to happen to me and you realize the world is things are open to you anything can happen and you just got to go and live through it and then hope some some people don't make it some people do. Did it make you appreciate all of these the stuff the things the life certainly the family.

39:18You know I appreciate things but it doesn't last long enough we tend to forget and maybe that's how we're made because forgetting helps you live because if you sat there and just thought about the brain tumor and wallow in your pain you would go nowhere so after that was over fortunately I was lucky. I'm still very handsome. Fortunately, I was lucky and I was able to go through it and rise. And rise. And I actually, when anyone, I started this breast cancer clinic for a woman who was in Washington who was an editor in the fashion business, Nina Hyde. Yes. And I saw her after I got out of the hospital and I saw her and she didn't smile back.

40:05I said, Nina, Drow. She said, oh, you know, I said, what's the matter? She said, well, I have breast cancer. Breast cancer. And she said, you know, I met a good doctor and I wanted to get the fashion industry involved and I wanted to ask them, you know, and she said, they didn't really pay much attention. So you created a team on it. Nina, I said, I'm going to help you. You did. I didn't help her enough, but I did start the Nina Hyde Foundation. The Pink Pony. And then gone on to Pink Pony and then to... Did your own experience with the brain tumor actually impact your sense of service to all of your other organizations?

40:56Because once you've had the tumor, you understand cancer better. I understood what you don't realize is when you get sick you're in a different world. You're out of the world. All of a sudden you're stepping out of the world you were in. And you're not that same person. It's an out of body experience. And when you live through it, I live through the nightmare of someone opening up my head. And that's a very, very tough thing to live through. and wonder if you can walk and see me getting bandages all over there. Will you have your memory? Will you know who you are, know who your family is? I think I was, as I said before, I think I was very, very lucky.

41:41It absolutely made me very sensitive. Every time I would meet somebody that might have had that, they would tell me that they had, I would choke up a little bit. It took a long time to get past it. Yeah. Did it give you more empathy for anybody going through anything? Absolutely. Absolutely. Because I felt like I wanted to take care. I knew what they were going through and I felt, and it was a very sensitive time. Our conversation will continue in the next episode. You can listen by downloading part two. I'm Oprah Winfrey and you've been listening to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. You can follow SuperSoul on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

42:26If you haven't yet, go to Apple Podcasts and subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Join me next week for another SuperSoul conversation. Thank you for listening.

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