October 18, 2012

By: Chelsea Battle

LAWT Contributing Writer

 

You may remember Iyanla Vanzant years ago, bludgeoning tough love advice onto viewers on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Today the sagacious relationship expert continues to inspire others with her advice, which she liberally dishes on her own brand new show, Fix My Life.

Through this thought-provoking talk show Iyanla works to provide her guests with the governing principles that shape how individuals deal with relationships and healing after enduring hardship. Stressing the power of forgiveness, change, and faith in God, her teachings embrace philosophies that can readily be applied by people seeking wholeness, regardless of age, gender, or circumstances.

“We all have to learn to forgive” Iyanla says, “forgive ourselves; forgive other people. We also have to change our perspective on how to do things.”

Guests who have appeared on Fix my Life run the gamut, from troubled reality television star Evelyn Lozada, who experienced abuse in her brief marriage, to an otherwise ordinary woman who, after leaving her husband and children, turned to the show to beg their forgiveness. People from all walks of life write to Iyanla during times of crisis to ask for her help. Her approach involves relentlessly working with them to address the root of their problems, while also emphasizing ways to make holistic changes in their lives as they heal.

“How do people start to heal? They change their mind about what they’re doing,” Iyanla offers. “When they’re doing something that doesn’t work, when they’re doing something that’s bringing them pain, they gotta change what they’re doing. And many of us don’t know how to change or don’t know what to do instead.”

No stranger to adversity in her own life, Iyanla shares her trials and tribulations with the world, living life like an open book, literally. As an accomplished writer for 28 years, Iyanla has written over 14 books. Her last novel, New York Times bestseller Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You’re going Through, is an anecdotal narrative that focuses on a vivid spectrum of personal challenges and how she learned to cope with them.

Her career as a life coach has brought Iyanla momentous success, and she has touched millions of lives with her profound wisdom. Where some might attribute her success to Oprah Winfrey’s national exposure, Iyanla credits an even higher source: God.

“I think we all have a purpose in life,” says Iyanla. “My purpose is to advance God’s law… I don’t see it [my success] as major because I have a series on Oprah’s network. I see it as major because I’m on my purpose: doing what I love out loud.”

Category: Arts & Culture