When I think back to my first job at an office and arts supply store at a suburban mall near Portland, Oregon I remember a book we sold titled “In the Kitchen with Rosie.” It was a collection of recipes that Oprah Winfrey’s favorite chef, Rosie Daley compiled to prepare a best-selling masterpiece.

OprahIt’s not that this was my kind of book or anything (I don’t even think I read it), but it inspired me as the kind of impact that a woman who started with so many strikes against her (Oprah) and succeeded to such a degree that her personal chef became a best-selling author. Oprah defeated the odds by listening to the voice in her heart and became a billionaire who has influenced millions of people internationally.

She often talks about sound money management on her shows and encourages people to invest for the future. In fact, the African-American woman from the south who was raped, undereducated and without indoor plumbing in her run-down home as a child in the 60s has created a multi-billion dollar enterprise with her studio, Harpo Productions.

Oprah talks about money.

But talking about money is often a “private matter.” In fact, most of my friends would rather tell me about some totally inappropriate sexual episode during lunch or a disgusting rash they found on their body (one may guess the two stories are related, somehow) instead of opening the financial can of worms. I find this to be because of the ingredients that make up money: two parts freedom and two parts opportunity, with a pinch of power added for flavor. “Don’t talk about my freedom or how to use my opportunity and I’ll leave my power trip out of this!”

Because many don’t mention money much, most make mistakes making and managing it.

I recently finished the book, “The Secrets of the Milliionaire Mind,” by T. Harv Ecker. Fascinating! This could quite possibly be a cookbook for the recipe described above. I once found myself creating recipes for financial disaster until I discovered how to “think like a millionaire.” Without giving away the book, what I took most out of it was that there is a different mentality amongst the poor and the rich and often times it has little to do with how much money one has in the bank.

In fact, Ecker exemplifies doctors and entrepreneurs alike who make significant incomes (above $500K/year) with almost no net worth to show. Ecker thought rich before he was. Winfrey thought rich before she was. If you are thinking poor thoughts, or something like “money isn’t important” or “I don’t care that much about money,” chances are, you’re probably broke!

What I am alluding to is the fact that there are often few boundaries in our way of making a lot of money and investing it for the future, especially in the United States. The one boundary that most of us face, however, is ourself. When we begin to think about our money, talk about our money and listen to the voice in our head more than that of others whose recipes are too bitter, we begin to liberate ourselves from poverty and enjoy a sweet life. Oprah Winfrey didn’t allow that self-imposed boundary to take control. By placing no limits to the amount of success she could create, she and others like Ecker have found themselves thinking rich, and in reality, living rich.

So before you start throwing financial ingredients into a pot, mixing them up and hoping it will create a taste to your liking, be sure to follow the same recipes as those who you find to be most inspiring in your life. Read up on the success stories of your idols, favorite entrepreneurs and leaders. Before you start feeling like a financial victim, remember Oprah who started off with so little and became so much. The spice of your life will truly be tasty!