“What I know for sure is that everyone has gifts that have been rooted inside you long before you could fathom the dream for yourself.” began Oprah at her 2020 Vision Tour at the Chase Center in San Francisco, reaching 14,500 fans.

In San Francisco on February 22nd, Oprah made her seventh of nine stops on her 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour with WW. My husband and I were lucky enough to be in the audience (a birthday gift he gave me back in October, come to life), and her day-long wellness event had our emotions on full-tilt, not just because of Oprah’s presence, but because of dance parties, meditation and wisdom like, “You don’t get what you want; you get what you intend. The intention determines the outcome.”

From 9 am to 4 pm, several thousand women—and, as Oprah joked, “a few good men”, like my husband—actively participated in a series of workshops created to help us identify what aspects of our lives could use a reboot. Oprah has that unique ability to give fans the tools needed to manifest a life that’s healthier for mind and body—regardless of the way you look, which political party you vote for, or all that you have or haven’t accomplished.



The wellness event was split between morning and afternoon sessions, with a lengthy lunch break in between. Before the day began, inside the arena, we all filed towards our seats, stopping by a variety of photo booths, perfect for Instagramable moments. Once seated, choreographers from Daybreaker—an organization that encourages you to dance to feel better—kicked off the event with a 30-minute dance party (right up my husband’s alley), transforming the space into a mega-concert. The performance reminded us how much we truly love to dance. The DJ played blood pumping favorites like Coldplay’s “La Viva La Vida” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” while the dancers inspired us to think big: “What are the visions you’re calling for yourself? Is it one day, or day one?”


Just before 10 a.m., the woman of the hour hit the stage with a loud “Helloooooo San Francisco! The energy in here is unbelievable!” But soon after the introduction, she put us to work, asking us to dig into our free totes to find a wellness workbook. Throughout the day, O directed us to flip through the book and outline how we can all achieve balanced wellness. We participated in a self-assessment exercise divided to examine seven key areas of our well-being, then created an action plan. “We want health, abundance, to be able to raise and be prosperous for ourselves and for our families. We want to be connected and have a sense of vibrancy,” Oprah said as we journaled in our workbooks. “That’s why we’re all here. What is the more for you? As long as there is breath, there is more.”



After, Jesse Israel, founder of The Big Quiet, dimmed the arena lights and took us through a guided five-minute meditation exercise set to the relaxing notes of a sound bath. As Israel and Oprah told us, it’s important to periodically unplug from our phones to stop and listen to our hearts. Doing so made us feel at peace, even if just for a few moments. Following a boxed lunch, Dancing with the Stars winner Julianne Hough introduced us to Kinrgy, a form of dance cardio that had Oprah and the audience dancing like kids. We returned to our workbooks to write and sign “commitment contracts”—the action plan that results from the self-assessment portion of the workbook. I pledged to focus on hydration and intention. The afternoon rounded out with a special performance by Grammy-winning gospel singer Tamela Mann, who radiated after sharing her 50-pound weight-loss story thanks to WW, which “changed her life.”


And then came the moment I personally was most excited for—Oprah interviewing Kate Hudson. Truth be told, when my husband purchased the tickets, this is what we thought the “show” was going to be. We had no idea, until a week prior to the event, that Oprah’s 2020 Vision was an all-day wellness extravaganza! Oprah and Kate discussed expectation and bandwidth of family members and Kate’s personal journey with her mother, absent father and unconventional family.

After the interview finished—with our workbooks dog-eared and our commitment contracts signed—Oprah returned to the stage to send us off with hope. Oprah said, “Strength x strength x strength x strength is power…power…power…power. Leave here knowing that you are more powerful than you’ve ever been.” As we left the Chase Center, one Oprah quote stuck with us, “I can. I will. Watch me.” With that 2020 already seems brighter! We had so much to talk about as we headed off to dinner in San Francisco.