We are in Chicago and drawing closer to our goal of a 7 minute meeting with Oprah Winfrey. Ms. Winfrey is an inspiration to so many because she backs her words up with action. Along with her well-known philanthropic endeavors, Ms. Winfrey acts as a conduit for bringing inspiring people and stories to the public’s attention. In our own way we do the same thing: link inspiring authors and their content to people through text messaging.

We were up early and at the studio early again this morning. We got here at 5 yesterday because we wanted to be there as people started arriving but we were still shocked to see fans with tickets starting to line up by 5:30, just as the first drops of an all day rain were beginning to fall.

It turns out that even at that hour of the morning the excitement of seeing the show was enough to wake these dedicated fans. We walked by and were instantly taking photos and telling our story as the line swelled. Women from all over the country stood in the cold talking with one another, finding common ground in their adoration of Oprah Winfrey.

Eventually the line moved through and being ticketless we moved on to talk to some security guards. As we told them our story word came through over the radio that we were to head to the main entrance to speak with the head of security. We did so and after about fifteen minutes we were greeting by the imposing Mr. Stacker, the head of security. He politely asked us what we were doing there and we told him about the walk and our mission. He was genuinely interested in what we were saying but when we mentioned I Live Inspired his eyes lit up. “Hold on,” he said, ” I get a word of the day email. You are never going to believe what my word was today.” He flipped on his blackberry and we peered into the screen. His word: inspire. We considered this a great sign and even Mr. Stacker was impressed. He told us to sit tight, that he would be back shortly.

We waited for some time and word finally came to us from Mr. Stacker that a meeting simply would not be possible today. We said that was fine but we would be back tomorrow and reminded him that we only needed 7 minutes. We stuck around to greet the audience when the taping was over. The enthusiasm of the crowd had not subsided, nobody was disappointed in the experience. They were shocked that we had not gotten in and told us to keep trying. Their mood was infectious and we were grateful for their encouragement.

So we are back at Harpo again today…writing this from out front of the studio. We were nervous that maybe they aren’t taping today but we just saw Mr. Stacker arrive, which is a good sign. We are going to ask him what his word of that day was this morning.

We want to thank our friend Daryn Kagan for featuring us today on her inspiring website darynkagan.com. There is an inspirational story everyday on Daryns website and we are honored to be featured for the second time.

Another big thank you to Wendy Bounds who is providing a real time account of our progress on the Wall Street Journal’s ‘Independence Street’ blog.

And finally, thank you to Chicago Tribune columnist and blogger Liz Crokin for a fantastic steak dinner at Gibsons last night. We had a great time and just may take her up on her offer of a place to stay.

Reflecting on Monday night and playing Trivial Pursuit [YouTube]

Follow the entire journey on the ‘I Live Inspired’ Google Map.

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