Oprah Winfrey says long-term success and happiness come down to a timeless principle
Most professionals spend their days focused on performance, deadlines, deliverables, and doing good work that gets noticed. That’s normal. But there’s an overlooked truth about work (and life, really) that doesn’t show up in job descriptions or KPIs. Work feels better, and often goes better, when it’s shared.
Shared in the human sense: letting someone in, acknowledging others, and enjoying progress together instead of alone.
That idea comes through clearly in a story Oprah Winfrey often tells about growing up in Mississippi and learning an early lesson from a candy bar.
“I’m telling you, if you do something to make someone else happier, it’s almost like it comes back to you exactly 100-fold. . . . I learned for myself, even as a little kid, that the candy bar tasted better if I had somebody to say, “Isn’t this good?” . . . All things in life get better when you share it, and when you do something for someone else, the benefit comes back to you as well as to them. That’s where I get my great joy.”
It’s a simple story. Now, let’s apply it to the workplace, where we spend the majority of our waking hours. Because most of us miss it.
Work isn’t meant to be a solo sport
When people keep everything to themselves—ideas, credit, stress, wins—work becomes transactional and isolating. That’s a bummer by my book, and I’ve been in these dreadful offices before. But when workers share, even in small ways, something shifts in the atmosphere. Trust grows. Energy increases. People feel less alone in the grind.
So, what does this look like in everyday work?
Sharing builds connection without extra effort
You don’t need a team-building exercise to create connection. Sharing context on a tough project, looping someone in early, or simply saying, “Here’s what I’m working on,” helps others feel included. It builds community. Inclusion, even informal inclusion, reduces friction and misunderstandings.
Shared credit strengthens collaboration
Calling out a colleague’s contribution—especially when you don’t have to—does more than make them feel good. It signals praise, respect, loyalty, and fairness. People are more willing to help when they know their effort won’t go unnoticed.
Helping others improves your own work
This is the part Oprah points to that people often underestimate. When you support and serve someone else—by offering feedback, time, or encouragement—it benefits you in many ways. It helps reinforce cultural values like empathy, generosity, and servant leadership.
I would wager that most meaningful work moments for you may have involved other people. Those times when you were tasked to solve a problem together, laughing after a stressful meeting, and celebrating a small win. Work satisfaction rarely comes from achievement alone. It comes from achievement that’s witnessed.
None of this requires a title, authority, or permission. And it’s free.
I’ll leave you with a few ways to share with peers and colleagues on the fly, starting today:
- Share information instead of guarding it.
- Say thank you out loud; don’t just think it.
- Invite someone into a win instead of claiming it.
- Check in when someone looks overwhelmed.
- Include others in daily decision-making.
- Share credit with the team.
The candy bar tastes better when someone else is there to enjoy it with you. Work does too. This week, intentionally share one thing at work—credit, your help, context, or appreciation. Notice how it changes not just the other person’s day but also yours.
—By Marcel Schwantes
This article originally appeared on Fast Company’s sister site, Inc.com.
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