Media sensation Oprah Winfrey and the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, are two women who praise and celebrate life daily. With their talent they inspire others to live life passionately.

“When I look into the future,” Oprah said, “it’s so bright it burns my eyes.” Yet her star did not always burn so brightly.

As the story goes, in a moment of deep need in Chicago, Oprah crossed paths with Aretha. “I ran up to her, crying my eyes out,” Oprah recalled. By the time they reached the hotel door, Aretha reached into her purse and quietly offered help.

Activist César Chávez observed, “You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.” With Aretha Franklin—dynamo behind Natural Woman and Respect—a chance meeting and a compassionate heart helped lift a young woman forward.

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once noted, “None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us.”

Together, Oprah and Aretha show how generosity and vision walk hand in hand, lifting others and filling the world with more to celebrate.