On Wednesday, we witnessed one of the greatest actors of all time. An actor that was able to break through the barrier of racism, and bring to the screen the many images of a dignified negro man. Sidney Poitier was the special guest on an Oprah show that was built to be the Dinner of a lifetime — a dinner with a legend.

Seven guest were invited to the dinner, who had a special connection and story related to Sidney as well as his book, “The Measure of A Man”. They came to Spago, the restaurant of the famous chef of the stars, Wolfgang Puck.

The dining room was specially decorated by the guru of party planning, Colin Cowie.

The dinner was a very elegant one, complete with very intimate chatter with Sidney, Oprah, and the seven guests. It encompassed the early life of Sidney, his struggles of getting into acting, and key roles that he played during his acting career.

I love the specific scene in which they go into the one disagreement that Oprah has with Sidney, and that is in the subject of luck. I can’t speak for Sidney, but I can summarize it as Sidney believing that there are forces much greater and unseen for us to see, that has power over the events in our lives… Oprah, as I have watched her throughout the years, believes that there is no such thing as luck, and that luck is merely an opportunity that has favored the prepared mind…

I look at both of their beliefs, and I see one definition. And that is the fact that we as human beings have choices that we make throughout our lives, and there is this forces, most would refer to God, that has power over our lives, that will give us opportunities to succeed, to be inspired, and it is for us to act on it. Within this definition, there is divine intervention and there is free will.

I hope that everyone has a chance to read the book. In terms of choosing books, I’ve always tended to go in the areas of nonfiction, and even more specifically, the area of biographies.

This book shows us a most important reality, that the true measure of a man is how he provides for his children, and that failure isn’t an option.

The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah’s Book Club)on Amazon