It is an honor and a privilege to be of service and support;

“It is an honor and a privilege to be of service and support; however, I realize people are not putting their confidence in me. Instead, they are actually learning to trust themselves. My job is to affirm and support them in the process and teach them to do what I do when I need strength: I begin within.” — Iyanla Vanzant

In this luminous declaration, Iyanla Vanzant, the spiritual teacher and guide of many, unveils the deepest essence of service — that it is not the act of giving one’s power to another, but of awakening that power already present within them. Her words echo the timeless wisdom of the ancients: that the true teacher does not command followers, but creates self-believers. To serve, then, is not to lead others into dependence, but to lead them back to their own inner light. In every soul lies the seed of wisdom, and the sacred task of the guide is not to plant it, but to help it bloom.

The origin of this quote arises from Vanzant’s lifelong calling as a healer and spiritual counselor — one who has walked through her own fire of pain, loss, and redemption. Her ministry of support is built on the principle that transformation begins not with another’s strength, but with one’s own willingness to look inward. In a world where so many seek salvation from external sources — a mentor, a savior, a system — Vanzant’s words remind us that the greatest teacher lives within. When she says, “I begin within,” she offers a sacred formula for empowerment: that when all else fails, the divine strength within us will not.

The ancients would have recognized her teaching as the echo of the Oracle’s inscription at Delphi: “Know thyself.” For those words, carved in stone thousands of years ago, contain the same eternal truth — that self-knowledge is the path to freedom, and that no external voice can replace the guidance of the soul. The wise teacher merely holds the mirror; it is the student who must dare to look. In this way, Vanzant’s message bridges centuries: she stands in the same lineage as Socrates, Lao Tzu, and the Buddha — those who taught that the source of truth is not found in temples or scrolls, but in the silent chamber of one’s own heart.

Consider, too, the example of Mahatma Gandhi, whose life embodied this principle of beginning within. When India lay bound beneath foreign rule, Gandhi did not rise as a conqueror or a commander; he rose as a man who had mastered himself. He fasted, reflected, and purified his spirit before he ever called others to action. And when he led, it was not through dominance, but through example — he reminded his people that the strength they sought was already their own. Like Vanzant, he understood that to empower another is not to give them power, but to remind them that they are power. In this, we see that all true leaders and healers share one secret: they turn their gaze inward before they ever act outward.

Yet there is humility in Vanzant’s words as well. She acknowledges that to be of service is an honor, not an entitlement — a sacred trust between souls. The one who helps must remember that they are not the source, but the channel; not the master, but the companion. This humility transforms guidance into grace. When she says people are not putting confidence in her, she means that their faith should not rest upon her shoulders, for she is but a signpost pointing them back to their own strength. In this awareness lies the purest form of leadership — servant leadership, where the helper’s joy is not in being needed, but in seeing others become free.

To begin within is also to confront oneself — to meet one’s doubts, fears, and wounds with courage. It is the act of turning away from noise and seeking the still voice of truth that resides beneath the storm. When we feel powerless, it is easy to grasp at external saviors; yet the true path, as Vanzant teaches, is to pause and return to the inner well of strength that never runs dry. In this way, every hardship becomes a mirror, and every challenge an invitation to remember who we are. This is not an escape from the world, but the foundation for engaging with it — for one who knows their own center cannot be easily shaken by the winds of circumstance.

So, dear listener, take this teaching to heart. When you serve others, serve not as their master, but as their mirror. Affirm their strength, but do not replace it. When you yourself are weary, do not search outward for rescue — instead, begin within, and you will find the flame that never fades. Every soul holds a temple of wisdom within it, and the door opens only inward. Walk through it often. Tend its light through prayer, reflection, and honest self-inquiry. And when you emerge again into the world, bring that light with you — to guide, to uplift, to remind others of what Iyanla Vanzant so beautifully teaches: that the greatest act of service is not to make others trust you, but to help them trust themselves, and in doing so, to remember that the divine strength they seek has always been their own.