by HARRY MAYERS
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW WARREN CASSELL is so fascinated with Oprah Winfrey that he has just published a book highlighting her 40 success habits, which, he argues, people would do well to emulate.
But the 35-year-old native of Montserrat who has adoringly studied Oprah for 17 years, says the influential media powerhouse has one bad habit she should stop – focusing on women at the expense of men.
Cassell says in O Habits – 40 Success Habits of Oprah Winfrey and the One Bad Habit She Needs To Stop: “Oprah focuses too much on the female sex and neglects to provide the same guidance and nurturing to the men with whom these women live. In fact, most times when men are involved in an episode on her show, it is subtly negative.”
Married and the father of one son and two daughters, Cassell states that men also need to be nurtured and taught how to be more sensitive and be better husbands and fathers.
Says Cassell: “It’s full time for Oprah to realise that her show can be a medium to not only emphasise female independence and importance of women, but to also re-educate all of us on the synergistic effect of men and women working together to create better tomorrows. Society cannot continue to promote the absence of men.
“We need to accept the weakness of both sexes and concentrate on the strengths and how those strengths can be used to support each other.”
Cassell says he believes wholeheartedly that Oprah’s all-girls school in Africa “contributes to intellectual ‘malercide’ of our boys”.
“Given that they are being taught to socialise without the presence of the opposite sex, how will they react when they enter into a relationship with a man in later life?”
Oprah’s “bad habit” occupies a tiny segment of the book which points to her integrity, loyalty, generosity, good treatment of staff, faithfulness to one partner, passion, value of good friendship, wise use of time and her adoration of women, especially mothers, among other attributes.
Cassell says the book was divinely inspired and he hopes that it contributes to helping people live better lives.
At the gala launch held at the Montserrat Arts & Cultural Centre, Cassell was congratulated for his vision and courage by evangelist Rommel Lawrence whom he described in the book as his spiritual director who encouraged him always to give God the glory.
Lawrence said: “Mr. Cassell is a brave man to place in print his admonition of the world’s most influential woman. He obviously does not idolise the woman who has set for him standards of excellence. He admires her and her will to pursue her lifelong goals.
“He certainly presents her to us as a woman among women, a leader who understands the hurts and aspirations of people.
“But he is mindful that we all must worship the Creator of the tools of performance rather than the tools themselves.
Cassell, who specialises in intellectual property, studied law at the Cave Hill and Mona campuses of the University of the West Indies.
