Dolly Parton's Most Inspirational Quotes: A Treasure Trove of Wisdom and Motivation

"To thine own self be true."

- Dolly Parton

"Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

- Dolly Parton

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain!"

- Dolly Parton

"Find out who you are and do it on purpose."

- Dolly Parton

"Dreams are of no value if they're not equipped with wings!"

- Dolly Parton

"I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don’t work for money, never did."

- Dolly Parton

"When I wake up, I expect things to be good. If they're not, then I try to set about trying to make them as good as I can 'cause I know I'm gonna have to live that day anyway. So why not try to make the most of it if you can?"

- Dolly Parton

"You can wish your life away. But if you're going to dream, you're going to have to get out and, like I always say, you have to put some wings on them dreams, and some feet and fingers and some hands. They gotta get into some stuff. You can't just sit around and think of all the things you want to do. You've got to think of what you want to do, and then you've got to get out and make that happen."

- Dolly Parton

"I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else."

- Dolly Parton

"If I can hold God's attention, I can hold the world's."

- Dolly Parton

"The magic is inside you, there ain’t no crystal ball."

- Dolly Parton

"I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love."

- Dolly Parton

"Now the night I graduated from Sevier County High School, back in 1964, we were all asked to stand up and talk about what we were going to do with the rest of our lives. And everybody had a different story. And when it came my time I stood right up there. I said I'm going to Nashville and I'm going to be a star. Well the whole place laughed out loud. And I was so embarrassed, cause I thought, ‘How odd. Why is everybody laughing? ‘Cause that is what I'm going to do.' But as bad as I felt at that moment and as embarrassed as I was, it did not shake me from my dreams. So I guess I showed them, huh?”"

- Dolly Parton

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

- Dolly Parton

"I’ve always tried to never step on anybody to get where I am. I’ve had to walk around a few people, jump over a few of ‘em now and then, but I think you’re a true success when you’ve seen your dreams come true and you can take pride in how you did it, and take pride in and respect and appreciate the people that helped you get there."

- Dolly Parton

"I know who I am, I know what I can and can't do. I know what I will and won't do. I know what I'm capable of and I don't agree to do things that I don't think I can pull off."

- Dolly Parton

"We just gotta do our best day-to-day, be the best person we can, do the best work we can, and just keep on dreamin’."

- Dolly Parton

"If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one."

- Dolly Parton

"I’m proud of my hillbilly, white trash background. To me that keeps you humble, that keeps you good. And it doesn’t matter how hard you try to outrun it—if that’s who you are, that’s who you are. It’ll show up once in a while."

- Dolly Parton

"Find out who you are. And do it on purpose."

- Dolly Parton

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

- Dolly Parton

"The magic is inside you. There ain't no crystal ball."

- Dolly Parton

"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try."

- Dolly Parton

"I've had heartaches, headaches, toothaches, earaches, and I've had a few pains in the ass, but I've survived to tell about it."

- Dolly Parton

"If you see someone without a smile today, give 'em yours."

- Dolly Parton

"I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world."

- Dolly Parton

"Storms make trees take deeper roots."

- Dolly Parton

"Being a star just means that you just find your own special place, and that you shine where you are."

- Dolly Parton

"I'm the little engine that did."

- Dolly Parton

"Above everything else I've done, I've always said I've had more guts than I've got talent."

- Dolly Parton

"You always want your people to be proud of what you have accomplished."

- Dolly Parton

"You don’t have to look like everybody else. You don’t have to be a raving beauty to be special and to be beautiful."

- Dolly Parton

"We didn’t have any money, but we were rich in things that money don’t buy. You know, like love and kindness and understanding."

- Dolly Parton

"I was born with a happy heart. I’m always looking for things to be better."

- Dolly Parton

"I ask God every day to lead me, guide me and direct me, to take the wrong people out of my life, put the right people in. As I get older, I’m even stronger in my faith."

- Dolly Parton

"We need to believe in something bigger than ourselves, otherwise we just become egomaniacs. If you don’t have something to look forward to and lean on, it’s a hard fall when [bad] things happen."

- Dolly Parton

"I'm not happy all the time, and I wouldn't want to be because that would make me a shallow person. But I do try to find the good in everybody."

- Dolly Parton

"I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else."

- Dolly Parton

"You gotta keep trying to find your niche and trying to fit into whatever slot that's left for you or to make one of your own."

- Dolly Parton

"If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader."

- Dolly Parton

"Don't get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

- Dolly Parton

"I always just thought if you see somebody without a smile, give 'em yours!"

- Dolly Parton

"If you see someone without a smile give them yours."

- Dolly Parton

"I just depend on a lot of prayer and meditation. I believe that without God I am nobody, but that with God, I can do anything."

- Dolly Parton

"Smile, it increases your face value."

- Dolly Parton

"I never felt I belonged. Never belonged in my whole life, even as a little kid. I was just different and so I never really found my place till I moved to Nashville and got in the music business. That was my real place, so I fit in."

- Dolly Parton

"When I got somethin' to say, I'll say it."

- Dolly Parton

"When someone shows you their true colors, believe them."

- Dolly Parton

"Prayer is not a formal affair, it’s more a come-as-you-are."

- Dolly Parton

"It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world."

- Dolly Parton

"I’m a working girl. I don’t make people bend over backwards, and I don’t like that in people. I am definitely no diva."

- Dolly Parton

"I am a self-made woman, and I have the doctor bills to prove it."

- Dolly Parton

"My songs are like my children—I expect them to support me when I'm old."

- Dolly Parton

"I'm just a simple country girl."

- Dolly Parton

"Now people are always asking me, What do you want people to say about you 100 years from now?' I always say I want them to say ‘Dang, don't she still look good for her age.’"

- Dolly Parton

"A rhinestone shines just as good as a diamond."

- Dolly Parton

"Tell me I have to be somewhere, and I'll be there 20 minutes early and stay there longer than anybody else. You hold up a lot of people if you're not on time."

- Dolly Parton

"I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know that I'm not a blonde."

- Dolly Parton

"I have a strict policy that nobody cries alone in my presence."

- Dolly Parton

"I never let a rhinestone go unturned!"

- Dolly Parton

"People say how you stay looking so young? I say, well, good lighting, good doctors, and good makeup."

- Dolly Parton

"Never ignore your roots, your home, or your hair."

- Dolly Parton

"Everybody’s life is a soap opera. Everybody’s life is a country western song, depends on who’s writing it."

- Dolly Parton

"I was the first woman to burn my bra—it took the fire department four days to put it out."

- Dolly Parton

"People say, 'how you stay looking so young?' I say, well, good lighting, good doctors, and good makeup."

- Dolly Parton

"A loose tongue can lead to broken teeth."

- Dolly Parton

"You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!"

- Dolly Parton

"People feel like they’ve known me so long because I’ve been around a long time. I’m really like an aunt or a cousin or a person you’ve grown up with—like somebody in the family. So I think they feel comfortable with me. I really think that is Southern hospitality."

- Dolly Parton

"Anyone who says you can’t take it with you has never seen me pack."

- Dolly Parton

"I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets."

- Dolly Parton

"I have pretty good skin considering my age, and I think a lot of it is mineral oil and bacon grease."

- Dolly Parton

"People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair. I don’t know, I’m never there."

- Dolly Parton

"My weaknesses have always been food and men—in that order."

- Dolly Parton

"Every single diet I ever fell off of was because of potatoes and gravy of some sort."

- Dolly Parton