Empowering Words: A Curated Collection of Inspiring Quotes for Women

"I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world."

- Malala Yousafzai

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens."

- Michelle Obama

"The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble."

- Serena Williams

"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish."

- Michelle Obama

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down."

- Arianna Huffington

"Women belong in all places where decisions are being made... It shouldn't be that women are the exception."

- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."

- Oprah Winfrey

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

- Maya Angelou

"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman."

- Margaret Thatcher

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure you do things differently from everyone else."

- Sara Blakely

"It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

- J.K. Rowling

"I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough."

- Marissa Mayer

"Don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."

- Michelle Obama

"I used to walk down the street like I was a superstar… I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be — and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth."

- Lady Gaga

"I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist."

- Ginni Rometty

"It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent."

- Madeleine Albright

"The most effective way to do it, is to do it."

- Amelia Earhart

"No matter where you are on your journey, that’s exactly where you need to be. The next road is always ahead."

- Oprah Winfrey

"You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through."

- Rosalynn Carter

"Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement."

- Golda Meir

"I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say ‘yes, women can.’"

- Dilma Rousseff

"Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you."

- Caroline Myss

"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak."

- Audre Lorde

"Whatever you do, be different – that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out."

- Anita Roddick

"People don’t take opportunities because the timing is bad, the financial side unsecure. Too many people are overanalyzing. Sometimes you just have to go for it."

- Michelle Zatlyn

"There are many things you can do overnight, but there is no overnight success."

- Tory Burch

"Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally. It comes from what you do consistently."

- Marie Forleo

"One of the most important things I have learned is that businesses don’t fail, entrepreneurs give up. Now sometimes, giving up is the right decision. But usually, you just need to dig in and figure out how to make things better. Remember: Every day is a new opportunity to get up and do it better than yesterday!"

- Adda Birnir

"You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right."

- Aung San Suu Kyi

"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom."

- Sandra Day O'Connor

"If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough."

- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."

- Jane Goodall

"Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down, and trust your instincts. Good relationships feel good. They feel right. They don’t hurt. They’re not painful. That’s not just with somebody you want to marry, but it’s with the friends you choose. It’s with the people you surround yourself with."

- Michelle Obama

"I want little girls to grow up knowing they can do anything, even play football."

- Jen Welter

"Champions keep playing until they get it right."

- Billie Jean King

"I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women."

- Nora Ephron

"I wake up every morning and think to myself, ‘How far can I push the company forward in the next 24 hours?’"

- Leah Busque

"As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow."

- Himanshu Bhatia

"Whatever it is that you think you want to do, and whatever it is that you think stands between you and that, stop making excuses. You can do anything."

- Katia Beauchamp

"Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you."

- Hillary Clinton

"Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it."

- Maya Angelou

"I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse."

- Florence Nightingale

"Decide … whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying."

- Amelia Earhart

"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Be faithful in small things, because it is in them that your strength lies."

- Mother Teresa

"Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"Define goal. Take action. Stay focused. Expect success. Nothing less."

- Michele Ruiz

"Build your business success around something that you love — something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you."

- Martha Stewart

"I think the girl who is able to earn her own living and pay her own way should be as happy as anybody on Earth. The sense of independence and security is very sweet."

- Susan B. Anthony

"If you follow your heart, if you listen to your gut and if you extend your hand to help another — not for any agenda, but for the sake of humanity — you are going to find the truth."

- Erin Brockovich

"Don’t cut off your career branches too early. Don’t step away from your career based on what ‘might’ happen."

- Mary Barra

"I was taught to strive, not because there were any guarantees of success, but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life."

- Madeleine Albright

"If you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances."

- Sallie Krawcheck

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer."

- Harriet Tubman

"There are lots of opportunities out there for women to work in these fields; girls just need support, encouragement and mentoring to follow through with the sciences."

- Sally Ride

"A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass."

- Maya Angelou

"Women must try to do as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."

- Amelia Earhart

"It is past time for women to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children’s and grandchildren’s fates, are decided."

- Hillary Clinton

"When anyone tells me I can’t do anything … I’m just not listening anymore."

- Florence Griffith Joyner

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, “I’m possible!”"

- Audrey Hepburn

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."

- Coco Chanel

"Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”"

- Mary Anne Radmacher

"A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult."

- Melinda Gates

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any."

- Alice Walker

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage."

- Anaïs Nin

"We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"We realize the importance of our voices only when they are silenced."

- Malala Yousafzai

"Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come."

- Ellen DeGeneres

"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve."

- Mary Kay Ash

"Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules and build a life you’re proud to live."

- Anne Sweeney

"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it."

- Estée Lauder

"Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen."

- Brené Brown

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

- Judy Garland

"Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me."

- Arianna Huffington

"You have what it takes to be a victorious, independent, fearless woman."

- Tyra Banks

"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

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

- Helen Keller

"On my own I will just create, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be."

- Oprah Winfrey

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends."

- J. K. Rowling

"I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself."

- Emma Stone

"To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings."

- Rosabeth Moss Kanter

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

- Rosa Parks

"There are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there."

- Indira Gandhi

"Do not be afraid to make decisions. Do not be afraid to make mistakes."

- Carly Fiorina

"What sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden, and it’s not. And a lot of the time, it’s what makes you great."

- Emma Stone

"The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of a mistake."

- Meg Whitman

"If we are going to be part of the solution, we have to engage the problems."

- Majora Carter

"You create opportunities by performing, not complaining."

- Muriel Siebert

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

- Rosalynn Carter

"None of us can know what we are capable of until we are tested."

- Elizabeth Blackwell

"I have never, ever focused on the negative of things. I always look at the positive."

- Sonia Sotomayor

"What’s the greatest lesson a woman should learn? That since day one, she’s already had everything she needs within herself. It’s the world that convinced her she did not."

- Rupi Kaur

"Think like a Queen. A Queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness."

- Oprah

"A charming woman doesn’t follow the crowd; she is herself."

- Loretta Young

"Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world."

- Hillary Clinton

"A girl should be two things: Who and what she wants."

- Dolly Parton

"Nothing can dim the light which shines from within."

- Maya Angelou

"Girls should never be afraid to be smart."

- Emma Watson

"You can carve your own path. Be your own kind of leader."

- Jacinda Ardern

"At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."

- Frida Kahlo

"Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."

- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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

- Dolly Parton

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

- Mother Teresa

"Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth, and everything else will come."

- Ellen DeGeneres

"When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future."

- Queen Elizabeth II

"Be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

- Judy Garland

"Being confident and believing in your own self-worth is necessary to achieving your potential."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"You might not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control your response to your circumstances."

- Condoleezza Rice

"Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got."

- Janis Joplin

"We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced."

- Malala Yousafzai

"I do not wish [women] to have power over men; but over themselves."

- Mary Wollstonecraft

"I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth."

- Sonia Sotomayor

"We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained."

- Marie Curie

"What makes you different or weird, that's your strength."

- Meryl Streep

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

- Maya Angelou

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear."

- Rosa Parks

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

- Anne Frank

"You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are."

- Melissa Etheridge

"We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead."

- Beyoncé

"Women are the real architects of society."

- Cher

"Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different."

- Indra Nooyi

"If you don’t get out of the box you’ve been raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is."

- Angelina Jolie

"The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn. We are filled with the popular wisdom of several centuries just past, and we are terrified to give it up."

- Gloria Steinem

"You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them."

- Shonda Rhimes

"No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind."

- Taylor Swift

"I always want to make films. I think of it as a great opportunity to comment on the world in which we live."

- Kathryn Bigelow

"The more you can be authentic, the happier you're going to be, and life will work itself around that."

- Melinda Gates

"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one."

- Calamity Jane

"A woman is the full circle. Within her is the ability to create, nurture, and transform."

- Diane Mariechild

"Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak. Sometimes you’re just strong enough to let go."

- Taylor Swift

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

- Mother Theresa

"You can have it all. Just not all at once."

- Oprah Winfrey

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is only enough."

- Mae West

"I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship."

- Amy March

"The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong, are 'accept responsibility.’"

- Billie Jean King

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

- Mark Twain

"Invite people into your life that don’t look or think like you."

- Mellody Hobson

"Some leaders are born women."

- Geraldine Ferraro

"No one has ever become poor by giving."

- Anne Frank

"The most successful entrepreneurs I know are optimistic. It’s part of the job description."

- Caterina Fake

"We must develop a thick skin. With an unshakeable sense of self — and a commitment to being compassionate — nothing will faze you."

- Mari Smith

"A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want."

- Madonna

"To love what you do and feel like it matters — how could anything be more fun?"

- Katharine Graham

"Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go. The difference in how easy it seems will amaze you."

- Heidi Johnson

"Alone we can do little; together we can do so much."

- Helen Keller

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

- Mother Teresa

"Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."

- Elizabeth Gilbert

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

- Marilyn Monroe

"I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all."

- Coco Chanel

"We have to become the men we wanted to marry."

- Gloria Steinem

"If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions."

- Catherine Cook

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

- Audrey Hepburn

"Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country."

- Margaret Thatcher

"I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done."

- Lucille Ball

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half their inferior. Luckily, this is not difficult."

- Charlotte Whitton

"People respond well to those that are sure of what they want."

- Anna Wintour

"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas."

- Marie Curie

"And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk more."

- Erica Jong

"Done is better than perfect."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career."

- Gloria Steinem

"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list."

- Susan Sontag

"Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible, be the unexpected."

- Lynda Barry

"It’s not your job to like me, it’s mine."

- Byron Katie

"When I’m hungry, I eat. When I’m thirsty, I drink. When I feel like saying something, I say it."

- Madonna

"I dwell in possibility."

- Emily Dickinson

"Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get."

- W. P. Kinsella

"Be the type of girl that climbs the ladder wrong by wrong."

- Mae West

"Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic self. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen."

- Sarah Ban Breathnach

"After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backward and in high heels."

- Ann Richards

"If you need the user to tell you what you’re selling, then you don’t know what you’re selling, and it’s probably not going to be a good experience."

- Marissa Mayer

"You’ve always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself."

- Glinda the Good Witch

"I decided I can't pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it."

- Serena Williams

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

- Edith Wharton

"The more you love your decisions, the less you need others to love them."

- Lisa Messenger

"Normal is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from."

- Jodie Foster

"Always show more kindness than seems necessary because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know."

- Colin Powell

"There are no ugly women, only lazy ones."

- Helena Rubinstein

"If you don’t like being a doormat then get off the floor."

- Al Anon

"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense."

- Gertrude Stein

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

- Ayn Rand

"Always remember you are BRAVER than you believe, STRONGER than you seem, SMARTER than you think & LOVED more than you know."

"A strong person is not the one who doesn’t fall down and doesn’t cry. The strong person falls, cries, and then gets up and keeps going."

"Whether through work or love or art, life becomes more meaningful whenever we take responsibility for something or someone. Responsibility is not always pleasurable or even positive, but it is purposeful."

"And then I realized that to be more alive I had to be less afraid so I did it…I lost my fear and gained my whole life."

"The foundation of your wellness journey is presence – quieting the chatter in your head, feeling yourself in the moment and knowing you are okay. Presence leads to clarity, and ultimately, to the joy of being alive. Be present. Let go of yesterday. Put thoughts of tomorrow at bay. You are here. Now. Full of energy. Flooded with calm. Engaged in this one and only moment."

"May you be free from harm. May you be strong and healthy. May you be happy. May you live a life filled with ease."

"A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong."