Inspiring Quotes From Amazing Women That Will Motivate You

“Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way. ”

“I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure, but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try.”

Nikki Giovanni

“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.”

 Oprah Winfrey

"You can't just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream. You've got to get out there and make it happen for yourself." 

“Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then.” 

Diana Ross

“Walls turned sideways are bridges.” 

Angela Davis

“There’s always something to suggest that you’ll never be who you wanted to be. Your choice is to take it or keep on moving.” 

Phylicia Rashad

"Instead of letting your hardships and failures discourage or exhaust you, let them inspire you. Let them make you even hungrier to succeed." 

 Michelle Obama

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

“No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.”

 “Let nothing dim the light that shines from within.”

 Maya Angelou

“I realized that I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life.” 

 Kerry Washington

"You've got to learn to leave the table when love's no longer being served."

Nina Simone

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

Harriet Tubman

“I got my start by giving myself a start.”

“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it!” 

“Perseverance is my motto.” 

Madam C.J. Walker

“Don’t underestimate yourself. You are more capable than you think.” 

Misty Copeland

“Just be what you are. And I try to be my best self and be what I am and knowing what I am and be satisfied with that. And if people don't know it, maybe they'll eventually know it.” 

Coretta Scott King

“Am I bossy? Absolutely. I don't like to lose, and if I'm told 'no,' then I find another way to get my 'yes.'” 

Naomi Campbell

”Don’t listen to those who say YOU CAN’T. Listen to the voice inside yourself that says, I CAN.” 

“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” 

Shirley Chisholm

“It’s not the load that breaks you down; it’s the way you carry it.”

Lena Horne

“You’ve just got to follow your own path. You have to trust your heart and you have to listen to the warnings.”

Chaka Khan

“We have so much coming in as sisters, when is our interior life ever put at the forefront? We constantly want to give to other people ... Too much of not caring for yourself is not a good thing. We’re bad at that as achievers. Self-care is a priority and we have to do it more.”

Ava DuVernay

 "I can never be safe; I always try and go against the grain. As soon as I accomplish one thing, I just set a higher goal. That’s how I’ve gotten to where I am."

“I embrace mistakes. They make you who you are.” 

“Don’t try to lessen yourself for the world; let the world catch up to you.”

“It is so liberating to really know what I want, what truly makes me happy, what I will not tolerate. I have learned that it is no one else’s job to take care of me but me.”

Beyoncé

“We can say “Peace on Earth.” We can sing about it, preach about it or pray about it, but if we have not internalized the mythology to make it happen inside us, then it will not be.”

Betty Shabazz

“It’s not about supplication; it’s about power. It’s not about asking, it’s about demanding. It’s not about convincing those who are currently in power, it’s about changing the very face of power itself.”

Kimberle Williams Crenshaw

“Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.”

“In every crisis there is a message. Crises are nature’s way of forcing change — breaking down old structures, shaking loose negative habits so that something new and better can take their place.”

Susan L. Taylor

"Don't settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that's in us." 

Angela Bassett

"I always believed that when you follow your heart or your gut, when you really follow the things that feel great to you, you can never lose, because settling is the worst feeling in the world." Rihanna

“It’s time for you to move, realizing that the thing you are seeking is also seeking you.”

Iyanla Vanzant

"Even if it makes others uncomfortable, I will love who I am.”

"Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable. I didn't have to become perfect because I've learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness." 

Janelle Monae

"Sometimes you've got to let everything go -- purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything, whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out." 

Tina Turner 

"I need to see my own beauty and to continue to be reminded that I am enough, that I am worthy of love without effort, that I am beautiful, that the texture of my hair and that the shape of my curves, the size of my lips, the color of my skin, and the feelings that I have are all worthy and okay."

Tracee Ellis Ross

“Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live”

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.” 

Mae Jemison