Let’s be honest- success does take time and it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Whether women or men, we all need a little push or boost sometimes and it can be from people who have walked the road before. That’s why we’ve gathered 210 Inspirational Quotes From Strong Women to Empower Your Success.
So grab a coffee, get comfortable, and let these quotes fuel your journey toward greatness.
Power Quotes on Confidence and Self-Worth
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” – Carl Jung
“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” – Rumi
“Worthy now. Not if. Not when. We are worthy of love and belonging now.” – Brené Brown
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress.” – Sophia Bush
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I am enough. What I do is enough. What I have is enough. Who I am is enough.” – Unknown
“Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.” – Katrina Mayer
“Stop shrinking to fit places you’ve outgrown.” – Unknown
“The most powerful relationship you’ll ever have is the relationship with yourself.” – Steve Maraboli
“Fall in love with taking care of yourself.” – Unknown
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” – Brené Brown
“I exist as I am, that is enough.” – Walt Whitman
“Confidence is not ‘they will like me.’ Confidence is ‘I’ll be fine if they don’t.’” – Christina Grimmie
“You owe yourself the love you so freely give to others.” – Unknown
“Your worth is not measured by your productivity.” – Unknown
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
“I’m not beautiful like you. I’m beautiful like me.” – Unknown
Leading with Purpose and Passion
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“Leadership is not a position or a title, it is action and example.” – Cory Booker
“Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
“You don’t need permission to lead.” – Unknown
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton
“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
“Do not bring people in your life who weigh you down. And trust your instincts—good relationships feel good.” – Oprah Winfrey
“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” – Oprah Winfrey
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
“You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive.” – Sheryl Sandberg
“I never lose. I either win or learn.” – Nelson Mandela
“Don’t just climb the ladder—redefine it.” – Unknown
“Create the things you wish existed.” – Unknown
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Never apologize for being a powerful woman.” – Unknown
“Keep your heels, head, and standards high.” – Coco Chanel
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” – Shirley Chisholm
Mindset and Growth Quotes from Brilliant Women
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” – Buddha
“She remembered who she was and the game changed.” – Lalah Delia
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow is our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs
“Never let success go to your head and never let failure go to your heart.” – Drake
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.” – Harriet Tubman
“Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” – Steve Maraboli
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.” – Peter T. McIntyre
“Energy flows where attention goes.” – Tony Robbins
“We don’t grow when things are easy. We grow when we face challenges.” – Unknown
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Train your mind to see the good in every situation.” – Unknown
Strength is Built in the Storm
“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H. Schuller
“Storms make trees take deeper roots.” – Dolly Parton
“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K. Rowling
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.” – Horace
“We are stronger, gentler, more resilient, and more beautiful than any of us imagine.” – Mark Nepo
“Out of difficulties grow miracles.” – Jean de La Bruyère
“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” – Elizabeth Edwards
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Sometimes you don’t realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.” – Susan Gale
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” – Rumi
“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn.” – Arthur Golden
“Pain shapes a woman into a warrior.” – R.H. Sin
“You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” – Unknown
“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage.” – William Ellery Channing
“Don’t let a hard lesson harden your heart.” – Unknown
“Beneath every strong, independent woman lies a broken little girl who had to learn how to get back up and never depend on anyone.” – Unknown
“There is no strength without struggle.” – Unknown
“You don’t drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.” – Ed Cole
“Life tried to crush her, but only succeeded in creating a diamond.” – John Mark Green
“She was powerful not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear.” – Atticus
Dreams Are Meant to Be Pursued
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
“Your dreams are valid.” – Lupita Nyong’o
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Leap, and the net will appear.” – John Burroughs
“Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” – Les Brown
“Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel
“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.” – Frank Ocean
“You only fail when you stop trying.” – Unknown
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
“Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali
“No matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.” – Lupita Nyong’o
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney
“Make your life a dream, and your dream a reality.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” – Gail Devers
“Go the extra mile—it’s never crowded.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
“Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” – Unknown
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.” – Albert Schweitzer
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.” – LL Cool J
“Dream big and dare to fail.” – Norman Vaughan
Fearless Quotes From Women Who Changed the Game
“I’m not afraid of anything—I just need to know why I’m doing it.” – Beyoncé
“I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life’.” – Maya Angelou
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” – Beyoncé
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn
“When they go low, we go high.” – Michelle Obama
“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
“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
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
“I tell my daughters to have their voice in this world, and it became clear I needed to role-model that.” – Melinda Gates
“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.” – Ingrid Bergman
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“You don’t have to play masculine to be a strong woman.” – Mary Elizabeth Winstead
“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
Quotes from Female Creatives and Artists
“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
“Art is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.” – Toni Morrison
“I am my own muse, the subject I know best.” – Frida Kahlo
“Passion is the genesis of genius.” – Tony Robbins
“Being an artist means forever healing your own wounds and at the same time endlessly exposing them.” – Annette Messager
“The minute you learn to love yourself, you won’t want to be anyone else.” – Rihanna
“An artist should never be a prisoner of herself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success.” – Henri Matisse
“When you can’t find someone to follow, you have to find a way to lead by example.” – Roxane Gay
“Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.” – Pablo Picasso
“I paint flowers so they will not die.” – Frida Kahlo
“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness.” – Graham Greene
“I would rather be a rebel than a slave.” – Emmeline Pankhurst
“You can be a woman who wants to look good and still stand up for the equality of women.” – Meghan Markle
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
“I’m not a model. I’m an artist. Artists don’t have rules.” – Billie Eilish
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” – Brené Brown
“Every artist was first an amateur.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The artist’s job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.” – Woody Allen
Quotes That Demand You Take Up Space
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
“I will not shrink so that you can feel tall.” – Unknown
“Speak your mind—even if your voice shakes.” – Maggie Kuhn
“I am not too much. You’re simply not enough.” – Unknown
“I’m not going to tone myself down for people who can’t handle loud.” – Unknown
“Claim your space. Own your magic.” – Alex Elle
“You were not born to blend in. You were born to stand out.” – R.J. Palacio
“Your voice matters. Don’t let anyone silence it.” – Kamala Harris
“Taking up space is a form of resistance.” – Roxane Gay
“Be loud about the things that matter.” – Unknown
“Your existence is revolutionary.” – Sonya Renee Taylor
“You deserve to be here, just as much as anyone else.” – Unknown
“You have a seat at the table. Don’t ask for it—take it.” – Unknown
“No one else can occupy your space like you.” – Unknown
“Stop waiting for permission. You’re the permission.” – Unknown
“Be unapologetically you.” – Unknown
“You are not a burden. You are a voice that needs to be heard.” – Unknown
“Don’t dilute yourself for anyone.” – Unknown
“Don’t just break glass ceilings—build your own damn house.” – Unknown
“Exist loudly.” – Unknown
Quotes From Women Who Made History
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Davis
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.” – Malala Yousafzai
“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.” – Rosa Parks
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” – Helen Keller
“The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day.” – Gloria Steinem
“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” – Melinda Gates
“My coach said I run like a girl. And I said if he ran a little faster, he could too.” – Mia Hamm
“Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.” – Shirley Chisholm
“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“I am passionate about my choices, and I hope they can inspire others to believe in themselves.” – Simone Biles
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” – Maya Angelou
“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” – Emma Goldman
“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body.” – Kamala Harris
“Do not wait for someone else to come and speak for you. It’s you who can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
Quotes on Loving Yourself Through the Journey
“You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.” – Sophia Bush
“Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.” – Katrina Mayer
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
“The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself.” – Maya Angelou
“You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are.” – Melissa Etheridge
“Fall in love with taking care of yourself.” – Unknown
“Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.” – Robert Holden
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” – Maya Angelou
“Self-love is not selfish; you cannot truly love another until you know how to love yourself.” – Unknown
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde
“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we’ll ever do.” – Brené Brown
“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” – Brené Brown
“Be enough for yourself first, the rest of the world can wait.” – Unknown
“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” – Coco Chanel
“Stop shrinking to fit places you’ve outgrown.” – Unknown
“You are not broken. You are becoming.” – Bianca Sparacino
“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.” – Katie Reed
“You don’t find your worth in a man. You find your worth within yourself and then find a man who’s worthy of you.” – Beyoncé
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” – John Steinbeck
“You owe yourself the love you so freely give to other people.” – Unknown
Extra Quotes
“There’s nothing more daring than showing up, putting yourself out there and letting yourself be seen.” – Brené Brown
“Darling, you are a work of art, not everyone will understand you, but the ones who do will never forget you.” – Unknown
“I know my worth. I’ve paid dearly for every ounce of it.” – Alfa
“I am not afraid to walk this world alone.” – Gerard Way
“Leadership is not about being the best. It is about making everyone else better.” – Unknown
“Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey
“You don’t find your voice. You use it and find out who you are.” – Unknown
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
“Don’t just stand for the success of other women—insist on it.” – Gail Blanke
“You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed, or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.” – Joel Osteen
“Don’t adapt to the energy in the room. Influence the energy in the room.” – Unknown
“Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” – Abraham Lincoln
“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” – Margaret Thatcher
“You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world.” – Oprah Winfrey
“I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.” – Dolly Parton
“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.” – Desmond Tutu (quoted by feminist leaders)
“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” – Angela Davis
“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” – Angela Davis
Final Thoughts: Carry Their Fire With You
Not all of us are lucky enough to meet the people that inspire us but we can learn a lot through their words and we can still be guided. These quotes aren’t just quotes, they’re daily reminders of who you are and what are capable of becoming. So select your favorite one and keep them close. That’s the wrap-up of 210 Inspirational Quotes From Strong Women to Empower Your Success.
Which of these quotes lit a fire in you today? Share your favorite and spread the strength!
