Inspirational quotes have long served as a beacon of light in dark times. They also serve as the fire we need to light under ourselves to make a big change, and the very words we need to make courageous acts possible.
It makes sense, then, that quotes from fearless, strong women can be truly life-changing. That's why we rounded up 51 of them.
51 Fearless Woman Quotes
1. "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." — Louisa May Alcott
2. "Champions keep playing until they get it right." — Billie Jean King
3. "The most effective way to do it, is to do it." — Amelia Earhart
4. "Sucess is not easy and I think everyone should know hard work and perseverance being open to giving back are much more powerful than stepping over people to get to the top." — Misty Copeland
5. "No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind." — Taylor Swift
6. "If you don't risk anything, you risk even more." — Erica Jong
7. "We still, today, have a long way to go and we have to continue to our work." — Rosa Parks
8. "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." — Alice Walker
9. "Hard days are the best because that's where champions are made, so if you push through the hard days, you can get through anything." — Gabby Douglas
10. "I do everything the man does, only backward and in high heels." — Ginger Rogers
11. "If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." – Margaret Thatcher
12. "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
13. "Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, 'I’m possible!'" – Audrey Hepburn
14. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage." – Anais Nin
15. "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
16. "A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want." – Madonna
17. "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
18. "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." – Sally Berger
19. "Be the type of girl that climbs the ladder wrong by wrong." – Mae West
20. "We have to become the men we wanted to marry." – Gloria Steinem
21. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." — Maya Angelou
22. "I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all." – Coco Chanel
23. "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
24. "Failure is not the opposite of success, it's part of success." — Arianna Huffington
25. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage." – Anais Nin
26. "What I want women and girls to know is: You are powerful and your voice matters." — Kamala Harris
27. "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
28. "We turn not older with years, but newer every day." — Emily Dickinson
29. "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
30. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
31. “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn
32. “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” — Oprah Winfrey
33. “Success breeds confidence.” – Beryl Markham
34. “People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me.” – Princess Diana
35. “Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
36. “A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” — Melinda Gates
37. “I don’t believe in guilt, I believe in living on impulse as long as you never intentionally hurt another person, and don’t judge people in your life. I think you should live completely free.” — Angelina Jolie
38. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” — Mother Teresa
39. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — Marianne Williamson
40. “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” – Diane Mariechild
41. “Love is anterior to Life, Posterior to Death, Initial of Creation, and The Exponent of Earth.” – Emily Dickinson
42. “The best protection any woman can have … is courage.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
43. "We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever.” – Susan B. Anthony
44. "A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.”— Nancy Rathburn
45. “One likes people much better when they’re battered down by a prodigious siege of misfortune than when they triumph.” – Virginia Woolf
46. “Taking joy in living is a woman’s best cosmetic.” — Rosalind Russell
47. “I work really hard at trying to see the big picture and not getting stuck in ego. I believe we’re all put on this planet for a purpose, and we all have a different purpose … when you connect with that love and that compassion, that’s when everything unfolds.” — Ellen DeGeneres
48. “Woman must not accept; she must challenge.She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.” — Margaret Sanger
49. “You can have unbelievable intelligence, you can have connections, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But in the end, hard work is the true, enduring characteristic of successful people.” — Marsha Evans
50. “Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.” – Charlotte Whitton
51. “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
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