58 Motivational Quotes for Women

Many of today’s most admired entrepreneurs, executives and leaders are strong women. They have overcome challenges and made their mark on the world. They also lead by example.

The experiences of these women hold the power to inspire each one of us to achieve our life ambitions and entrepreneurial dreams. What better way to learn from the experiences of each woman than to hear the wisdom in their own words?

Here are 58 famous motivational quotes for women:

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Strong Woman Quotes

Strong women are successful women. Are you just getting started in the business world? Or are you looking for more satisfaction in your personal life? It’s time to get in touch with your inner strength as a woman. Are you going to let challenges stop you? No! You are a strong woman — stronger than you think. Reach deep down inside. Use positive self talk to become a strong woman Here are inspirational strong woman quotes from people like Maya Angelou about how to be amazing:

• Life is tough my darling, but so are you. ~ Stephanie Bennett Henry (poet)
• You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, ‘I’m proud of what I am and who I am.’ ~ Mariah Carey (singer and songwriter)
• Be a strong woman so your daughter will have a role model and your son will know what to look for in a woman when he’s a man. ~ (from the Boss Lady Motivational Notebook)
• No matter what kind of challenges or difficulties or painful situations you go through in your life, we all have something deep within us that we can reach down and find the inner strength to get through them. ~ Alana Stewart (actress and model)
• I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time. ~ Anna Freud (Austrian-British psychoanalyst)
• Nothing can dim the light which shines from within. ~ Maya Angelou (poet)
• Go within every day and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out. ~ Katherine Dunham (dancer, choreographer)
• Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain. ~ Vivian Greene (writer)
• Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you. ~ Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Supreme Court Justice)
• I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all. ~ Coco Chanel (iconic fashion designer)
• Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. ~ Michelle Obama (former First Lady)

Quotes to Conquer Fear

It can get scary to take on a new situation, or try something you haven’t done before. As a woman in business, make sure that fear isn’t going to stop you from achieving your goals. Inspiring quotes can help you become a fearless woman. Here are quotes inspirational about how to conquer fear as a woman:

• When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. ~ Audre Lorde (poet and feminist)
• 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 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 (diplomat and activist)
• 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 (author)
• Next time, ask: what’s the worst that will happen? Then push yourself a little further than you dare. ~ Audre Lorde (writer and activist)
• A lot of people would say ‘sexy’ is about the body. But to me, ‘sexy’ is a woman with confidence. I admire women who have very little fear. ~ Allegra Versace (Italian heiress and socialite)
• I’ve learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom – how great is that? ~ Soledad O’Brien (broadcaster)
• Don’t let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And most importantly, be kind to others, even if you don’t like them. ~ Stacy London (stylist)
• Some days, 24 hours is too much to stay put in, so I take the day hour by hour, moment by moment. I break the task, the challenge, the fear into small, bite-size pieces. I can handle a piece of fear, depression, anger, pain, sadness, loneliness, illness. I actually put my hands up to my face, one next to each eye, like blinders on a horse. ~ Regina Brett (author and newspaper columnist)

Motivational Quotes for Women about Encouragement

One way to get encouragement is to read inspirational quotes. Positive messages excite and rejuvenate you, bringing joy and a smile on your face. Who says finding inspiration is difficult? Strong women receive and accept help however they get it. Quotes about inspiration and encouragement are every where. Which inspirational quote below encourages you, reinforces your values and helps you get happy?

• 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 (co-founder of Birchbox)
• The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud. ~ Coco Chanel (fashion designer)
• Entrepreneurship is the last refuge of the troublemaking individual. ~ Natalie Clifford Barney (playwright and poet)
• Making the decision to not follow a system, or someone else’s rules has allowed me to really dig into what my own strengths and gifts are without spending time feeling jaded or wasteful. ~ Ishita Gupta (founder of Fearless Magazine)
• There is no royal flower-strewn path to success. And if there is, I have not found it, for if I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard. ~ Madam C.J. Walker (USA’s first female millionaire entrepreneur)
• We should all feel confident in our intelligence. By the way, intelligence to me isn’t just being book-smart or having a college degree; it’s trusting your gut instincts, being intuitive, thinking outside the box, and sometimes just realizing that things need to change and being smart enough to change it. ~ Tabatha Coffey (Australian hairstylist)
• I might not be very smart, but I surround myself with smart people. ~ Barbara Mandrell (country singer)
• I think art cannot be planned. The audience is too smart to get the dishonesty or ‘too much planning’ thing. I am not a legend, but I want to be one. I want to be known as an achiever. There is so much more that I can do. ~ Priyanka Chopra (Indian actress)
• We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success. ~ Arianna Huffington (founder of Huffington Post)

Dare to Be Different Quotes

Some of the best inspirational quotes from successful female entrepreneurs contain a simple message: dare to be different. Being different gives you the freedom to come up with that brilliant idea that nobody else has thought of yet. When you dare to be different you allow your unique personality to shine. In business, being different gives you a marketing story that stand outs from the competition. Get in touch with what makes you special, and use it to achieve amazing success. Here are dare to be different quotes to motivate each of us to just be ourselves in our lives:

• Expect the unexpected. And whenever possible, be the unexpected. ~ Lynda Barry (cartoonist and author)
• Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good. ~ Serena Williams (tennis champion)
• Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else. ~ Sara Blakely (billionaire founder of Spanx)
• Be different, stand out, and work your butt off. ~ Reba McEntire (country singer)
• In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. ~ Coco Chanel (founder of Chanel)
• What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength. ~ Meryl Streep (actress)
• Computer science is not just for smart ‘nerds’ in hoodies coding in basements. Coding is extremely creative and is an integral part of almost every industry. ~ Reshma Saujani (founder of Girls Who Code)
• I think people are sexy when they have a sense of humor, when they are smart, when they have some sense of style, when they are kind, when they express their own opinions, when they are creative, when they have character. ~ Suzanne Vega (singer and songwriter)
• It’s not like I try to be different, but every single person is unique, and every single person has special things to offer, and it’s about embracing it and not being afraid of the fact that maybe you’re different or quirky, but it’s okay to be different, and it can be a wonderful thing. ~ Lindsey Stirling (violinist and songwriter)
• Be daring, be first, be different, be just. ~ Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop)
• I’ve always known that I wanted to be different. I wanted to stand out, so my gear is very elaborate, very blingy, very loud, because I want people to notice me, want to look like me. The Boss necklace, the ring. I want everything big. ~ Sasha ‘Legit Boss’ Banks (professional wrestler)

Empowering Women Quotes

The empowerment of women may feel like it is long overdue. Many leaders have spoken eloquently about the importance of personal empowerment. No one wants to feel lacking in control over their own destiny and decisions. Here are some excellent inspirational quotes for women to remind you that you are amazing and powerful:

• Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is. ~ Anne Frank
• The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. ~ Alice Walker (novelist and social activist)
• I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a b*tch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass. ~ Maya Angelou (poet and civil rights activist)
• You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone. ~ Tina Fey (writer and comedian)
• 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 (co-founder of CloudFlare)
• Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got. There is no yesterday, no tomorrow, it’s all the same day. ~ Janis Joplin (singer and songwriter)
• We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced. ~ Malala Yousafzai (Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate)
• The best protection any woman can have is courage. ~ Elizabeth Cady Stanton (suffragist and leading figure of the early women’s rights movement)
• One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in and where you want to go. ~ Sheila Murray Bethel (entrepreneur and best selling business author)

Independent Woman Quotes

Being an independent woman is one of the most important steps in achieving your life’s ambitions. Women need to focus on the things in life that make them happy, and not on what makes someone else happy. Never settle and never look back. Below, find the inspirational quote that speaks to you.

• Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention. ~ Pink (singer and songwriter)
• Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt (former U.S. First Lady)
• I do not wish [women] to have power over men, but over themselves. ~ Mary Wollstonecraft (writer and women’s advocate)
• I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship. ~ Louisa May Alcott (novelist)
• 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. ~ Dr. Mae Jemison (physician and NASA astronaut)
• Power is not given to you. You have to take it. ~ Beyonce Knowles (singer)
• A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. ~ Jane Austen (author)
• I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. ~ Charlotte Bronte (novelist)
• Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim. ~ Nora Ephron (writer)
• When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier. ~ Diane Von Furstenberg (fashion designer)

What to Do to Encourage a Woman

Successful women around the world encourage one another. Motivational women quotes are not the only way to do that. Women are encouraging one another through social media, email, blogs, books, speaking engagements and inspiring interviews.

Whether you are a man or a woman, look for ways to encourage women to find happiness and be successful. And ask yourself, what can I personally do to encourage women? A few well-placed words of praise or thanks may be all it takes.

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All Motivational Quotes for Business