By Freelance Contributor | Strong Female Leaders | Target Audience: women, professional women, entrepreneurs

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50 Most Inspirational Quotes by Women Leaders
1. "I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work." - Pearl S. Buck

2. "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

3. "I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." - Estee Lauder

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

5. "Creating the culture of burnout is the opposite of creating a culture of sustainable creativity." - Arianna Huffington

6. "My best successes came on the heels of failures." - Barbara Corcoran

7. "The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone wrong are 'accept responsibility'." - Billie Jean King

8. "If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities." - Maya Angelou

9. " No matter how senior you get in an organization, no matter how well you're perceived to be doing, your job is never done." - Abigail Johnson

10. " Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

11. " There are two kinds of stones, as everyone knows. One of which rolls." - Amelia Earhart

12. " Make sure that you stay in touch with the people you're interested in, make sure they're aware of you, that you stay on their radar." - Tina Brown

13. " We treat our people like royalty. If you honor and serve the people who work for you, they will honor and serve you." - Mary Kay Ash

14. "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

15. "My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." - Oprah Winfrey


16. "Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference." - Alison Pincus

17. "Don't waste a single second. Just move forward as fast as you can, and go for it." - Lisa Woodcock

18. "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist." - Queen Victoria

19. "Good leaders organize and align people around what the team needs to do. Great leaders motivate and inspire people with why they're doing it." - Maryllyn Hewson

20. "Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want." Diane Feinstein

21. "Professional intellectuals are the voice of a culture and are, therefore, its leaders, its integrators and its bodyguards." - Ayn Raynd

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

23. "We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark." -Whoopi Goldberg

24. "People become motivated when you guide them to the source of their own power and when you make heroes out of employees who personify what you want to see in an organization." -Anita Roddick

25. "I learned to always take on things I'd never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist." -Ginni Rometty

26. "Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you're proud to live." - Anne Sweeney

27. "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

28. "Being different is critical." - Ana Patricia Botin

29. "Success isn't about the money you make, about the difference you make in people's lives." - Michelle Obama

30. "As a leader it's a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow." - Himanshu Bhatia

31. "If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you." - Indra Nooyi

32. "Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt." - Shirley Chisholm

33. "It is the ultimate luxury to combine passion and contribution. It's also a very clear path to happiness." - Sheryl Sandberg

34. "You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right." - Aung San Suu Kyi

35. "If this is something that you really want to do, if you believe in it simply keep forging forward because success will come." - Cassandra Sanford

36. "If it doesn't scare you, your probably not dreaming big enough." - Tory Burch

37. "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 yourself through those moments, that's when you have a breakthrough." - Marissa Ann Mayer

38. "A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But, the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult. This 'voice' is your best tool in the boardroom...Once you find your voice, hone it and practice it." - Melinda Gates

39. "If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that you can't hear them anymore." -Michele Ruiz

40. "You are never too small to make a difference." - Greta Thunberg

41. "If you're not making some notable mistakes along the way, you're certainly not taking enough business and career chances." - Sallie Krawcheck

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

43. "Do what you feel in your heart to be right-for you'll be criticized for it anyway." - Eleanor Roosevelt

44. "Who you are surrounded by often determines who you become." - Vicky Saunders

45. "Emotional intelligence is the ability to use emotion to increase your own and others' success." - Annie McKee

46. "It's okay to admit what you don't know. It's okay to ask for help. And it's more than okay to listen to the people you lead-in fact, it's essential." - Mary Barra

47. "People respond well to those who are sure of what they want." - Anna Wintour

48. "Part of leadership is knowing when to go ahead with a decision that's within your authority because you're really convinced it's the right thing, even if other people don't understand it at that point." - Dr. Ingrid Mattson

49. "I'm a maniacal perfectionist. And if I weren't, I wouldn't have this company." - Martha Stewart

50. "The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me?" -Ayn Rand

Need more help? The books below are good resources.
1) A Year of Positive Thinking: Daily Inspiration, Wisdom, and Courage


2) In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs
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