Words That Empower: 50 Quotes by Women to Inspire and Uplift

Happy Women's Month Beautiful Souls!

In South Africa, we celebrate Women’s Day every year on August 9th—a day that honors the strength, resilience, and solidarity of women throughout our history and in our communities today. It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and how powerful we are when we stand together.

I’ve always loved a good quote. There’s something about a powerful sentence—spoken or written by an extraordinary woman—that can inspire us, comfort us, or light a fire within us. So, in the spirit of celebrating women, I’ve gathered some of my favorite quotes from inspiring women around the world.

As you read through them, I invite you to reflect on the ones that speak most to you. Which words make you feel seen, empowered, or motivated? Share your favorite in the comments—I’d love to know which ones resonate with you most.

Self-Love & Acceptance

1. “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott

2. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best.” — Frida Kahlo

4. “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” — Brené Brown

5. “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” — Maya Angelou

6. “Loving yourself isn’t vanity; it’s sanity.” — Katrina Mayer

7. “You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone.” — Erin McKean

8. “You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress at the same time.” — Sophia Bush

9. “When you make peace with yourself, you make peace with the world.” — Maha Ghosananda

10. “The minute you learn to love yourself, you won’t want to be anyone else.” — Rihanna

    
    

Courage & Resilience

11. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker

12. “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” — Audre Lorde

13. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anaïs Nin

14. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” — Margaret Thatcher

15. “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” — Malala Yousafzai

16. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” — Oprah Winfrey

17. “When they go low, we go high.” — Michelle Obama

18. “Fear is always with us, but we just don’t have time for it. Not now.” — Hillary Clinton

19. “Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.” — Ruth Gordon

20. “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” — Mother Teresa

Ambition & Success

21. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” — Estée Lauder

22. “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” — Anne Sweeney

23. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand

24. “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” — Oprah Winfrey

25. “Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity.” — Mae Jemison

26. “Done is better than perfect.” — Sheryl Sandberg

27. “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” — Shirley Chisholm

28. “I never limit myself to doing only what I already know I can do.” — Dolly Parton

29. “Keep your eyes on the finish line and not on the turmoil around you.” — Rihanna

30. “I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and try to ignore the rest.” – Venus Williams

Sisterhood & Solidarity

31. “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” — Serena Williams

32. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” — Michelle Obama

33. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller

34. “We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” — Gwendolyn Brooks

35. “Sisterhood is powerful.” — Robin Morgan

36. “The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet.” — Adrienne Rich

37. “You’re the daughter of the universe, and the sister of the stars.” — Anaïs Nin

38. “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” — Sheryl Sandberg

39. “Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.” — Oprah Winfrey

40. “Support other women. Period.” — Mariela Dabbah

Liberation & Independence

41. “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

42. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” — Charlotte Brontë

43. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” — Coco Chanel

44. “Feminism is for everybody.” — Bell Hooks

45. “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” — Gloria Steinem

46. “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” — Diane Mariechild

47. “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” — Audre Lorde

48. “Don’t be the girl who fell. Be the girl who got back up.” — Jenette Stanley

49. “If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change.” —Taylor Swift

50. “I don’t do things for the response or the controversy. I just live my life.” — Rihanna

These 50 quotes are a reminder that women’s voices, experiences, and wisdom are powerful. As you read these words, I invite you to go beyond admiring the woman who spoke them. See yourself in her. You are both the speaker and the listener, the one who leads and the one who is guided. You are the woman whose strength inspires, and the woman who draws courage from others.

When we start looking at one another through this lens, something shifts — we stop feeling separate and start remembering that we’ve been walking side by side all along. Her triumphs are proof of your potential. Her courage whispers to you, “If I can, so can you.” We are each other’s sisters, carrying pieces of one another’s stories, holding the weight of shared struggles and shared dreams. And when you rise, she rises. When she wins, so do you.

Here’s to claiming your power, celebrating your journey, and honoring the woman you are becoming.

With love,

Nicole