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108 Best Powerful Confidence Quotes by Remarkable Women

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Have you ever noticed the difference in your best friend when they have a wilting violet demeanor versus when they gather their courage and step out of their comfort zone into a better place?

Ever noticed that difference in yourself when tackling a challenge?

Some of my greatest regrets are when I didn’t have the confidence to go for it. To go after the “big hairy goal”. Whether in school, at work, or in my relationships.

It’s a better world, out there and inside when having healthy self-love collides with the human spirit to take a woman from a place of low self-esteem into realizing there is an entire universe out there of endless possibilities and new things to be discovered and harnessed around every corner.

A woman bursting with self-confidence is a beautiful thing.

Everywhere on social media, we see amazing women who have realized their own potential.

Women with what seems an endless reserve of positive attitudes wear their self-confidence like a badge. And then we look in the mirror.

We feel ourselves “playing small” when talking with our bosses or successful friends and co-workers.

It seems easy for them. It seems too good to be true.

But the truth is many if I dare say most started out with their own starts and stops, failures and new beginnings. Moments of feeling less than, not good enough, or defeated.

The words we are constantly saying to ourselves shape who we are, and affect our mental health, but can also be the quickest way to pull ourselves out of a slump or even catapult us into moving forward once again.

What this world needs is for each woman to learn to be the best version of their selves. I think self-confidence quotes can help.

Gather courage, face your deepest fear because when you realize you are your own worst enemy and decide others’ approval doesn’t matter it is by far the greatest accomplishment.

Not just for success as defined by society. But to be happy with what you describe as the definition of your life.

Day-to-day living sometimes requires the most self-confidence. To be not only okay but satisfied with the everydayness of life. That in itself needs to be a priority. Since it is in the every day, the ordinary, that we spend most of our lives.

Let’s help that along by teaching our daughters and other women in our lives to do just that.

self-confidence quotes by womenself-confidence quotes for women

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The best way to use your favorite quotes.

  • Find the best self-confidence quotes for women that speak to you.
  • Keep a list by your bed to read when you wake up or when before you go to sleep
  • Add them to your daily journal pages or create a journal filled with sayings that inspire you.
  • Keep a list on your phone to scan through when you are having a tough day, need a pick me up or boost before a presentation or interview
  • Put them on a sticky note on your desk, refrigerator, or bathroom mirror.
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02/18/2024 03:28 pm GMT

Keep reading for self-confidence quotes, motivational quotes, and inspirational quotes from role models in all walks of life but all of them are strong women.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t start out the list with a quote for all of us crown-wearing queens. That while we may let it slip, we always rise up, straighten it out, and tackle what is in front of us.

Self-Confidence Quotes for Women

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” - Oprah Winfreyself-confidence quotes for women

“Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways.” – Glennon Doyle Melton, American author, and activist

“The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.” – Blake Lively, American actress

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” – Frida Kahlo, 20th-century Mexican painter 

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anaïs Nin, French-Cuban-American novelist

“If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou, Pulitzer-prize nominated poet

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

“Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. First Lady and U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible!” Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian

“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” Elizabeth Gilbert, American journalist and author

“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” Elizabeth Gilbert

 “Normal is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from.” – Jodie Foster, American actress, director, and producer

“Aging is not “lost youth” but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” – Betty Friedan,  American feminist writer and activist

“Stop thinking you’re doing it all wrong. Your path doesn’t look like anybody else’s because it can’t, it shouldn’t, and it won’t.” – Eleanor Brownn, writer

“You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, you don’t branch out, you don’t try – you don’t take the risk.” – Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady and mental health advocate

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” George Eliot, pen name of English novelist and poet Mary Ann Evans

 “I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger.” – Mia Hamm, American soccer player, Olympic gold medalist

“If I stop to kick every barking dog I am not going to get where I’m going.” – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American track and field athlete, winner of 6 Olympic medals

“You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving yourself and see what happens” – Louise Hay, American motivational author

“Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.” – Katherine Johnson, mathematician and one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist

 “Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live in?” – Caroline Myss, American author

“Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live in?” - Caroline Myss

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. First Lady and U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly

“I am thankful for my struggle because, without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” – Alex Elle, American writer

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” – Helen Keller, American author and disability rights advocate

“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” – Serena Williams, professional tennis player who has won more singles titles than any man or woman

“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, American politician and diplomat and first female Secretary of State

“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, American business woman, founder of Spanx

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller, American author and disability rights advocate

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter

“If you don’t get out of the box you’ve been raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is.” – Angelina Jolie, American actress

“I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale, English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing

“I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.”  - Florence Nightingale

“Personality begins where comparison leaves off. Be unique. Be memorable. Be confident. Be proud.” – Shannon L. Alder, author

“Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.” – Marilyn Monroe, American actress

“You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself.” – Ethel Barrymore, American actress

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”Coco Chanel, French fashion designer and businesswoman, founder and namesake of the Chanel brand

“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.’” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. First Lady and U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly

“You can’t please everyone, and you can’t make everyone like you.” – Katie Couric, American journalist

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” – Golda Meir, Israeli prime minister

“Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway.” – Mary Kay Ash, American business woman, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” – Shirley Chisholm, first African American woman in Congress

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart,  American aviation pioneer and author, first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart

“The challenge is not to be perfect…it’s to be whole.” – Jane Fonda, American actress and political activist

“The greatest danger to our future is apathy.” – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist

 “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” – Diane von Furstenberg, Belgian fashion designer

“Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.” – Hillary Clinton, American politician, former Secretary of State, Congresswoman and First Lady

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” – Gloria Steinem, American feminist journalist and social political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement 

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” – Golda Meir, Israeli prime minister

“I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” Madonna, American singer-songwriter

 “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” – Tina Fey, American actress and author

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. First Lady and U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly

“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

 “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” – Lucille Ball, American actress

“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, former U.S. First Lady and U.S. Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly

“I used to hate feeling embarrassed but then I realized, nobody’s watching and nobody gives a damn.”- Barbara Corcoran, American businesswoman

“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn, American actress

“Every moment wasted looking back, keeps us from moving forward…In this world and the world of tomorrow, we must go forward together or not at all.” – Hillary Clinton, American politician, former Secretary of State, Congresswoman and First Lady

“Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host

“Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist

 “I was smart enough to go through any door that opened.” – Joan Rivers, American comedian

 “Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes.” – Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian writer

“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” – Estée Lauder, American business woman and co-founder of Estée Lauder Cosmetics.

“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”

“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama, attorney, author and former First Lady of the United States

 “Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak. Sometimes you’re just strong enough to let go.” Taylor Swift, American singer-songwriter

“If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.” – Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong, American novelist

“Women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps encouraging other women toward greater independence of thought and action.” – Amelia Earhart, first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean

 “The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” – Barbara Corcoran, American businesswoman

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou, Pulitzer-prize nominated poet

“Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” – Lucille Ball, American actress

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” Coco Chanel, French fashion designer and businesswoman, founder and namesake of the Chanel brand

“Age is of no importance unless you’re a cheese.” – Billie Burke, American actress

“Age is of no importance unless you’re a cheese.”

 “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” – Susan B. Anthony, American social reformer and women’s rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement.

 “Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist

“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” – Beyoncé, American singer-songwriter

“Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is most important.” – Junko Tabei, the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest

“You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” – Shonda Rhimes, American television producer, screenwriter, and author

“Live from the heart of yourself. Seek to be whole, not perfect.”- Oprah Winfrey, American talkshow host

“Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got. There is no yesterday, no tomorrow, it’s all the same day.” – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter

“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light.” – Frida Kahlo, 20th-century Mexican painter 

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. – Judy Garland, American actress

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life—and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” – Georgia O’Keeffe, painter often recognized as the “Mother of American modernism”

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life—and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” – Georgia O'Keeffe

“When I believe in something, I’m like a dog with a bone.” – Melissa McCarthy, American actress

“Buckle up, and know that it’s going to be a tremendous amount of work, but embrace it.” – Tory Burch, American fashion designer and businesswoman

“She does not know what the future holds, but she is grateful for slow and steady growth.” – Morgan Harper Nichols, American Christian musician, songwriter

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist

 “Done is better than perfect.” – Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Meta Platforms, first woman to serve on board of directors for Facebook

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie, Polish-French physicist

 “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” – Brené Brown, American research professor, lecturist, author

 “Beware of monotony; it’s the mother of all the deadly sins.” – Edith Wharton, American novelist

 “It’s not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it. Sometimes you’ve got to blast through and have faith.” – Emma Watson, English actress

“You can’t give up! If you give up, you’re like everybody else.” – Chris Evert, American tennis player

"You can't give up! If you give up, you're like everybody else." - Chris Evert

“Don’t ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn’t.” – Michelle Obama, attorney, author and former First Lady of the United States

“I found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in — even if it makes you vulnerable — amazing things can and will happen.” – Emma Watson, English actress

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron, American journalist, writer and filmmaker

“Dying seems less sad than having lived too little.” – Gloria Steinem, American feminist journalist and social political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement

“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” – Condoleezza Rice, American diplomat, political scientist, professor and first black woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State

“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” – Marge Piercy, American progressive activist and writer

“Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” Arianna Huffington, Greek-American author, syndicated columnist, and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of The Huffington Post

“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” – Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist, and civil rights activist

“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” – Simone de Beauvoir, French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist, socialist, and social theorist

“You’ve got to learn to accept the fool in you as well as the part that’s got it goin’ on.” –Tyra Banks, American model and TV personality

"You've got to learn to accept the fool in you as well as the part that's got it goin' on." -Tyra Banks

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” – J.K. Rowling, British novelist

 “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand, Russian-American writer and philosopher

“There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.” – Michelle Obama, attorney, author and former First Lady of the United States

“A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.” – Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

 “Be first and be lonely.” – Ginni Rometty, American business executive, first woman to head IBM

“If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of Liberia, first elected female head of state in Africa

 “Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.” – Jennifer Lopez, American singer

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist

I hope you enjoyed this list of self-confidence quotes. Which one is your favorite? How do you use them in your life? Let me know in the comments.

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