Unfortunately, we live in a society that empowers some people and disempowers others, creating a sense of inequality and injustice. However, regardless of your background, gender, ethnicity, or personality, you deserve to take up space and the world and shouldn’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
In a world that wants to keep us small, we have to empower others. Self-empowerment will give you the confidence to go after your dreams, challenge the status quo and rise against inequality.
You can do many things today to start to empower yourself, such as using positive affirmations and taking care of yourself with nourishing practices like yoga and meditation. Joining a support group is also highly beneficial, as it allows you to connect to a like-minded community that will cheer you on every step of the way.
Another way to tap into your inner fire is by reading empowering quotes and sayings from those who have dared to lead. To show you that despite what society may say, you can achieve anything you want, we’ve handpicked the best empowering quotes ever said. Read through this list when you’re feeling disheartened and feel the fire ignite within you.
1. “Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller
2. “Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want and to do what makes you happy. That’s my life motto.” – Demi Lovato
3. “Men often ask me, ‘Why are your female characters so paranoid?’ It’s not paranoia. It’s recognition of their situation.” – Margaret Atwood
4. “Believe in your infinite potential. Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself.” – Roy T. Bennett
5. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
6. “Do something wonderful, people may imitate it.” – Albert Schweitzer
7. “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
8. “Be happy for this moment. This moment in your life.” – Omar Khayyam
9. “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie
10. “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” – Maya Angelou
11. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou
12. “I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story—I will.” – Amy Schumer
13. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
14. “More and more women are realizing that only collective strength and action will allow us to be free to fight for the kind of society that meets basic human needs.” – Roxanne Dunbar
15. “In my opinion, the most exciting potential of women of color formations resides in the possibility of politicizing this identity—basing the identity on politics rather than the politics on identity.” – Angela Davis
16. “Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.” – Edwin Markham
17. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
18. “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” – J.K. Rowling
19. “If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas Edison
20. “No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body. When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.” – Kamala Harris
21. “There is a stubbornness about me that can never bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” – Jane Austen
22. “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” – Beyoncé
23. “Make yourself proud.” – Peter W. Smith
24. “”I want to build a community where women of all races can communicate and … continue to support and take care of each other. I want to give women a space to feel their own strength and tell their stories. That is power.”” – Beyoncé
25. “I am no bird, and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – Charlotte Brontë
26. “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” – Charlotte Brontë
27. “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
28. “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
29. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
30. “I don’t think about beauty. I wake up and I want to be a smarter person, that’s my focus. … I’m encouraging certainly my girls that if they can make their inside and who they are really, really stunning then everything falls together.” – Angelina Jolie
31. “Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you’ll see them all around you.” – Jon Bon Jovi
32. “Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden
33. “Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” – Toni Morrison
34. “I’m learning how to drown out the constant noise that is such an inseparable part of my life. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. (And) I run my world.” – Beyoncé
35. “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.” – Malala Yousafzai
36. “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
37. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
38. “My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again.” – Richard Branson
39. “You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” – Rumi
40. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
41. “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel
42. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
43. “Success, they taught me, is built on the foundation of courage, hard work, and individual responsibility. Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fears.” – Susana Martinez
44. “She is free in her wildness; she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. ‘Time’ for her isn’t something to fight against. Her life flows clean, with passion, like fresh water.” – Roman Payne
45. “There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” – Rihanna
46. “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 through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” – Marissa Mayer
47. “Whether I am meant to or not, I challenge assumptions about women. I do make some people uncomfortable, which I’m well aware of, but that’s just part of coming to grips with what I believe is still one of the most important pieces of unfinished business in human history—empowering women to be able to stand up for themselves.” – Hillary Clinton
48. “Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” – Steve Maraboli
49. “My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” – Maya Angelou
50. “You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” – Stephen King
How did you find these empowering quotes? Which ones resonate most with you? Memorize your favorites so that you can have them on repeat in your mind. Better still, turn them into positive affirmations and say them to yourself every day. Share these empowering quotes with your friends, too, so that we can all rise together.
It may take some time until you feel genuinely self-empowered but keep at it. Make the commitment to yourself, honoring your worth. Practice saying no and standing up for yourself. It will feel challenging at first, but the more you do it, the more authoritative you will start to feel.
