If you ask someone to name the most powerful people in the world, there’s a good chance that list will be dominated by men: Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Pope Francis, as well as other rich businessmen and important world leaders. But what about the women? These motivational quotes from businesswomen, actresses, singers, authors, politicians, and more will help you realize that women really can do it all — and so can you.

“I am always busy, which is perhaps the chief reason why I am always well.” — Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody’s passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn’t mind leading.” — Amy Poehler

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

“I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger.” — Mia Hamm

“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

“A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.” — Madonna

“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” — Susan B. Anthony

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” — Rosalynn Carter

“I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” — Ginni Rometty

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

“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

“Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” — Rosa Parks

“Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

“My best successes came on the heels of failures.” — Barbara Corcoran

“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” — Marie Curie

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

“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

“If you’re not making some notable mistakes along the way, you’re certainly not taking enough business and career chances.” — Sallie Krawcheck

“No matter how difficult and painful it may be, nothing sounds as good to the soul as the truth.” — Martha Beck

“Done is better than perfect.” — Sheryl Sandberg

“The challenge is not to be perfect … it’s to be whole.” — Jane Fonda

“Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.” — Hillary Clinton

“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

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” — J.K Rowling

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

“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

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

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

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

“Women asking for raises should not only know their value, but they should ask with the confidence that they’re helping the company to be successful.” — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

“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

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

“A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.” — Sonia Sotomayor

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” — Lucille Ball

“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” — Dolly Parton

“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

“Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” — Oprah Winfrey

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

“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” — Condoleezza Rice

“One of the secrets to staying young is to always do things you don’t know how to do, to keep learning.” — Ruth Reichl

“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” — Marge Piercy

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper.” — Julia Child

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” — Coco Chanel

“There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” — Indira Gandhi

“This journey has always been about reaching your own other shore no matter what it is, and that dream continues.” — Diana Nyad

“When you’re through changing, you’re through.” — Martha Stewart

“You have trust in what you think. If you splinter yourself and try to please everyone, you can’t.” — Annie Leibovitz

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

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” — Nora Ephron