7 Motivating and Encouraging Quotes by Female Celebrities ...

1. Make a Choice

"Never compromise yourself, it is all you got." I personally love this; it's one of my very favorite quotes by female celebrities, spoken by Janis Joplin, the singer-songwriter from the 1960s that overdosed on heroin. It is a simple saying about choice, but one that I think rings true for a lot of women. Basically, I take it to mean that we should choose to live our own lives, set by our own internal standards, while at the same time, not giving in to others’ wishes or desires. I know it might sound a little bit selfish, but make a choice to live your own life. We are all here to walk our own path. The meaning of life is to find our gift and then the purpose of life is to give that gift away. If we are living out someone else's dreams or desires, then we are not being true to ourselves and our own unique path.

2. Laughter

"I weep a lot. I thank God I laugh a lot, too. The main thing in one’s own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry." Who doesn’t love Maya Angelou and the host of encouraging quotes she has written over the course of her lifetime? To me, this quote is about laughter; after all, laughter is pretty healing and it is infectious too! Whenever I hear someone else laughing, it definitely brings a smile to my face. People that laugh easily don’t necessarily have fewer troubles, they just somehow have more of a lighthearted attitude that enables them to laugh at their own mistakes, as well as the trials and tribulations of their own lives.

3. No Limitations

"I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try." I think we are all guilty of being hard on ourselves when something doesn’t go the way we wanted it to. This is the case for me when I make a life-changing decision that doesn’t turn out the way I expected it to. Life is too short, however, to be wondering about the ‘I-could-have-beens,’ as Nikki Giovanni says; instead get out there and give whatever it is you're thinking about doing a try. If it doesn’t pan out, you know that you gave it a shot, you learned a lesson, and most importantly you gave yourself a chance! There can also be a sense of freedom when we know our own limitations in life.

4. Don't Wait for Success to Come

"You can’t just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream. You’ve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself." There are those times when I wish a miracle would happen or when I’ve been trying so hard to manifest something in my life and all my efforts lead nowhere. Then I read quotes such as this one from Diana Ross, and it reminds me that I am the architect of my life and that I have to keep putting in the extra effort every single day, in order to achieve my goals, dreams and the life I want. In other words, don’t wait for the perfect moment, go out there, take the moment and make it perfect! Make life work for you and live it as if everything is rigged in your favor.

5. Motivation

"Whenever I feel bad, I use that feeling to motivate me to work harder. I only allow myself one day to feel sorry for myself." This is such a great quote and what an inspirational role model Beyoncé is. Since reading this quote, I now emulate the one-day of feeling sorry for myself in my life, too. Whenever I get sad about my personal progress in life, I sometimes get attached to my thoughts, which can then spiral out of control and I wind up falling into that 'self-pity' mode. This quote, however, is great for lifting me out of that space and helps me to align myself with more positive thoughts and my higher self.

6. Perseverance

"We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough." These words come from Helen Keller’s personal experience. She became both deaf and blind when less than 2 years old and learned to communicate, despite the enormous odds against her. She was also the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. This isn’t to say that on our life’s journey we won’t feel tired, frustrated or down; these feelings are all perfectly normal. It is however at these moments, that we need to call upon our own femininity and graciousness to keep us going. We might have to slow down, take a few steps backwards in order to move forwards, but we must continue to persevere as perseverance pays off.

7. Be a Strong Woman

"A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult." This quote by Bill Gates’ wife Melinda is definitely true. It can take time to find your own voice, to speak up for yourself and to know what you truly believe in. This thing called life isn’t always easy, but somehow knowing that others have gone before us and that they too have found their own voice, somehow makes life seem a little easier.

I think it is great to know that these female celebrities also have bad days, negative feelings about themselves and are just as human as you and I. Knowing that they’ve dug deep within themselves to provide us these personal quotes certainly makes me think so. What are some motivational quotes that you’ve seen or read by female celebrities and which ones resonate for you?