8 Inspiring Quotes from Women Who Dared Greatly

A quick glance at the latest mainstream magazines to hit the newsstands, Shape, Vogue, and New York Magazine, to name a few, and you can’t help but notice–there’s a new group of trailblazers breaking the rules and carving out their own lanes for success.

[Related: Women Making History: Two Female Soldiers to Graduate from Army Ranger School]

Check out 8 inspirational quotes from women who dared to succeed.

Serena Williams, Tennis Player & 2015 Wimbledon Champion
“”I don’t dwell in the past. If I do, I’ll be swallowed up by negativity. As Mandela once said, ‘I will be in a mental prison.’ ” -Serena Williams serving #lifegoals for #nymag

Lupita Nyonga, Actress
“You can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t feed you… Beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something I just had to be. You can’t rely on how you look to sustain you, what is fundamentally beautiful, is compassion–for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty inflames the heart and enchants the soul.”

Erykah Badu, Singer-Songwriter
“The wise woman knows instinctually that in order to truly realize herself she must be still. She must give up things that

no longer evolve her by first identifying what they are. She realizes that the ultimate human JOY we seek can only be found in the full acceptance of who we really are and not in the avatars we’ve created to define ourselves. When she is fully present and can see her true self clearly, she realizes that the very need for JOY dissolves along with the need to resist pain. She replaces them with humility, for she now trusts the natural flow of life. She becomes one with the all.” Essence Magazine

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

Courtney Kemp Agboh,”Power” Creator and Executive Producer
“We have this weird Instagramy culture where you can become famous for not doing very much, [but] it doesn’t work like that,” she said. “If you wanna be your own boss, you gotta work your way up–have the skills.”

Taraji P. Henson, Actress
“It’s up to you to be responsible for how you feel if you’re not happy. Your happiness lies in your hands. You can’t rely on a man to make you happy or complete you. That starts with you.”

Cipriana Quann, Contributor, Co-founder of EIC of Urban Bush Babes
“I think one of the biggest struggles is when a woman is contemplating going natural but is still hesitant in expressing that change in fear of judgment from others. Over time you realize those who want to stifle any form or expression that is positive and harmless know no other way than to live a life of limitations and are only projecting their own fears and insecurities onto you.”

Janell Monae
“Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable.”