17 Empowering Female CEO quotes and their stories that will change your view of life

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Even the most positive person in the room will have his or her rough days. Here is a collection of short inspirational quotes with a short bio from top female CEOs, top-noted professionals, industry pioneers and leaders around the world that will fuel your day with motivation. Most of them have to overcome steep obstacles including poverty, chronic health conditions, and disabilities. If they can overcome, persist and THRIVE in life, SO CAN YOU! When you stop believing in yourself, remember these:

“You are the designer of your destiny; you are the author of your story.”

― Lisa Nichols, Founder & CEO of Motivating the Masses, is a self-made millionaire (who is also a single-mom) and one of only two African American female founders to take her own company public.

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it.”

― Helen Killer, world-renowned author. Not exactly a female entrepreneur in the conventional sense, the world-famous American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer who lost her sight and hearing when she was only 19 months old, Helen Keller, has become the source of inspiration for business owners round the globe

When you are plagued with self-doubt and think you are too much and too emotional, read this:

“I cry at anything remotely touching – smile at me warmly and I’m off… television also does it, everything from ‘X-Factor’ to cereal commercials. I cry when I am tired. I also cry when I laugh.”

― Natalie Massenet, Founder & CEO of Net-a-Porter, turned a profit for her business in 4 short years despite the “dotcom” bubble burst in 2000 where she found her company and all advisers promised failure in her business model.

“Be creative, not perfect.”

— Whitney Wolfe, Founder & CEO, Bumble. Prior to starting Bumble, Wolfe filed for a sexual harassment and discrimination suit against the company and her fellow executives for Tinder, where she a co-founder and marketing VP. In 2021, Wolfe Herd became the youngest female founder in history to take a company public.

When you are bogged down by failure, and think you can never stand up again:

“To be successful you need to go through a lot of collateral damages and have strength to power through that”

― Indra Nooyi, first female CEO, Pepsico. In a time where Indian girls were taught only enough to get them married, Indra is a thought leader and pioneer in her culture to openly speak about having a career clock over the biological clock. Her candor is one of her signatures when she spoke of the trade-off women had to make for career.

“My dad encouraged us to fail growing up. He would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome — failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.”

―  Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx. Sara invented Spanx in the late 1990s despite having no fashion, retail, or business leadership experience

“You are not what happened to you, you are what you chose to become after what happened to you.“

― Selena Gomez, celebrity musician, founder of “Rare Beauty” and multiple other ventures, suffered from a serious case of Lupus disease, causing her a kidney transplant surgery in 2017.

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

― Virginia Rometty, first CEO of IBM to crush the glass ceiling and became the first woman to lead the world-renowned company

“I don’t believe in failure. It is not a failure if you enjoyed the process.”

―  Oprah Winfrey, media mogul, who lived in poverty and suffered abuse for years growing up, and overcome countless obstacles to become who she is today at a net-worth of $US3.5 billion

More advices and motivation from these influential female world leaders and lady bosses for an extra motivation and confidence boost:

“The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it.”

— Debbi Fields, Founder, Mrs. Fields Cookies. Debbi is the excellent example of “you can get whenever you want as long as you are determined” with her example of building her cookie empire from scratch. Growing up in poverty, Debbi believed firmly that “true wealth was found in family, friends, and doing what you love”.

“When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.”

― Queen Elizabeth II, more than a CEO of business, but of the entire Windsor House “brand”, is the long-living female leader of a nation for close to a century

“Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally.  It comes from what you do consistently.” 

— Marie Forleo, Founder of her 7-figure coaching business of the same name, author. Forleo quitted her job in Wall Street only 6 months in joining and been bouncing from one job to another before she found her current business

“You could certainly say that I’ve never underestimated myself, there’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.” 

― Angela Merkel, first female chancellor of Germany gave a good piece of advice for those who fall victim of imposter syndrome!

“Every time we got a knock back and understood why people wouldn’t invest, we changed and revised our pitch. Failure was never an option.”

— Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO, Canva. In the gender-imbalanced tech and startup industry, Melanie once said,“Rejection hurts, a lot, but failure was never an option”. It’s her grit that recently took her company to a valuation of $40 billion and is also the world’s largest female-founded and woman-led startup On a lighter note, to wrap up the article:

“Delete the negative; accentuate the positive.”

— Donna Karan, American fashion designer, Creator of the brands Donna Karen & DKNY

Life is like the monkey bars: you have to let go to move forward.

― Leah Busque, CEO, and founder of TaskRabbit With these selections of empowering quotes from female CEO, founders, and moguls in different industries including wellness, media, politics, fashion, tech startups, we hope to inspire you with quotes and stories that no obstacles are too big to be overcome and there is NO fixed path to success. Take a break, reset and keep going at your own pace.