20 motivational quotes by inspiring women

It’s the week of the ASCD Empower conference, and my excitement is growing for several reasons. I’ve never been to California, and I'm thrilled to be spending the day at Disneyland with my friend Debbie Campbell. Many of my Twitter friends I’ve never met in person, and I can’t wait to hang out with them while we learn at the ASCD Conference! 

Another reason I’m excited about attending the conference is that I will be presenting Leadership is a Team Sport with several ladies from our Women in Education Leadership Voxer group. Who would have thought that when I started this group almost three years ago that we would have grown into the close-knit group that we have become today. We are a group of committed leaders who support, encourage, challenge, and inspire each other on a daily basis.



In honor of the upcoming ASCD presentation and our Women in Ed Leadership Voxer group, I’m sharing 20 motivational quotes with you today. Whatever your role -- leader, innovator, trailblazer, disruptor -- I hope you find inspiration!

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

2. “You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.” - Leymah Gbowee

3. “’Restore connection’ is not just for devices, it is for people too. If we cannot disconnect, we cannot lead. Creating the culture of burnout is opposite to creating a culture of sustainable creativity. This is something that needs to be taught in business schools. This mentality needs to be introduced as a leadership and performance-enhancing tool.” -- Arianna Huffington

4. “I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” - Louise Hay

5. “My father had a simple test that helps me measure my own leadership quotient: When you are out of the office, he once asked me, does your staff carry on remarkable well without you?” -- Martha Peak

6. "Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you." – Caroline Myss.

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

8. “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” -- Dolly Parton

9. “You can’t give up! If you give up, you’re like everybody else.” - Chris Evert

10. “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” -- Eleanor Roosevelt

11. "True leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed... Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection." -- Sheryl Sandberg

12. “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

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

14. “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

15. "I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." – Diane Ackerman

16. "Getting past those labels, for me, pretty much really easy because I define myself." -- Serena Williams

17. “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.” - Maya Angelou

18. "The most effective way to do it, is to do it." – Amelia Earhart

19. “Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.” - Brene Brown

20. “Do not wait on a leader...look in the mirror, its you!” -- Katherine Miracle

If you're going to be at ASCD Empower, I hope you will join us for our session! If not, you can follow the conference on twitter at #Empower17.