30 Ambitious Women Quotes From Inspiring Women to Ignite Your Ambition

Ambition is a strong desire to do or achieve something. You are determined to achieve success against all odds. Here are powerful ambitious women quotes that will inspire you on your journey, whether you want to become a female entrepreneur, make an impact, or empower others. 

Ambition hedges on a few factors like your personality traits and environment. Ambition is what drives progress and change. And you can become more ambitious by listening to ambitious people’s motivational words. 

These ambitious quotes for women are by influential women – from female leaders to Nobel Peace Prize winners, female Olympians, and future female presidents. 

And they can help you to think big, be confident, and can fuel your ambition

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30 Inspiring Ambitious Women Quotes

6 Ambitious Women Quotes from Fearless Leaders and Thought Leaders 

1. “There’s one thing that is guaranteed to increase your feelings of control over your life: a bias toward action.” – Mel Robbins

2.  “Living BIG (boundaries, integrity, and generosity).” – Brené Brown

3. “Choose courage over comfort.” – Brené Brown

Discover More Dare to Lead Quotes by Brené Brown.

4. “I won’t just have a job; I’ll have a calling. I’ll challenge myself every day. When I get knocked down, I’ll get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest.” – Angela Duckworth

5 “You can’t ask other people to believe you and vote for you if you don’t back yourself.” – Jacinda Ardern

6. “No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body. When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.” – Kamala Harris

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6 Ambitious Women Quotes from Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs 

Image credit: TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2018 – Day 2 by TechCrunch is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

1. “Everything I’ve Achieved Has Come From Perseverance.” – Reshma Saujani 

2. “Look at what is broken in society, figure out how to make it better, and then, around that, formulate a business.” – Whitney Wolfe Herd

3. “Ultimately, I didn’t quite find the company I wanted to join, but I met more than 100 entrepreneurs and realized that all these entrepreneurs were just as unqualified as I was. If I wanted to be this retailer of the future, or if I wanted to join the retailer of the future, I could just start it.” – Katrina Lake

4. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling

5. ”We need to get women to the point where they aren’t apologizing.  It’s time to take ownership in our success.” – Tory Burch

6. “The foundation of success is knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.” – Arianna Huffington

10 Ambitious Women Quotes from Powerful Sportswomen and Celebs

1. “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” – Beyoncé

2. “I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals and try to ignore the rest.” –  Venus Williams

3. “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

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

5. “If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change.” —Taylor Swift

6. I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.” – Tracee Ellis Ross

7. ”There’s something special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world.  It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” – Rihanna

8. “Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is everything that is inside of you.” – Viola Davis

9. “It’s important to teach our female youth that it’s OK to say, ‘Yes, I am good at this,’ and you don’t hold back.” – Simone Biles

10.  “There’s nothing wrong with being driven. And there’s nothing wrong with putting yourself first to reach your goals.” — Shonda Rhimes

8 Ambitious Women Quotes from Philanthropists and Women of Impact

1. “I raise up my own voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.  We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai

2. “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe.” – Oprah Winfrey

3. ”We must raise both the ceiling and the floor.” – Sherly Sandberg

4. “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” – Sheryl Sanberg

5. “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” –  Malala Yousafzai

6. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama

7. “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” – Melinda Gates

8. “Maybe community creates courage. What if courage creates community? Maybe empathy creates courage. How can you express empathy towards others if you can’t empathize with your own self? Is the core of healing empathy and courage?” – Tarana Burke

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What You Need to Know About Ambitious Women 

Ambitious women are the go-getters, negotiating deals, being featured in Forbes’s lists, and leading fearlessly. What makes these ambitious women succeed, how do they get to the top, and what stops other women from following the same path?

What Are The Top Characteristics of Ambitious Women?

Here are the top characteristics of ambitious women.

1. Confidence 

Confidence is the foundation for thinking big and going after big, audacious goals.

Try These 15 Confidence Building Exercises 

2. Visionary Skills

Ambitious women have a sense of direction and purpose. They are forward-thinking and can see the big picture. 

Find out about Top Female Entrepreneur and Bold BusinessWomen, Loes Daniels.

3. Resilience

Women who adapt to changing circumstances and continue in the face of adversity are more likely to succeed in the long run.

Recommended Reading: The Top 5 Characteristics of Ambitious Women Revealed

Examples of Ambitious Women

Luckily today there is no shortage of ambitious and inspiring women from pop icons making billions to unstoppable female athletes and female entrepreneurs inspiring and empowering others. Here are some of the most ambitious (and successful) women today. 

Taylor Swift 

She is one of the most influential and ambitious women of the decade. Taylor Swift’s net worth is approximately 1.3 billion USD. She is the highest-grossing female touring artist of all time and in 2023,  was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Recommended Reading: 10 Unforgettable Business and Life Lessons From Taylor Swift

Simon Biles 

Simon Biles has become the most decorated female gymnast and has become one of the most famous female Olympians. Biles said in an interview with CNBC, “I worked on myself a lot, I still do therapy weekly, and it’s just been so exciting to come out here and have the confidence I had before.”

Here Are 9 Unstoppable Female Olympians in 2024

Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg is an iconic leader in tech. She worked at Google as a sales executive and most notably, was instrumental as the COO of Facebook. She is known for writing one of the best business books for women, Lean In. Sheryl encourages women to lean in and be ambitious. 

Sara Blakely

Sara is the founder of Spanx, an undergarment company for women. From a fax machine salesperson to one of the most popular female entrepreneurs, her story is remarkable. Sara is now one of the most successful female entrepreneurs, a passionate philanthropist, and a bit of a celebrity herself – known for her motivational messages, authenticity, and reliability.

Rihanna 

In 2022, Rihanna became the youngest female billionaire in the world and the richest female musician. She reached this status after starting her beauty brand, Fenty. She isn’t afraid of risks, gets bored easily, and likes to keep moving. 

Recommended Reading: Inspiring Women in Business And Their Net Worth

How Can You Be an Ambitious Woman? 

If you feel inspired by reading these ambitious women’s quotes and learning about iconic women, you may wonder how to be ambitious. 

Here are some steps you can take:

1. Define Your Definition of Success

3. Set Goals

4. Make a Career Vision Board That Will Motivate You Daily

What Next? 

After reading these ambitious women quotes we hope you feel inspired and empowered to think big and take action. We will leave you with this quote: 

“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” – Sheryl Sanberg

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