#Gratitude Sunday: Inspirational Quotes from Female Leaders

As Latina women, we all have a journey to walk, lives to attend to and challenges to navigate. Lets be inspired, passionate and generous with all of our gifts.

It was Thomas Edison who said ‘genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration’. Or did he? Influential American author and lecturer Kate Sanborn actually came up with the definition during one of her lectures on the subject ‘What is Genius?’. It was Sanborn who said that genius was a combination of inspiration and perspiration. She was initially ridiculed for offering such a simplistic definition of the term. Later, when asked to define ‘genius’, her contemporary–Edison – supposedly said that ‘2% is genius and 98% is hard work’. He also stated that genius was not inspired and inspiration was perspiration. His statements were shuffled by speakers and writers of the time to enshrine the famous quote we know of today.

In the spirit of Sanborn’s original definition that inspired Edison, here are some amazing life quotes from women of substance.

If you get, give. If you learn, teach

Food for Thought Friday

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. — Maya Angelou#HaveAHappyFriday #BNI44 #Networking #Business #BNI pic.twitter.com/1Xyh94bed5

— Bryant Partnership (@BryantPrtnershp) February 19, 2021

 We lost Maya Angelou this year, but her inspiring works and words will live on forever. This important lesson that Angelou has left us, originally came from one of her key influences in life – her grandmother. It was she who told a young Angelou that she was going to be a teacher and teach across the world. Indeed, Angelou was a well-traveled global speaker across the United States, England, Rome, Egypt and Israel.

Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward

https://twitter.com/rubycramer/status/782612615956729856?s=20

This message from Hillary Clinton, who became a grandma last month, was part of her 2008 campaign speech for then Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. It reinforces the positive attitude of moving forwards and onwards with confidence and grit regardless of how unhappy or painful our past has been. The quote is a good reminder to stay positive and focused on the future when a mistake from the past makes us feel pessimistic.

News: Malala Yousafzai is here w/ @AntonioGuterres; soon to be named Messenger of Peace to focus on girls’ education https://t.co/ME1FK9uOcX pic.twitter.com/rcQ4Ik1qka

— United Nations (@UN) April 10, 2017

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back 

One of the world’s most famous child activists and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, delivered this inspiring message during her first United Nations speech in July 2013. While she was speaking in the context of women’s rights, especially in countries where their voices are suppressed, the message can be applied to several situations. There may be one or many things holding us back : our fears, biases, mistakes from the past, beliefs….and more. It is ultimately up to us to address these factors and live a life we’ve always dreamed of.

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun

Katharine Hepburn – Life is to be lived…

“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around.”
-Katharine Hepburn

More Famous Quote… https://t.co/7GHNPiEWo1 pic.twitter.com/eNcFzFnoZn

— Dana Champions (@QChimps) August 14, 2019

This one’s from the feisty multiple Oscar winner Katharine Hepburn. Nobody can be a little Miss Perfect. Most of us can’t stand someone trying to be little Miss Perfect either. Hepburn’s message tells us that it’s okay to let loose and have some fun once in a while even it means breaking a rule or two.

Stay positive, stay inspired and remember to have fun!