Quotes from female leaders

The climb to the top can be tough going - for anyone.

But as women, there are particular hurdles that can make the journey upward toward positions of power and influence - in myriad spheres - especially challenging.

Here, in 50 inspiring quotes, businesswomen, role models, activists, entertainers, authors, politicians and more share their thoughts on leadership and success - and what exactly those mean to them.

Whether we're forging our own paths or following in the footsteps of those who've gone ahead, these trailblazers, innovators, explorers and disrupters can encourage, motivate and push us to reach new heights - in business and in life.

1. “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, former First Lady
2. “’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, Huffington Post
3. “The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.” - Faye Wattleton, Alvarez & Marsal
4. "Strategic leaders must not get consumed by the operational and tactical side of their work. They have a duty to find time to shape the future." - Stephanie S. Mead, CMOE
5. “The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first.” - Iyanla Vanzant, speaker
6. “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, singer-songwriter
7. “There are two kinds of stones, as everyone knows, one of which rolls.” - Amelia Earhart, aviator
8. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” - Estée Lauder,
9. “We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.” - Queen Victoria, Former Queen of the United Kingdom
10. “Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” - Mary D. Poole
11. “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, AMA magazines
12. “We treat our people like royalty. If you honor and serve the people who work for you, they will honor and serve you.” - Mary Kay Ash,
13. "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." - Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady
14. “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” - Helen Keller, author
15. “My best successes came on the heels of failures.” - Barbara Corcoran, businesswoman
16. “I wake up every morning and think to myself, ‘How far can I push the company forward in the next 24 hours?’” - Leah Busque, TaskRabbit
17. “Surround yourself with a trusted and loyal team. It makes all the difference.” - Alison Pincus,
18. “As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.” - Himanshu Bhatia, Rose International Inc.
19. “Don’t waste a single second. Just move forward as fast as you can, and go for it.” - Rebecca Woodcock, Cake Health
20. “You manage things; you lead people.” - Grace Murray Hopper, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral
21. “I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t.” - Dee Dee Myers, former White House Press Secretary
22. “Good leaders organize and align people around what the team needs to do. Great leaders motivate and inspire people with why they’re doing it. That’s purpose. And that’s the key to achieving something truly transformational.” - Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin
23. “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, actress
24. “Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.” - Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator
25. “Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical and performance-oriented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed… Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook
26. “Professional intellectuals are the voice of a culture and are, therefore, its leaders, its integrators and its bodyguards.” - Ayn Rand, novelist
27. “True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.” - Sheri L. Dew, author
28. “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” - Mother Teresa, religious sister
29. “Is there a better quality in a leader than humility when he might soon be granted enormous power to do good for his country and the world - or harm?” - Jane Fletcher Geniesse, author
30. “Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.” - Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo
31. "We're here for a reason. I believe...