U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is National Honorary President of Girl Scouts of the USAReuters
From first lady Michelle Obama to media icon Barbara Walters, numerous entertainers, activists, athletes and world leaders were once Girl Scouts.
According to the organization, 53 percent of the nation’s women business owners once participated in Girl Scouts. And with the example set by more than 59 million American alumnae, the organization continues to encourage, develop and enrich the next generation of female leaders. In celebration of the Girl Scouts' 102nd birthday on March 12, we’ve gathered 22 inspiring quotes from famous Girl Scouts.
1. "One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am." - Michelle Obama
2. "My purpose... to go on with my heart and soul, devoting all my energies to Girl Scouts, and heart and hand with them, we will make our lives and the lives of the future girls happy, healthy and holy." - Juliette Gordon Low
3. "Every moment wasted looking back, keeps us from moving forward…In this world and the world of tomorrow, we must go forward together or not at all." - Hillary Clinton
4. "Try to accomplish things you have always dreamt of while you can. I know it sounds cliche, but the biggest lesson I have learned is that life is precious; enjoy it while it lasts." - Lisa Ling
5. "You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, 'I'm proud of what I am and who I am, and I'm just going to be myself." - Mariah Carey
6. "I think that we need women role models everywhere. I think that it's really hard to imagine yourself as something that you don't see." - Chelsea Clinton
7. "Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do... but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does - that makes you a winner right there." - Venus Williams
8. "We should remember that just as a positive outlook on life can promote good health, so can everyday acts of kindness." - Hillary Clinton
9. "Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom." - Sandra Day O'Connor
10. "I think sometimes people project things on you, but I'm trying to handle everything that's happened to me with a certain amount of grace, dignity and good manners. You just can't necessarily win all the time." - Katie Couric
11. “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. Your really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” - Lucille Ball
A young Dakota Fanning (in green) poses with some of the Girl Scouts of the San Fernando Valley council as she arrives to a special screening of her Dreamworks' movie "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" in Burbank, California in September 2005. The special screening celebrated the actress' induction into the Girl Scouts of the USA.Reuters
12. "Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude." - Michelle Obama
13. "Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning." - Gloria Steinem
14. "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
15. "I fought all my life for women to make their own choices, in their personal and professional lives. I made mine." - Hillary Clinton
16. "Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave." - Mary Tyler Moore
17. "The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a shared vision. As long as we have books, we are not alone." - Laura Bush
18. “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” - Lucille Ball
19. "For whatever reason, I didn't succumb to the stereotype that science wasn't for girls. I got encouragement from my parents. I never ran into a teacher or a counselor who told me that science was for boys. A lot of my friends did." - Sally Ride
20. "We don't accomplish anything in this world alone... and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weavings of individual threads form one to another that creates something." - Sandra Day O'Connor
21. "My ambition is to enjoy my life and to do exactly what I want to do. And I'll do that. I will be free." - Venus Williams
22. "And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us--no matter what our age or background or walk of life--each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation." - Michelle Obama
