• >
• Web Exclusive

Twelve Women, 12 Inspirational Quotes

We rounded up some of the most inspirational quotes from our 2015 cover women.

Web Exclusive

Coco Chanel once wisely said, “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” Our 2015 cover women were personifications of Chanel’s wisdom. From businesswomen and creatives to mothers and entrepreneurs, the Austin Woman cover women embody empowerment and diversity. To wrap up the year, we collected some of their most inspiring quotes. (To read each of their stories in more depth, head over to our Archives.)

 

January: Camila Alves

“When you are creating a business, it is a big commitment. The first question I ask myself is, ‘Do I love it?’ You can never succeed in something you aren’t passionate about.”

 

February: Natalie Madeira Cofield

“I wanted to be able to show young people around the country that you can achieve great things by taking on challenges. I knew I could make my career into whatever I wanted it to be; it all depended on what I invested in it. This gives me the opportunity to inspire other people. I’m hoping that millennials will look at me and say, ‘I can have an amazing career and do good in the community at the same time.’ ”

 

March: Christine Albert

“It takes a while to get your head around the lifestyle, about being an entrepreneur as well as an artist. But that was something I witnessed when I was a kid and it sunk in. At one point in high school, [my mother] was after me to get a fast-food job so I could get a taste of living in the real world. Music is an intense lifestyle with a lot of uncertainty, so I think she was trying to shield me, to some extent. But both my parents have helped me tremendously in navigating the waters of the music business. Mom was always there to tell me, ‘You’re not crazy. This is how it works.’ ”

 

April: Jan Ryan

“When you’re closer to nature, you recharge. That’s where I get my creative juices as an entrepreneur. You have to have that white space to recharge and think. ... When I’m in the city, I’m living an interrupted life. Here, I can literally spend hours with my 4-year-old granddaughter getting in the dirt, looking at wings of bugs and be just as happy as I can be. Discovering small pebbles, collecting flowers in a Mason jar, seeing things through her eyes: Those simple things are just delightful when you have a granddaughter.”

 

May: Anne Akiko Meyers

“We live every day to the absolute maximum. I don’t even know how much more could fit in one day.”

 

June: Isabella Rose Taylor

“Something I really believe in is that your greatest limitation is what you believe you can do. I’ve always dreamed big. My big, wild dream is to be a big, global lifestyle brand—because why not? I’ll dream as big as I can.”

 

July: Margaret Wittenberg

“I was the one that wanted to try unusual things and the others didn’t. … I’m one that needs to understand how a product is grown, how it’s raised, how it works—everything about it—because I’m curious.”

 

August: Jen Hatmaker

“Career? I never think of myself as a career woman first. I think of myself as a human being first.”

 

September: Andra Liemandt

“We’ve seen people from every walk of life stand in front of the mirror, and it has been amazing to realize how the struggles of women are so similar. We really are all connected and ultimately want to know we’re enough. Once we can actually see ourselves through the eyes of those who love us, we realize we are, in fact, enough.” 

 

October: Marcia Levy and Susan Lubin

“We always knew that we could do it. The thought didn’t occur to us that it wouldn’t work. People come on board if you are committed and passionate.” – Marcia Levy

 

November: Tracey Overbeck Stead

“Life is so hectic these days. We’re such a fast, here-and-now culture. I have clients that say, ‘I just want to come home and feel like I’m home.’ They always emphasize that word: home. As humans, we need a place where we go that’s ours, whether it’s an apartment, a trailer, a plane, a condo or a hotel room.”

 

December: Jessica Honegger

“I love connecting with women and people and cultures, and celebrating that we’re more alike than we are different. I enjoy creating opportunities for women here in America and in other countries to come into their own and walk past fear and perfectionism, and embrace who they are in the world. To be able to connect with these artisans and entrepreneurs that are going through similar journeys is definitely my joy.”

---