Life Advice Every 20-Something Should Live By

I moved to New York without a concrete plan, much less a job. And during that confusing, ungrounded multi-year quest to land somewhere permanent and in the field I wanted to be in, I often turned to quotes. When I needed courage, inspired by both Wild and Simon and Garfunkel, I wrote a lyric from one of their songs on a Post-It note: "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail." I would repeat that to myself before I met with my boss or sent a follow-up email on a job posting.

Later, when I was in the final rounds for a job at Refinery29 that I just wanted so badly, I reminded myself of a Beyoncé quote over and over again: "You could actually work super hard and give everything you have and lose."

I've always had a love-hate relationship with quotes. Repeated too much, they can become trite and meaningless. Though, the right quote can provide you with comfort and motivation — and light that proverbial fire under your ass. And those quotes — and many others — truly did that for me (and still do).

We've rounded up 15 quotes from amazing women that do just that. Pin or print your favorites, and hopefully they can provide the inspiration you need that pushes you to take the next big step.