Exactly eighty years after her mysterious disappearance while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart continues to hold a mythic place in the popular imagination. The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Earhart's legendary feats are the very emblem of courage -- and of a woman who refused to let fears and adversity ground her dreams.
In an age where the skies, both literally and figuratively, were considered the domain of men, Earhart set record after record on her drive to show that women could aspire to all the same heights. In 1923, at the age of 26, Earhart became only the 16th woman in the world to be issued a pilot's license. Five years later, she skyrocketed to fame after becoming the first woman to fly over the Atlantic, as well as the first person to fly over both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Amelia Earhart flew against prevailing mentalities too, and believed passionately in the capacity of women to be as fearless as men in chasing their dreams and making their own way in the world. As an author, lecturer, poet, and airline industry vice-president, Earhart transformed her hobby into a career, while consistently flouting the conventions of the day that dictated the appropriate roles and behaviors of women.
Earhart perished doing what she loved. And while the exact circumstances of her disappearance and death have remained a mystery to this day, what's certain is that she spent her life pursuing her dreams, and serving as a powerful role model for girls and women to do the same.
Here are our Top 18 Amelia Earhart Quotes to Inspire You to Soar.
Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?
Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.
Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.
There's more to life than being a passenger.
Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.
Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible.
Preparation, I have often said, is rightly two-thirds of any venture.
The most effective way to do it, is to do it.
Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.
The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one's appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.
The woman who can create her own job is the woman who will win fame and fortune.
Adventure is worthwhile in itself.
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves.
I believe that a girl should not do what she thinks she should do, but should find out through experience what she wants to do.
Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying.
Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.
No borders, just horizons - only freedom.
