What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Recorded Eleanor Roosevelt said elsewhere, not written here
Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.

You Learn by Living (1960), Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, The George Washington University, 1960 source ↗

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Grace Hopper United States Navy rear admiral; computer scientist; co-designer of COBOL
Always remember that it's much easier to apologize than to get permission. In this world of computers, the best thing to do is to do it.
Recorded Lake Forest College, Chicago Tribune, 9 December 1982 (via Quote Investigator), 9 December 1982 source ↗
Tony Fadell Engineer and designer; led the iPod and iPhone teams at Apple, founder of Nest Labs
Learn by doing, not learn first, then do. The way you discover what it is you like to do in life is by doing first, then learning about it.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, 5 February 2016 source ↗
Willem Kolff Physician and inventor; builder of the first practical artificial kidney
By the way, the guys with very high grades are not necessarily the people that are the most successful in later life. They may be the ones that can regurgitate gracefully, and they get very high grades. But if the guys that have to work for it and do not have such good grades can do something extra, and prove that they can perform, they may have a chance.
Recorded Academy of Achievement recorded interview, American Academy of Achievement source ↗

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Question What is the most overrated virtue? Values & belief
Tolerance ought only to be a preliminary step which allows us to get to know other people, and which prevents us from setting up bars, just because they may be of a different race or religion. The real value of any relationship is the fact that we learn to like people in spite of our differences.
Recorded 'My Day' syndicated newspaper column, Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, The George Washington University, 24 November 1943 source ↗
Question What is something everyone in your world agrees about that you think is wrong? Values & belief
Our trouble is that we do not demand enough of the people who represent us. We are responsible for their activities… we must spur them to more imagination and enterprise in making a push into the unknown; we must make clear that we intend to have responsible and courageous leadership.
Recorded Tomorrow is Now, published posthumously, Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, The George Washington University, 1963 source ↗

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Leymah Gbowee, John Lewis, Benazir Bhutto, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Winston Churchill

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