Viola Davis Quotes

You find people in your life who love you, They give you permission to be able to love yourself. That permission was life-changing for Davis. When you are in the face of compassion and empathy, it's amazing how it kills shame, Because you're seen for something way for valuable than your circumstance.

They say the two most important days in a person's life were the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born.

You can either leave something for people or you can leave something in people

All dreams are within reach. All you have to do is keep moving towards them

Memories are immortal. They’re deathless and precise. They have the power of giving you joy and perspective in hard times. Or, they can strangle you. Define you in a way that’s based more in other people’s tucked-up perceptions than truth.

.“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is an opportunity.”

Everybody needs a parent. Everyone needs a guide, that proverbial lamp that is going to take you down darkened paths and teach you something about navigating life, even though you know you're going to face some crap in life. Someone to show you how to do what they did.

At the end of the day, nobody can tell you how to tackle failure or how to handle change. The world is very good at encouraging you to go along with the status quo and at basking in your successes.

The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.

I will not be a mystery to my daughter. She will know me and I will share my stories with her—the stories of failure, shame and accomplishment. She will know she's not alone in that wilderness.

I was trying to fit in, stifling my voice, stifling who I was, in order to be seen as pretty, in order for people to like me. And then going home, not being able to sleep and having anxiety. I have found that the labelling of me, and having to fit into that box, has cost me a great deal. I’ve had a lot of lost years.

They say to serve is to love. I think to serve is to heal, too.

It’s only been recently that I can admit that I would jump in trash bins looking for food and I would steal from the corner store because I was hungry. I would fall asleep in school on a daily basis because we had nothing.

Just like we have to redefine strength, we have to redefine beauty. It's not even about beautiful, it's about being who you are. It's about being honest. It's about stepping into, 'This is how I am in private, this is how I look, this is how I act, this is my mess, this is my strength, this is my beauty, this is my intelligence,' and then putting it out there that this is who I am.

Critics absolutely serve no purpose.