Lizzie Armitstead Quotes

I had very supportive parents that made the way for me, even at a time when there were very few women - no women, really; maybe two or three women - and very few, fewer than that, African-American women heading in this direction, so there were very few people to look up to. You just had to have faith.

I haven't accepted anyone telling me what is or isn't possible and have just kept moving along toward my goals.

For me, I grew up doing kiteboarding where no girls are doing it, and you had to prove yourself. You just had to know that you could do it, too. It's the mentality you had to have to make it. I work hard like anyone else.

I'm a doer and I just want to do it. Whatever attitudes, prejudices, stereotypical ideas that are in front of me, I will break them. But the only way I can break them is by getting a job, and if I need to start in the gutter, I will start in the gutter and work my way up. Money isn't an issue.

When people doubt me, I want to prove them wrong.

Work hard, do the best you can, don't ever lose faith in yourself and take no notice of what other people say about you.

I train so hard to make sure failure doesn't happen. If I do everything I can, and run as fast as I possibly can and someone still beats me, I don't think of that as failure.

I truly believe that a woman can have anything she wants - if she's willing to do the hard work it takes to get it.

Work hard for what you want because it won't come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.

You can do anything if you set goals. You just have to push yourself.

I came from such a simple origin, without any great privilege, and I would say I also wanted to make a mark. It wasn't until I was about 15 that I appeared in a race.

Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail their failure must be but a challenge to others.

When I was young, a lot of things were closed off to me. I was always told, 'Don't do this, you can't do that' - instead of stopping me, it made me think, 'I can do that, I must do that.'

I never thought I was breaking a glass ceiling. I just had to do what I had to do, and it never occurred to me not to.

People have challenged me all my life, told me I wasn't fast enough, wasn't smart enough, but you know what? No one's ever outworked me. My definition of tired and most people's definition of tired are two totally different things.

It's a lot about the individual and it's really up to you, how much you dedicate to the fight and how hard you are working and that's where the outcome will come.

If you're a woman, just make a freaking good movie. I don't believe in the women who say, 'It's too hard, I'm getting shot down.'

If you dedicate yourself to something, you can achieve it. It's simple, but it's true, and your age is just an excuse.

If there's specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.

My mother wanted to be a teacher when she was young, and my father didn't approve of it, so she fought very hard to become one. And she did it. So when I said I wanted to become an actress, my mother was very supportive. She always said to me, 'There's no such thing as 'can't.'

There's that talent thing where I can score goals, and there's also that want and ambition to keep doing it and doing it and doing it. I've seen a lot of players do it for a year and then they rest on their laurels, but I've been very driven throughout my career. Without being the most talented, I think I've tried to make the most of it.

If America had a motto, it would be pull yourself up by the bootstraps, work harder than the next guy, have a goal and achieve it.

Anything is possible. My background is a bad background, but a lot of people said I couldn't do it. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.

I knew I'd get an opportunity, and it's up to me to make the most of it whether I got drafted or not. If you can play, you'll get to play, regardless of that.

That is a message I hope to send and that I know all the other women hope to send: that no matter what your job is or what you want to achieve in life, anything you set your mind to, you can do.