Defying the stereotypical expectations of women of her period and age, Amelia Earhart became the first female pilot that set many aviation records. In her honor, let’s enjoy some of the most memorable Amelia Earhart quotes!
10 Best Amelia Earhart Quotes
1. “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” ― Amelia Earhart
2. “Never interrupt someone doing something you said couldn’t be done.” ― Amelia Earhart
3. “The most effective way to do it is to do it.” ― Amelia Earhart
4. “…decide…whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying….” ― Amelia Earhart
5. “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” ― Amelia Earhart
6. “I did for the fun of it” ― Amelia Earhart, 20 Hours, 40 Min: Our Flight in the Friendship
7. “Never do things others can do and will do, if there are things others cannot do or will not do.” ― Amelia Earhart
8. “Being alone is scary, but not as scary as feeling alone in a relationship.” ― Amelia Earhart
9. “Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?” ― Amelia Earhart
10. “I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” ― Amelia Earhart
Famous Quotes From Amelia Earhart
1. “A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” ― Amelia Earhart
2. “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.” ― Amelia Earhart
3. “No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. 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.” ― Amelia Earhart
4. “Better do a good deed near at home than go far away to burn incense.” ― Amelia Earhart
5. “You haven’t seen a tree until you’ve seen its shadow from the sky.” ― Amelia Earhart
6. “The more one does,the more one can do.” ― Amelia Earhart
7. “Now and then women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps encouraging other women toward greater independence of thought and action.” ― Amelia Earhart
8. “Experiment! Meet new people. That’s better than any college education . . . By adventuring; about, you become accustomed to the unexpected. The unexpected then becomes what it really is . . . the inevitable.” ― Amelia Earhart
9. “Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace,
The soul that knows it not, knows no release,
From little things;
Knows not the livid loneliness of fear
Nor mountain heights where bitter joy can hear
The sound of wings.” ― Amelia Earhart
10. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” ― Amelia Earhart
11. “Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible.” ― Amelia Earhart
12. “I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinements of even an attractive cage” ― Amelia Earhart
13. “One of my favorite phobias is that girls, especially those whose tastes aren’t routine, often don’t get a fair break… It has come down through the generations, an inheritance of age-old customs which produced the corollary that women are bred to timidity.” ― Amelia Earhart
14. “Perhaps I have something of a chip on my shoulder when it comes to modern feminine education. Often youngsters are sadly miscast. I have known girls who should be tinkering with mechanical things instead of making dresses, and boys who would do better at cooking than engineering.” ― Amelia Earhart, Last Flight: The World’s Foremost Woman Aviator Recounts, in Her Own Words, Her Last, Fateful Flight
15. “What do dreams know of boundaries” ― Amelia Earhart
16. “Please let us not interfere with the other’s work or play, nor let the world see our private joys or disagreements. In this connection I may have to keep some place where I can go to be myself, now and then, for I cannot guarantee to ensure at all times the confinement of even an attractive cage.” ― Amelia Earhart
17. “I, for one, hope for the day when women will know no restrictions because of sex but will be individuals free to live their lives as men are free—irrespective of the continent or country where they happen to live.” ― Amelia Earhart
18. “There are two kinds of stones, as everyone knows, one of which rolls.” ― Amelia Earhart
19. “Never do things you can and will do if there are things others cannot do and will not do.” ― Amelia Earhart
20. “We’re always pushing through, hurrying on our long way, trying to get to some other place instead of enjoying the place we’d already got to.” ― Amelia Earhart, Last Flight
See also: 210 Inspiring Keep Pushing Quotes To Unleash Your Power
Amelia Earhart Quotes About Flying
1. “Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
2. “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.” ― Amelia Earhart
3. “Adventure is worthwhile.” ― Amelia Earhart
4. “Don’t criticize someone doing something you said couldn’t be done” ― Amelia Earhart
5. “As soon as we left the ground, I knew I had to fly.” ― Amelia Earhart
6. “The stars seemed near enough to touch and never before have I seen so many.
I always believed the lure of flying is the lure of beauty, but I was sure of it that night.” ― Amelia Earhart
7. “Please know that I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be a challenge to others.” ― Amelia Earhart
8. “There is more to life than being a passenger.” ― Amelia Earhart
9. “In soloing–as in other activities–it is far easier to start something than to finish it.” ― Amelia Earhart
10. “But the fun of it is worth the price.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
See also: 140 Quotes About Having Fun Whenever You Can
11. “There is no doubt that the last hour of any flight is the hardest. If there are any clouds about to make shadows one is likely to see much imaginary land. . . .
As I approached shore I strained my eyes to see something recognizable, and there was nothing. However, I noticed a low place in the hills, and I thought, like the bear, I would go over the mountains to see what I could see.” ― Amelia Earhart
12. “Did I tell you I have a reputation for brains?” ― Amelia Earhart
13. “Character is destiny” ― Amelia Earhart
14. “but you know the more one does the more one can do.” ― Amelia Earhart
15. “For flying the Atlantic four years ago was deemed somewhat more venturesome and journalistically more spectacular than it is today.” ― Amelia Earhart
16. “Please let us not interfere with the other’s work or play, nor let the world see our private joys or disagreements. In this connection I may have to keep some place where I can go to be myself, now and then, for I cannot guarantee to endure at all times the confinement of even an attractive cage.” ― Amelia Earhart
17. “It was generally called the “powder puff derby” and those who flew in it variously as “Ladybirds”, “Angels” or “Sweethearts of the Air”. (We are still trying to get ourselves called just “pilots”.)” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
18. “Ultimately, Bill Stultz, the pilot, received $20,000 and Lou Gordon, the mechanic, $5000. My own compensation which I had never really seriously considered was, in addition to the fun of the exploit itself, the opportunities in aviation, writing and the like which the Atlantic crossing opened up for me. Incidentally the fees from my newspaper story of the flight went back into the treasury of the enterprise.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
19. “Most matters having been settled satisfactorily, there were certain ones to be decided on from my standpoint. I wished to check the equipment and meet the pilot. And I wished to do some of the flying myself. The idea of going as just “extra weight” did not appeal to me at all. Despite my intentions, however, it turned out that was just what I did, for the weather encountered necessitated instrument flying, a type of specialized flying in which I had not had any experience.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
20. “I wished to check the equipment and meet the pilot. And I wished to do some of the flying myself. The idea of going as just “extra weight” did not appeal to me at all.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
See also: 110 Mighty Words Of Encouragement For Women Ready To Soar
Amelia Earhart Quotes From “The Fun Of It”
1. “I heard from many girls, just as many inquiries were made by boys, and men and women.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
2. “I became so interested in this kind of teaching that I was trying to write a book on it with a coworker when the Atlantic flight came along, and prevented our finishing it. Since then the number of such classes in settlements and public schools has decreased partly because of the effect of the laws which restrict immigration.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
3. “It would have been much easier at Denison House had there been money enough to do all that waited to be done. So few people understood the real needs, that little money was available. We could not have managed at all without the help of the young men and young women who came as volunteer workers from schools and colleges about Boston. They acted as leaders in Boy and Girl Scout groups; they coached dramatics; they taught sewing and basket making and cooking, and told stories to the youngsters in the evening. I often wished my father could have been on tap for some of these groups for I knew his thrillers would have made a hit.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
4. “It was made clear that the men in the flight were being paid.
Having established that, I was asked if I was prepared to receive no remuneration myself. I said “Yes,” feeling that the privilege of being included in the expedition would be sufficient in itself.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
5. “None of this was what you could call important except to me. It was sheer fun. And it did keep me in touch with flying.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
6. “Today an Atlantic flight is, of course, still hazardous. But its chances of success have increased over those of a few years ago. Airplanes are faster; engines more reliable and facilities for weather reporting greatly improved. Today within a few hours one can get a weather picture of conditions over the North Atlantic whereas all we had were relayed at our expense from ships, twelve to fifteen hours late.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
7. “Despite its poetic possibilities, fog, of course, is one of the great hazards of flying. From the air, when one cannot see the horizon, there is nothing much on which to base knowledge of one’s position in space. Only the instruments which have been developed in the last few years can be trusted to tell whether one is upside down or right side up. The poor old senses, which serve us so well so often, don’t send the correct impressions to the brain in this instance at all.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
8. “In thick or heavy rain or snow, a pilot is just as blind as if he had a black cloth over his eyes. Consequently he will make the same mistakes as I did in the chair, if he does not have unbiased instruments to tell him the truth. Thus the plane might be in a steep spiral and he might be trying to right it by doing unknowingly the very thing which would tend to keep it so. I do not wish my statement to sound as if all any flier had to do in “soupy” weather is to look at a few instruments, flap his wings and away. It must be remembered that reading and reacting to instruments require practice and skill.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
9. “In the midst of all these activities at Denison House, not much time was left for flying. However, I did join a chapter of the National Aeronautic Association there and was ultimately made Vice-President. And I did tuck into the busy Denison House days everything I possibly could that had to do with my favorite hobby. I knew some of the local flyers. I went up whenever I had the opportunity. I was busy, too, with Miss Ruth Nichols of Rye in trying to work out some means of organizing the women in the fold. The National Playground Association asked me to be on the Boston Committee to judge in a model airplane tournament they were sponsoring at the time. And since this combined my two greatest interests, aviation and social work, in an unusual way, I was very glad to serve.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
10. “But I think that our desire for secrecy was dictated primarily by what was almost a superstition. We did not want to talk about what was to be done until it became an actuality.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
11. “As with music, for instance. One might well say to any random individual, “Here is a sheet of music and there is a piano. Go ahead and play. It would be absurd to expect faultless execution without the subject’s understanding and his repeated performance.
To complicate matters, instruments for blind flying are not yet perfected, neither those for the cockpit nor those which are a part of ground equipment.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
See also: 70 Enchanting Dragonfly Quotes For Wisdom And Inspiration
12. “The coast is a graveyard of wrecked ships, and from the wrecks, I was told, come most of the materials used in the rugs. Much of the silver encountered in the fishermen’s homes has the same origin, as can be seen by the names of lost ships it bears. Of course, what comes up from the sea out of ships generally belongs to the finder, with no questions asked. If the other fellow’s loss is forgotten, I have often thought how exciting it would be to open boxes and barrels brought in by the tide. Like the bottle and pill box in “Alice in Wonderland” with their enticing, “Drink me” and “Eat me,” I am sure these floating surprise packages must say almost audibly “Open me! Open me!” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
13. “Newfoundland people come principally from England; Ireland and France. Originally, as I understand it, they were supposed to return to their homeland at the end of each fishing season. However, some of them strayed and stayed, and from these pioneers largely descended from the inhabitants of today.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
14. “One of the questions which has been asked me most frequently is what we ate on the actual flight. We had with us scrambled egg sandwiches, made fresh in Trepassey, coffee for the men (I don’t drink coffee unless I have to and a special promised container of cocoa for me somehow didn’t materialize), a few oranges, a bottle of malted milk tablets, some sweet chocolate and five gallons of water.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
15. “Somehow or other under the strain of excitement, no one seemed to feel like eating.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
16. “We had made so many false starts, practically no one was on hand to see our real departure. I had left a brief telegram announcing it to be sent half an hour after we were actually in the air. This was my last message to New York. Our Atlantic crossing was literally a voyage in the clouds.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
17. “The internals of most clouds are anything but silvery–they are clammy grey wetness as dismally forbidding as any one can imagine. However, some air travelers know that above them there is a different world from any encountered elsewhere. If really on top of a solid cloud layer, the sun shines brightly over a fluffy sea with a brilliance more blinding than that of snow fields. Or as it sinks, the clouds may be colored as beautifully from a bird’s-eye view, as when we see them at sunset from the earth. Of course, from an altitude of several thousand feet, the sun can be seen longer before it drops below the horizon. And as evening falls, it is really brighter “upstairs” than on the ground.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
See also: 130 Inspiring Bird Quotes To Embrace The Wings Of Wisdom
18. “In the northern latitude in which we flew, the late June days were remarkably long. It was actually light until ten o’clock at night and dawn or its approximation appeared before three in the morning. In the hours between, there was little complete darkness unless we were blanketed with fog. Otherwise as the sun moved around the world, we thought we could see a pale glow marking its course, far to our left.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
19. “My traveling wardrobe was due entirely to the necessity of economizing in weight and space. I had landed in exactly what I wore and nothing more, and knowing this, my English friends kindly saw to it that I was generously outfitted. So much publicity was given to my lack of wardrobe that some weeks later when I reached New York with three trunks it was impossible to protest duties that were levied by cruel customs men upon my purchases and my gifts!” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
20. “By the way, the absence of baggage–even a change of clothes-seemed to provoke much interest, especially among women. I had no intention whatsoever of trying to set a fashion in transatlantic air attire.” ― Amelia Earhart, The Fun of It
Final Word
I hope that you have enjoyed reading these inspirational Amelia Earhart quotes as much as I did enjoy collecting them into this beautiful list.
She was an extraordinary woman, and we should definitely be proud of our womanhood, having individuals such as her in our history.
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