21 Best Alicia Keys Quotes On Life Confidence What Really Matters

In December of 2017, Keys wrote an essay for Lenny Letter explaining why she no longer wanted to wear makeup. “Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn’t put on makeup,” she wrote. “What if someone wanted a picture?? What if they POSTED it??? These were the insecure, superficial, but honest thoughts I was thinking. And all of it, one way or another, was based too much on what other people thought of me.” RELATED: Why Alicia Keys Hasn’t Worn Makeup In Two Years The multi-Grammy winner and mother of two children with husband Swizz Beatz has always slayed. Keys grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City and was raised predominantly by her mother, who was a paralegal and part-time actress. When she was 4 years old she made an appearance on “The Cosby Show” and then went on to enroll at the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12. When she was just 16, she graduated valedictorian of her class. Over her long and wildly successful career as an accomplished pianist, singer and songwriter, Alicia Keys has won 15 Grammys and been nominated 29 times. And in addition to being an exceptional musician, Keys is also the co-founder and global ambassador of Keep A Child Alive — a non-profit organization that provides medicine to families with HIV and AIDS in Africa. And now she’s produced a YouTube Original documentary series, “Noted: Alicia Keys the Untold Stories,” featuring introspective moments from her career. Is there anything she can’t do? This girl is on fire! So in honor of her killer attitude and role-modelesque ways, let these quotes from Alicia Keys inspire you to always believe in the beauty and power of being totally, completely, unapologetically yourself, and loving your body just the way it is.

21 Powerful Alicia Keys Quotes

1. “There’s too much darkness in the world. Everywhere you turn, someone is tryin’ to tear someone down in some way; everywhere you go, there’s a feeling of inadequacy, or a feeling that you’re not good enough. I want to bring a certain light to the world.” — Alicia Keys Photo: YouTube Originals
2. “The most important thing to remember is that you can wear all the greatest clothes and all the greatest shoes, but you’ve got to have a good spirit on the inside. That’s what’s really going to make you look like you’re ready to rock the world.” — Alicia Keys
3. “What breaks my heart is suffering of any kind. Too often, our world is divisive and cruel where it needs to be uniting and loving. You’ve got to love what’s yours.” — Alicia Keys
4. “It’s when we become afraid of everything and worried about everything that you are never going to reach your highest potential.” — Alicia Keys Photo: YouTube Originals
5. “Everywhere you turn, someone is tryin’ to tear someone down in some way; everywhere you go, there’s a feeling of inadequacy, or a feeling that you’re not good enough.” — Alicia Keys
6. “When I had nothing else, I had my mother and the piano. And you know what? They were all I needed.” — Alicia Keys
7. “Create the world you want, and fill it with the opportunities that matter to you." — Alicia Keys
8. “Why give up before we try?" — Alicia Keys Photo: YouTube Originals
9. “I have big everything on the bottom, but I love my legs. You’ve got to love what’s yours.” — Alicia Keys
10. “Everything that you want to be you already are, and you are simply on the path of discovering it.” — Alicia Keys RELATED: The 18 Best R&B Love Songs Of All Time
11. “Females are the most beautiful, gorgeous creatures in the whole world. And I think that we are gorgeous no matter what size we are.” — Alicia Keys
12. “Failure isn’t an option. I’ve erased the word ‘fear’ from my vocabulary, and I think when you erase fear, you can’t fail.” — Alicia Keys Photo: YouTube Originals
13. “You can’t really compare people. That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, because comparing yourself to someone else really stops you from being who you are.” — Alicia Keys
14. “A girl on fire is somebody who is completely herself.” — Alicia Keys
15. “Things can be really empty in this world, and I don’t just mean the music world. It can become a very meaningless place if you don’t really understand: ‘Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing?’ To feel fulfilment and have a deeper level of understanding, personally, that is the most important thing.” — Alicia Keys
16. “It took a long, long road to get here. It took a brave, brave girl to try.” — Alicia Keys Photo: YouTube Originals
17. “I’m not ashamed of what I am and that I have curves and that I’m thick. I like my body.” — Alicia Keys
18. “Sometimes you need to start again in order to fly.” — Alicia Keys
19. “Love is accepting people for who they are and what they are, regardless.” — Alicia Keys
20. “Be driven, be focused, but enjoy every moment because it only happens once.” — Alicia Keys Photo: YouTube Originals
21. “Sometimes you just have to do what’s best for you.” — Alicia Keys RELATED: 50 Empowering Songs About Strong Women Tess Griman writes about relationship, pop culture, and astrology topics. Follow her on Twitter.