Beyoncé Knowles is not only a powerhouse in the music scene, she’s also a stellar mentor. Her words often impart valuable life lessons, like this advice she gave R&B duo Chloe X Halle, sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey. It emphasizes the importance of staying true to yourself, even — or especially — if that makes you stand apart from the crowd. It’s a wise warning: Don’t stunt your own growth by toning down your natural talents and skills. Instead, like Queen Bey, show others what’s possible, and the world may just follow where you lead.

From New York to London, Paris to Moscow, Isadora Duncan danced her way across the world. Never one to be restricted by the rigidity of traditional ballet or the limitations of commercial performance, Duncan developed her own unique vision of dance — one inspired by nature, athleticism, and classical Greek art. “My inspiration,” she once said, “has been drawn from trees, from waves, from clouds, from the sympathies that exist between passion and the storm, between gentleness and the soft breeze.” Duncan wanted to reconnect movement with emotion — “seeking that dance which might be the divine.” Following her own advice here, the “mother of modern dance,” as she became known, created an art form that was untamed, wild, and free.  

Amy Krouse Rosenthal decided to become an author while she was on maternity leave with her daughter. She quit her job as a copywriter and went on to publish over 30 children's books, including such beloved titles as “Little Pea,” “Uni the Unicorn,” and “Duck! Rabbit!” She also wrote memoirs and essays, but perhaps her most famous work is a piece she wrote for the “New York Times” column “Modern Love,” called "You May Want to Marry My Husband." Published just days before she died of ovarian cancer, it speaks of a life full of love and caring, a wife and mother who embraced joy and creativity until the very end. 

Armenian American writer William Saroyan penned these words in his breakthrough article “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze,” published in 1934. The quote above is part of a longer, rousing piece of advice that reads like a rallying cry to live life to its fullest: "Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste the food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive."

Regrets? Carol Burnett has none. The trailblazing comedic actor, best known as the star of her eponymous CBS show, but whose career includes turns on Broadway and in films and television, had to face plenty of disappointment before her big break came. Like many of us, Burnett tried over and over to realize her career aspirations. Reflecting on that journey in a conversation with “Interview" magazine, she warned not to let setbacks derail the path forward, but rather to remember that your turn will come. The trick? Optimism and perseverance. “When things are a disappointment,” Burnett urged, “try not to be so discouraged.” 

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was an avid observer: Her work often centers the natural world in all its minute, astounding details. Her meditations on everything from a bird's plumage to the color of oysters are undeniably grounded in the present, free of anxiety about the future. “Attention is the beginning of devotion,” she wrote in her essay "Teach The Children." Oliver’s contemplation of nature’s small wonders reminds us that the simplest things have the power to change us in the deepest ways. In paying attention to our surroundings, we can invite in joy and avoid letting our negative thoughts spiral. She reminds us we have a choice: We can let the world delight us, rather than let it beat us down.