All of these stories are great lessons I've learned from "trusting yourself, following your intuition, and taking risks."
These are lessons about how I can climb much higher than I think because where I've been doesn't determine where I'm going, and how I need to connect with others because life is about going together.
---From "Everything You Need Is Already Within You"

Looking back, I'm proud of our fighting spirit, but I also wonder how absurd our actions were.
But sometimes that can be a strength too.
The relentless persistence and will to get things done by any means necessary really does pay off.
A lot of beauty editors said they would try our products and then wrote articles about them.
As word spread, more people started trying our products, and those people then spread the word again.

---From "'01 Follow your intuition, not your reason'"

I decided that I couldn't let that label follow me around and take root inside me.
We must become the people we believe in, not the people others define us to be.
You don't have to accept the labels that other people put on you.
Like it or not, we are not the nicknames others call us, nor are we the unfortunate events of our misjudgments, nor are we the mistakes of the past.
---From "'02 Where you've been doesn't determine where you're going'"

I imagined real women all over the country.
I wanted a single mom in Nebraska to realize her own beauty while watching the show while folding laundry.
No matter what's going on in her life right now, no matter what's causing her self-doubt, no matter who's judging her, treating her unfairly, or ostracizing her.
My message might have gone beyond makeup.
I wanted to embrace all women.
At that moment, I felt it more intensely than ever.

---From "'04 Even if you come across as low-class, deal with it with dignity"

Energy is contagious, and while I can't control who shows up, I can control who influences me.
(…) Think of someone who has trampled on you in “my life.”
Do you want to take the negative energy they spread and make it your own? Perhaps you're already doing so without even realizing it.
Because things like that happen in an instant.
---From "05 Choose Who You Will Be Influenced By"

Authenticity does not guarantee success, but artificiality inevitably leads to failure.
This is the biggest lesson I've learned in life and in business.
As our company grew, we closely observed how other companies succeeded and failed.
My strength came from “genuineness.”
Authenticity is a value that cannot be embellished.
---From "'06 Sharpen the Weapon of Sincerity"

We turned down L'Oréal's offer! After years of obediently doing whatever they asked, we couldn't imagine what they would think of us now that we were turning them down.
I knew I would be rejected, but this was my first time being rejected.
I believed in us, I believed in my strength.
Although I was afraid, I did not give in an inch to L'Oréal.
Perhaps now they too have realized through their investment banks how many companies are eyeing us.
After that, L'Oréal offered a much higher amount and we accepted.

---From "'07 Opportunity Belongs to Those Who Knock"

At that moment, in that place, I must gather all the courage I have for the one opportunity given to me.
You might get really embarrassed and lose friends in the industry.
But I could be sure.
Now is the time for me to step into the arena and face it boldly.
I would rather stand up bravely for what I believe than be popular.
---From "10 Seek to be brave rather than to be loved"

The idea that you can balance everything is not only a lie, it's a form of self-sabotage that countless girls and women fall victim to.
Rather, we must trust in our power to choose which areas to focus on and how to direct our energy.
It's also important to savor the moment! Because no matter what, you'll have to give up at least one thing.
---「'13 Don't trust balance.
"It's a lie!"

The easiest thing to do when we dream big is to rationalize away from that dream.
It is to believe that miracles do not exist.
It's about dreaming less and living more in the present.
If you don't have hope, you have nothing to despair about.
(…) dream the impossible dream.
Dream as big as God.
Ultimately, “you become what you believe.”

---From "'16 Dream of a Miracle'"