This is already been a big year for singer Dolly Parton. She turns 75 on January 19, and she's going just as strong today as she was when her career started. To honor the country musician on her big day, we've rounded up some of the best Dolly quotes of all time. She's always sharing words of wisdom in her song lyrics and on her Twitter page, and they make for great mantras for all of us.
Dolly may be rich and famous now, but she knows what it's like to work hard for what she has. She grew up "dirt poor" as she once told CNN. She said that her close family bonds and her faith in God got her through, and once she started exploring her passion for singing, a new life was born.
Now Dolly's known for being much more than a singer, and we'd like to add Fairy Godmother to that list — because with all this advice she's given us, she basically is one to all her fans.
On Starting the Day off Right
One of Dolly's most iconic songs is "9 to 5," from the movie of the same name starring Dolly herself. We love the opening lyrics in particular. "Tumble out of bed / And stumble to the kitchen / Pour myself a cup of ambition." Sure, our cup may actually have coffee in it, but the sentiment is the same. Wake up and take life on head first.
On Being Herself
In an interview with Elle magazine in 2019, Dolly reflected on her unique sense of self and sense of style. "I guess it’s always fashionable to be yourself and to be comfortable with who you are, and what you wear, and what you're in," she mused. It's great advice for anyone looking to pull off a daring new look.
And Embracing Who She Is
In that same Elle interview, Dolly added, "I look totally artificial, but I am totally real, as a writer, as a professional, as a human being. A rhinestone shines just as good as a diamond." This is the Dolly Parton that we know and love. We'd be a rhinestone with her any day.
On Smiling
Normally we don't take too well to people demanding that we smile (it's a favorite line for cat-callers), but the way Dolly puts it makes it OK. "Smile, it increases your face value," she tweeted in May 2020 when we were all going through a pretty tough time. She included a photo of herself beaming, and it definitely made us feel better.
… And Sharing That Smile With Others
Smiling doesn't just increase our own face value, it can help others feel better as well. Dolly tweeted as much in 2017. "If you see someone without a smile, give 'em yours!" she wrote. "If you aren't smiling today, this one is for you!!" She then attached a photo of her smiling from ear to ear.
On Dealing With Others
Dolly's an incredibly positive person, so her advice on dealing with people is pretty good. "I do feel for people. I really, truly love people. I try to find the good in everybody. I try to find the God light in everybody," she told Marie Claire in a December 2020 interview. Wise words from the singer.
On Experiencing Setbacks
After being named one of USA Today's Women of the Century (a well-deserved title), Dolly gave her fans this bit of advice: "You cannot live in this world and be successful and not have heartaches, troubles, disappointments. It's how you deal with it."
Even as one of the biggest singers in the world, Dolly's life hasn't been all smooth sailing. But it's not so much what happens in life as it is how we respond to it. She responds with a positive attitude and a persevering spirit.
On Achieving Goals
In that same USA Today interview, Dolly also opened up about setting and achieving goals. "You can't dream at someone else's expense. You've got to get out there, make those dreams come true. You've got to be the one to sacrifice what you need, to lean on who all will help you. You've got to get out there and put legs on them, wings on them, feet on them, hands on them, fingers. You've got to get out there and work it."
Well said!
On Limitations
And as she works to achieve her dreams and goals, the singer doesn't let anything stand in her way. "I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else," she tweeted in 2010. And look at all the things besides singing that she's accomplished — she's starred in and produced movies, opened a theme park, and so much more. Not even the sky is the limit for Dolly.
On Setting Boundaries
Dolly doesn't let anyone set limitations for her, but she also knows that it's healthy to keep her own boundaries. That way, she doesn't take too much on or get burnt out. "I know who I am, I know what I can and can't do. I know what I will and won't do. I know what I'm capable of and I don't agree to do things that I don't think I can pull off," she once said.
On Working Hard
Nothing Dolly has achieved in life was handed to her. She works hard, as she wrote in her book Dream More: "I never have considered myself a perfectionist, but I do think of myself as a 'professionalist.' I always strive simply to be my very best." And that's worked for her for decades.
On Enjoying the Little Things
Also in her book, she wrote, "I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. I re-read passages from my favorite books. I hold the little treasures that somebody special gave me. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world."
On Dealing With Hardship
Life isn't going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time for anyone — not even Dolly. But she gets through it with one helpful mantra. "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!" she tweeted in March 2020. We hope to see a huge rainbow in 2021 after the year of rain we got in 2020.
On Trusting People
It's easy to try to excuse someone's actions, but Dolly wants us to stop doing that. "When someone shows you their true colors, believe them!" she tweeted in 2013. We're so jealous of Miley Cyrus, because Dolly is her godmother and probably gives her great advice like this all the time.
On Making the Best of Things
Dolly has her own version of the "when life hands you lemons" cliché. Her words to live by are: "We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails." Basically, life is going to do what it's going to do, and we can't fight it. But we can do our best to deal with what's within our control.
On Changing Paths
If something in life is not serving us, we need to simply find a way around it. Or, as Dolly put in this 2014 tweet, "If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one!" Her whole Twitter account is just filled with pearls and gems of wisdom like this quote. She's definitely worth the follow.
On Money
The singer's net worth may be around $600 million, but she's never made it about the cash. "I always count my blessings more than I count my money. I don't work for money. Never did," she said in a CBS Sunday Morning video interview in 2019. This attitude is how she's stayed so grounded through the years.
On Being Brave
Another day, another tweet filled with wisdom. This Dollyism from 2015 is particularly inspirational. "You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try," she wrote. The singer had a tragic childhood, and it would have been easy for her to never strive for anything better than that. But she was brave enough to try.
On Finding Purpose
Dolly's whole career can be summed up with this tweet of hers from 2015. "Find out who you are and do it on purpose," she wrote. It's such a simple saying, but so meaningful. For Dolly, she was a singer and she leaned into that to create a whole iconic career. And now she shares that purpose with all of us.
On Being Grateful
In 2020, Dolly released the poignant song "When Life Is Good Again" about the tough times we were all going through. The lyrics are a great reminder of never taking anything for granted. "When life is good again / I'll be a better friend / A bigger person when / Life is good again / More thoughtful than I've been / I'll be so different then / More in the moment when / Life is good again."
