Quote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.”

A goal that feels completely comfortable and safe is probably just a continuation of what already exists. Real ambition stretches beyond what you know you can do. The fear that comes with a truly large dream is not a sign to stop — it is a sign you are aiming at something worth achieving.

Sirleaf made this statement during a period when she was leading Liberia's reconstruction after devastating civil wars that ended in 2003. The country was rebuilding its institutions, economy, and social fabric, and her government was making historic investments in girls' education and women's rights.

Liberian politician who became Africa's first elected female head of state when she was inaugurated as President of Liberia in 2006. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her work on gender equality and women's participation in peacebuilding. She served two terms and oversaw Liberia's recovery from civil war.