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The reigning queen of The Crown shares this nugget: "Thinking isn't always the answer. Sometimes the best thing to do is listen to everything your heart, body and soul are trying to tell you."
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The 14-year-old A Wrinkle in Time star's advice: "'Don't waste energy on things you can't change.' Oprah told me that one day when we were having a conversation about my weird fear of being tall—I'm already 5'4"! Instead of putting negative energy out into the universe about something that's set in stone, like my height, she said I should turn that energy into something positive and use it to make my dreams come true. So if I end up being 7 feet, then I'll be 7 feet."
The Jane the Virgin star's dad told her, "'Fear only exists from between your two ears.' It's so true—whether you're afraid of confronting someone or going after a new job, the only thing really stopping you is you. So forget the excuses, get off your butt and go do it!"
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Lupita Nyong'o
"Go where you are loved." Oscar winner
Nyong'o received that suggestion from the actress and playwright Danai Gurira and says, "it's a valuable thought that's really stuck. When you're trying to find collaborators, you need to go where you are loved—because that's precisely the place where your dreams and goals will be nurtured. People who see the best in you bring out the best in you."
The Late Late Show's Corden says, "All that matters is this moment. Everything behind you is gone, and everything in front of you is unknown, so all you can ever do is be the best version of yourself right now."
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The best advice the Saturday Night Live actor received from her mom is, "making sure I say thank you. And I do think that if you enter into things with a thankful point of view, you'll always remain appreciative."
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R&B singer Monáe says, "Erykah Badu once told me, 'Stay out of your mind.' Whenever I'm anxious about something, I remember those words to anchor myself and not overthink the moment."
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British cookbook author Lawson says, "Do it now. Every task becomes bigger by the hour. You'll be contaminated by the worry you feel about whatever it is—and the more you put it off, the more fearful you become."
When Orange Is the New Black actress moved from Boston to New York City after college, her mom drove her to the train station. In the car, Aduba recalls her mom saying, "'Uzo, just work hard. I've never heard of nothing coming from hard work.' It's a message that resonates in my bones."
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"'Some days it's just going to rain.'" The actor and former SNL comedian's grandfather told him that when Hader was 17. "He meant I shouldn't worry about things beyond my control. He said it in such a nonchalant way. He was a laconic Oklahoma guy, so this wasn't a heart-to-heart. But it really stuck with me."
Early in singer-songwriter Legend's career, Quincy Jones told him that "the definition of being cool is having the ability to be yourself in all circumstances." Legend says this is something he's always remembered. "As an artist, you have to find your voice—and then make music that actually stays true to that voice."
Queen Latifah
Singer and actress
Queen Latifah loves this quote: "'You know what? It ain't that serious.' My business partner told me that when I was going through a tough time and dramatizing everything in my life. Hearing it zapped me back to reality and wiped my worries away. Now when things get too intense, I remember that I'm alive, I'm healthy and life goes on—it ain't that serious."
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"When I was about 13, a friend of my parents told me always to be the age you are—don't try to seem older or younger," says the writer-director. "And I realized I was a kid trying to act like an adult, instead of experiencing my age. I've never forgotten that."
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Usher
Singer-songwriter Usher says, "'If you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready.' James Brown told me that right before we performed together at the Grammys in 2005. I've never forgotten it, and I'm always telling people, 'Well, James Brown once told me...'"
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Kelly Clarkson
Singer-songwriter Clarkson recalls, "Sandra Bullock once said something like 'Take advice as advice.' Everyone gives you their two cents, but you have to follow your gut."
