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title: Sheryl Lee Ralph Says, &quot;I Don&#x27;t Compare and I Don&#x27;t Compete&quot; | TIME
description: Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has a sign in her bedroom that reads, “Underestimate me, that will be interesting.”
It’s that kind of self-motivation that has helped her find success as a Black female actress and advocate for herself in a Hollywood world that she was told wasn’t looking for women like her, she told podcaster Mel Robbins in a conversation at the TIME 2026 Woman of the Year Leadership Forum in Los Angeles. 
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It’s that kind of self-motivation that has helped her find success as a Black female actress and advocate for herself in a Hollywood world that she was told wasn’t looking for women like her, she told podcaster Mel Robbins in a conversation at the TIME 2026 Woman of the Year Leadership Forum in Los Angeles. 
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twitter:description: Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has a sign in her bedroom that reads, “Underestimate me, that will be interesting.”
It’s that kind of self-motivation that has helped her find success as a Black female actress and advocate for herself in a Hollywood world that she was told wasn’t looking for women like her, she told podcaster Mel Robbins in a conversation at the TIME 2026 Woman of the Year Leadership Forum in Los Angeles. 
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* Entertainment

# Sheryl Lee Ralph Says, "I Don't Compare and I Don't Compete"

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/n91bt51x.m3u8" -->
## Video: Sheryl Lee Ralph Says, "I Don't Compare and I Don't Compete"

[Watch (HLS stream): Sheryl Lee Ralph Says, "I Don't Compare and I Don't Compete"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/n91bt51x.m3u8) (1:04)

![Sheryl Lee Ralph Says, "I Don't Compare and I Don't Compete"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/n91bt51x/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2026-03-11. Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has a sign in her bedroom that reads, “Underestimate me, that will be interesting.” It’s that kind of self-motivation that has helped her find success as a Black female actress and advocate for herself in a Hollywood world that she was told wasn’t looking for women like her, she told podcaster Mel Robbins in a conversation at the TIME 2026 Woman of the Year Leadership Forum in Los Angeles._


---

Mar 11, 2026 3:21 AM UTC

---

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### Sheryl Sandberg Speaks at Tsinghua University Commencement 2015

---


## Transcript

I don't compare and I don't compete. I don't compare myself to anybody else and I don't compete with anybody else. When you compare and you compete, there's only one person that loses and that is you. When you look at somebody else and say, why isn't that mine? Because it wasn't meant for you. It was for them. It was theirs all along. What you got is what the great goddess in the sky gave you. If you want more, you need to sit down with the goddess plan, plot and build and move yourself towards your goals and stop looking at everybody else's goals. Because trust me, too many people's lives. I have said, wow, what I wouldn't give to be them.

Look at them now. And I'm like, Thank God I'm not.

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