Indexbit-USA TODAY's Women of the Year share their best advice

Our Women of the Year honorees are Indexbitall about helping others.

They've learned so much along the way that we asked them for their best advice.

Incoming Boston University President Melissa Gilliam says sometimes just as important as advice, is showing others what is possible: "I learned very early in my career that it's hard to imagine what you can be if you haven't seen it yourself. So whether I was in the clinic working with adolescent girls or in a classroom giving a talk, I find that it is helpful to see women in a variety of roles, that way people can recognize that there's someone who looks just like them doing a job that they can one day do themselves."

'To whom much is given, much is required'

A guiding principle for Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Russell comes from Luke 12:48 in the Bible.

"I certainly have been blessed with a lot in my lifetime," Russell said.

Her family has provided her with a good foundation, she said. She's been blessed with a reasonable amount of intelligence and a good education.

"So I feel that I have the responsibility to give back and to help others, whether it's through my service on the bench of through various speaking opportunities," Russell said.

'If you hit obstacles, you have to think bigger'

"You don’t shrink in the face of an obstacle," says Amy Cantrell, of North Carolina, who is a co-founder of BeLoved Ashville, which helps people living on the fringes of society.

"The tendency would be to shrink back, so we began to say, how do we lean into not shrinking in the face of this obstacle, but actually thinking bigger."

'Nothing lasts'

"I read literally every book on the market about grief and heartbreak and betrayal. And some of them repeated this one thing that kept touching my heart: Nothing lasts. It's as simple as that: Nothing lasts, bad times don't last, and so you can take comfort in that when you're going through a really hard time, just remember, it won't last forever. And when you're going through good times, you know it won't last, so be grateful for the moment. To me, that has been life-changing," says Paulina Porizkova, model and author of "No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful."

'Say no to things'

"People go, 'Since you had a son, it must be so hard.' And since having my son, life's been so easy because he's such a priority in my life that it's easier to say 'no' to things, whereas before I was the center of my universe and I was like, 'Oh, I got to do that, I can't miss that opportunity. I've got to do it all.' Now the bar is so high, if it takes me away from my son, if it moves me to another country, if it takes up all of my time, it has to be worth it. The qualifications for a 'yes' are much harder and I'm much more focused on what I want to do," says Eva Longoria, actress and director.

'Look to your village'

"Having a strong group of people who lift me up, support and encourage me allows me to face adversity head on," says Ashlei Spivey, executive director of I be Black Girl in Nebraska.

'Grow where you are planted'

"There isn't a perfect job, or a perfect relationship. There is only where you are in any given moment. I like to be useful and leave whatever I encounter in life better than I found it," says Lisa Raiola, the founder and president of Hope & Main in Rhode Island.

'When people show you who they are, believe them'

Justin Phillips founded the nonprofit Overdose Lifeline to help those with substance addictions and for the people who love them.

"I really appreciate the Teddy Roosevelt quote that Brené Brown has made famous, which is about the critics and that you shouldn't listen to the critics unless they're down in the dirt, in the arena, as he said, getting bloody and messy and doing the hard work. There's plenty of people who are sitting in the cheap seats telling you how you're doing it wrong, and you just cannot listen to them," she says.