Dolly tells I KNEW I WAS SPECIAL

The country icon and other inspirational women reveal the wisdom they'd like to share with their younger selves

-  Jane Graham

Dolly Parton, 76

SINGER-SONGWRITER AND PHILANTHROPIST

"I actually was a pretty good girl at 16. I pretty much spent my teenage years just working on my music and hanging out with friends when I had an opportunity.

"I was about 13 when I first met Johnny [Cash] and that's when Johnny was all strung out on drugs and everything, but he was so magnetic, so sexy. He was my first male grown-up crush. He just really moved me. Oh, we laughed about it through the years. I told him, 'You know you were my very first crush, my first sexy grown-up crush.' He always got a kick out of that.

"I knew I wanted to always stay true to my roots. I knew I loved my family - I would never shame them, I was proud of my family. But I just had a feeling inside my gut that I was supposed to do something more. I felt it in my bones early on; it was just like a calling. My family knew that as well, even though it was a little different for a low mountain girl.

"I'm very proud of the fact that I'm so much both of my parents. I got my spiritual side and my musical side from my mum's people. My dad's people were mainly hardworking people. I got his work ethic and willingness to stick to it until I get the job done. Usually creative musicians are basically kind of physically lazy. They want to stay up all night and write and sing, and sleep all day. But like my dad, I get up really early, I work hard and I go to bed fairly early. And I love the fact that I'm not a lazy head, I'm not sluggish. I think that's been a big part of my success I'm up and at it before most people can get out of bed.