Beyoncé's not afraid to admit that she likes things a certain way, and she'll do whatever it takes to achieve her vision.

Bey has achieved astonishing success since she hit the scene with Destiny's Child back in the '90s. The Billboard Millennium Award didn't come cheap, she's had to be uncompromising in her goals.

"I don’t believe in the answer ‘no’. I am extremely driven and extremely critical – sometimes overly critical. Sometimes it is one of the things that I have to work on," the singer told Dazed and Confused. "I am a control freak. I pay attention to details."

For Bey, giving anything less than her best has never been an option. That's probably because she is her own toughest critic, despite droves of haters. It's nearly impossible to be harder on the diva than she is on herself.  "When I do something I do it 100 percent," Bey explained. "I have high expectations of myself and expect the exact same thing of everyone around me. I’ve always been that way. I am all or nothing."

Sure, it might look like the music icon is living a glamorous life, but don't let the photos fool you. Despite shots of her and hubby Jay-Z jet-setting all over the world, Beyoncé often works herself to exhaustion. It's not uncommon for a work email to be the last thing she sees at night.

"In the past couple of weeks, I’ve literally fallen asleep with the Blackberry in my hand because I’m up answering emails, coming up with marketing plans and looking at radio numbers," Beyoncé admitted. "It’s really sad! My family is like, ‘Oh my God!’ I literally have pictures of me knocked out with my finger on the computer."

She thinks that same determination is what's helping to level the professional playing field for women. Although she acknowledges that girls aren't running the world just yet ("We still have, you know, ways to go," she recognizes), women are getting many of the same opportunities for success as their male colleagues.

"I think women are so different now and we have our standards and we don’t accept anything less than the same opportunities. I know I don’t," Bey said. "That’s what my whole message is in my career."

— Sonya Eskridge

Here's more:
Beyoncé speaks on '4' leak
Beyoncé back on for 'Star' film
Beyoncé preps another video game
Replay: 2011 Billboard Music Awards
Beyoncé drops 'Move Your Body' video
Beyoncé admits to inspired performance