Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
Here is a Collection of Maya Angelou Most Inspiring Quotes. Maya Angelou Quotes about Love, Life and Change. Short Maya Angelou Quotes. Maya Angelou on Love, Marriage and Courage. Quotes and Sayings on Success, Purpose and Strength by Maya Angelou. Inspirational and Motivating Sayings from Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou Quotes and Sayings
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.
I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.
I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.
You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.
What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.
A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!
Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.
Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.
My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.
I don't trust people who don't love themselves and tell me, 'I love you.' ... There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.
Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.
Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.
No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.
Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.
You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.
Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.
My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.
Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.
You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.
Most people don't grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging.
If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform a million realities.
First best is falling in love. Second best is being in love. Least best is falling out of love. But any of it is better than never having been in love.
Success is loving life and daring to live it.
I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.
No one can take the place of a friend, no one.
Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.
Talent is like electricity. We don't understand electricity. We use it.
The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story.
To those who are given much, much is expected.
There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure truth.
Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.
The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
The human heart...tells us that we are more alike than we are unalike.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.
It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.
Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.
My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.
I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life'.
I believe most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise.
Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.
Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood.
I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.
Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you can wait.
Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.
When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness... all the good things.
I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
Love life. Engage in it. Give it all you've got. Love it with a passion because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it.
When you learn, teach, when you get, give.
Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.
All great achievements require time.
A friend may be waiting behind a stranger's face.
Nothing will work unless you do.
I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
To those who have given up on love: I say, "Trust life a little bit".
If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers.
I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.
I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.
We need much less than we think we need.
In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.
Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.
If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.
Be present in all things and thankful for all things.
Anything that works against you can also work for you once you understand the Principle of Reverse.
Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing.
I sustain myself with the love of family.
Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.
When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.
Some people cannot see a good thing when it is right here, right now. Others can sense a good thing coming when it is days, months, or miles away.
The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.
Living well is an art that can be developed: a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings and assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.
While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation.
Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.
A woman who is convinced that she deserves to accept only the best challenges herself to give the best. Then she is living phenomenally.
We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.
There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
All great achievements require time.
I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.
Nothing will work unless you do.
What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.
I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Living well is an art that can be developed: a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings and assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.
I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.
Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you can wait.
A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.
To those who are given much, much is expected.
The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.
Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.
Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!
Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.
No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.
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