Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, 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. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Here are some of the inspirational Maya Angelou quotes.
Maya Angelou quotes
“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.”
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
“When someone shows you who they are believe them the first time.”
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
“Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances. ”
“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!”
“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.”
“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.”
“Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”
“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”
“Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.”
“I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.”
“We need much less than we think we need.”
Positive quotes by maya angelou
“Be present in all things and thankful for all things.”
“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”
“I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.”
“Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.”
“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”
“Anything that works against you can also work for you once you understand the Principle of Reverse.”
“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.”
“Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”
“Success is loving life and daring to live it.”
“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.”
“Talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it.”
“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.”
“The human heart…tells us that we are more alike than we are unalike.”
“While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.”
“The main thing in one’s own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry.”
“Live as though life was created for you.”
“History, despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage need not be lived again.”
“The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education. ”
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.”
“We need to remember that we are all created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed.”
“Remember, people will judge you by your actions not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold but so does a hard-boiled egg.”
“Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.”
We hope these quotes by Maya Angelou will help you motivate, and inspire yourself in everyday life.