Powerful Words From Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was an American poet, singer, 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. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. She was a professor at Wake Forest University. She died in 2014 in Winston Salem, NC. Below are some of her powerful words. 

• 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.
• You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
• We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
• I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
• You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.
• If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
• We need much less than we think we need.
• If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
• Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
• I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
• Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.
• If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.
• Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls.
• Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.
• A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.
• You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
• Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away.
• If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.
• Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world but has not solved one yet.
• Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
• There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.
• 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 something back.
• When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
• If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.
• We are only as blind as we want to be. 
• I got my own back. 
• There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. 
• I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too. 
• Determine to live life with flair and laughter. 
• I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. 
• I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the liver of it. I live it. 
• Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it. 
• You develop courage by doing small things like just as if you wouldn’t want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself. 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings