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.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.

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.

I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.

You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life.’

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 are the best thing that has ever happened to you. Treat yourself accordingly.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, when his wing is bruised and his bosom sore; when he beats his bars and he would be free, it is not a carol of joy or glee, but a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core.

I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.

A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.

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.

Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.

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.

Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.

The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination.

If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.

I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.

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.

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.

A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination untouched by there.

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere.

Success is loving life and daring to live it.

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.

I sustain myself with the love of family.

The love of the family, the love of the person, can heal. It heals the scars left by a larger society. A massive, powerful society.

Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model for somebody, and if we aren’t, we should behave as though we are – cheerful, kind, loving, courteous.

The love of family, the love of the person can heal. It heals the scars left by a larger society. A massive, powerful society.

I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me, ‘I love you.’ There is an African saying which is: Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.

I’ve had rainbows in my clouds.

Your crown has been bought and paid for. All you have to do is put it on your head.

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.