83+ Most Powerful Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Inspire You

Maya Angelou Quotes will encourage you to fight with reality. Maya Angelou was an African American author, poet, and civil rights, activist. She is best known for her autobiographical work and is also a prolific writer, and her work covers a wide range of topics including race, identity, family, and love. She received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Angelou was a celebrated figure in American literature and culture. She is best known for her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which chronicles her early life and experiences as a black woman in America. Her work has been praised for its insight into the human experience and her ability to “speak truth to power.” 

Maya Angelou was a powerful voice for African Americans and women, and Maya Angelou’s Quotes are just as relevant today as they were when she first said them. In this blog post, we will take a look at some of the most inspiring Maya Angelou Quotes.

Maya Angelou Quotes

Maya Angelou Quotes are about the black experience in America, about being a woman, about love, and about life. She is best known for her series of autobiographies, which chronicle her childhood and early adult experiences. Angelou’s work is often described as autobiographical fiction, as she blends her own experiences with those of other people she has known.

Maya Angelou Quotes are about strength, resilience, and courage. Angelou was a renowned poet, novelist, and civil rights activist. She was also the first African American woman to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry, “I Know Why the Caged.”

“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.” – Undated

“You can never be great at anything unless you love it.” – 2000

“I have a certain way of being in this world, and I shall not, I shall not be moved.” – 2014

“When we decide to be happy we accept the responsibility to bring happiness to someone else.” – 2014

“Let the brain go to work, let it meet the heart and you will be able to forgive.” – 2014

“Peace my brother, peace my sister, peace my soul.”

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

“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.”

“Effective action is always unjust.”

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

“The needs of a society determine its ethics.” – 1969

“You don’t have to think about doing the right thing. If you’re for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.” – 1969

“Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.” – 2009

“We need much less than we think we need.”

“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.”

“I am a Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.”

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – 2009

“Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood.” – 2009

“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.” – Maya Angelou

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

“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.” – Maya Angelou

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou

Self-Love Maya Angelou Quotes

“I love myself for who I am, but I also love myself for who I am not.”

This is a quote by the late, great Maya Angelou. It is a reminder to love ourselves for both our positive and negative qualities. It is only when we can accept both that we can truly love ourselves.

Here we collected some of the best Self-Love Maya Angelou Quotes. These quotes are a reminder of the importance of loving ourselves. They are a reminder that we are all worthy of love – no matter what our flaws may be. We hope that these quotes inspire you to love yourself a little bit more each day. I hope that they inspire you to see the beauty in yourself – even on your worst days.

“Listen to yourself and in that quietude, you might hear the voice of God.”

“I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”

“The honorary duty of a human being is to love.”

“If we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die.”

“I sustain myself with the love of family.”

Maya Angelou Quotes About Life

Maya Angelou Quotes have the power to change your life for the better. Angelou was an American author, poet, and civil rights activist who fought for the rights of African Americans throughout her lifetime. Her words continue to inspire and motivate people worldwide to love themselves and others.

“I had to trust life since I was young enough to believe that life loved the person who dared to live it.”

“Your belief and your work will speak for you.”

“Life loves the liver of it.”

“We are here to love each other. That is why you are alive. That is what life is for.”

“There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.”

“All great achievements require time.”

“Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.” – Maya Angelou

“Determine to live life with flair and laughter.”

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” – Maya Angelou

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” – Maya Angelou

“If someone shows you who they really are, believe them…”

“The needs of society determine its ethics.”

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

“Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quotes About Love

Angelou is also celebrated for her work in the fields of literature, dance, and film. In addition to her autobiographies, she has published numerous collections of poems, essays, and plays. One of Angelou’s most famous quotes is,

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

This quote encapsulates her views on love and its ability to overcome any obstacle. Read on to learn more about Maya Angelou Quotes about Love!

These are just a few of the many Maya Angelou Quotes About Love by the late, great Maya Angelou. If you are looking for some words of wisdom about this universal emotion, then look no further!

“The honorary duty of a human being is to love.”

“I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.”

“Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.”

“Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.”

“I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love.”

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

“Suddenly we see that love costs all we are, and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free.”

“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.”

“We are here to love each other. That is why you are alive. That is what life is for.”

Courage Maya Angelou Quotes

Courage Maya Angelou Quotes are one of our favorite quotes because it so accurately describes the importance of courage. Courage is the foundation of all other virtues because it takes courage to consistently practice any other virtue. You can’t be patient all the time or honest all the time without courage. It is the virtue that allows us to be consistent in our practice of others.

Courage Maya Angelou’s Quotes are some of the most popular quotes on the internet. People love them because they are inspirational and teach us about courage. Courage is one of the most important traits that we can have in life. It allows us to face our fears and overcome them. It also allows us to stand up for what we believe in, even when we are faced with opposition.

“I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.”

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, it need not be lived again.”

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

“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.”

“If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within.”

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage.”

Inspirational Maya Angelou Quotes

Maya Angelou Quotes are some of the most popular and memorable quotes from her books. These quotes range from inspirational to funny, and they offer a glimpse into the life and mind of this remarkable woman. If you’re looking for a little bit of inspiration, or just want to see what Maya Angelou had to say about life, love, and everything in between, check out some of her most famous quotes below.

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

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Undated

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

“Everybody is worth everything.”

“Achievement brings its own anticlimax.”

“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can transform one million realities.”

“All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened.”

“Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant”

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

“Hate has caused a lot of problems in the world but has not solved one yet.”

“When you know you are of worth not asking it but knowing it you walk into a room with particular power.”

Maya Angelou Quotes About Women

Maya Angelou was also a very wise woman. Maya Angelou Quotes About Women are some of the most popular on the internet. Here we will take a look at some of the most famous Maya Angelou Quotes.

“She comprehended the perversity of life, that in the struggle lies the joy.”

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”

“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.”

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

“I became the kind of parent my mother was to me.”

“My mother raised me, and then freed me.” – Maya Angelou

“Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise.”

“My mother is so full of joy and life. I am her child. And that is better than being the child of anyone else in the world.”

Short Biography of Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was an American author, poet, civil rights activist, and memoirist. She was born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Her parents divorced when she was only three and she and her brother were sent to live with their grandparents in Arkansas.

Maya was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend when she was only eight years old and this traumatizing experience led her to withdraw into herself and stop speaking for almost five years. After her rapist was killed by her uncles, she began to speak again.

In 1944, Angelou moved to San Francisco to live with her mother. There, she began her lifelong love affair with the Black church, eventually becoming the first female and first Black streetcar conductor in the city.

Maya’s love for literature was awakened during her years at Mission High School in San Francisco. She married at the age of 17 and had a son, Guy, shortly thereafter. She later divorced and moved to New York City to pursue a career as a dancer and actress.

In 1957, Angelou met African American writer and civil rights activist, Malcolm X, who inspired her to become more involved in the struggle for racial equality. She joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and participated in organizing events.

Angelou’s life and work have been enormously influential, helping to shape the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. She 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, was published in 1969 and remains one of the most widely-read books by an African American author. Angelou passed away on May 28 in 2014 at 86 years of age.

Conclusion

Maya Angelou was an amazing poet and human being. Although she is no longer with us, Maya Angelou’s words continue to inspire and comfort us. Her insights on life, love, and humanity are as relevant today as they were when she first shared them. Her quotes provide insight into the human condition and the importance of living life to the fullest.  If you’re looking for a little wisdom, check out these Maya Angelou quotes. LIKE COMMENT SHARE to join the conversation and add your favorite Maya Angelou quote to the comments!

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