Maya Angelou was an American poet best known for her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
In 1959, she became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
In 1969, Angelou published her first autobiography called ”I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
Maya recited her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993.
Since 1999, she had taught at Wake Forest University at Winston-Salem. In 2010, Angelou was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She died on May 28, 2014, in North Carolina. She was 86 years old.
List of 45 Maya Angelou Quotes About Women & Life
#1 ”A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.”
#2 ”A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself.”
#3 ”Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”
#4 ”Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives.”
#5 ”I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.”
#6 ”Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
#7 ”I like for people to say I’m kind. It means that I’m still learning and that I’m able to forgive.” (Harvard Business Review)
#8 ”It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”
#9 ”If you have a napkin, you need another napkin to receive back all the blessings you’ll get.”
#10 ”Poetry puts starch in your backbone so you can stand, so you can compose your life.”
#11 ”While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated.”
#12 ”Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.”
#13 ”At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”
#14 ”You don’t have to be so jaded and think you have all the answers—that’s boring.” (Vice)
#15 ”A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”
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#16 ”Nothing will work unless you do.”
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#17 ”If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”
#18 ”You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
#19 ”As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.”
#20 ”Love is that condition in the healing spirit so profound that it allows us to forgive.”
#21 ”I think many people live in complete denial of the fact that they are going to die. They pretend it’s not going to happen.”
#22 ”Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”
#23 ”When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe.”
#24 ”All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart.”
#25 ”There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.”
#26 ”If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”
#27 ”I believe that every person is born with talent.”
READ MORE: Quotes About Attachment
#28 ”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.”
#29 ”I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
#30 ”Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.”
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#31 ”I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.”
#32 ”I want you to learn that you cannot have anything without working for it.”
#33 ”Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.” (Oprah)
READ MORE: Sadhguru Quotes
#34 ”If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
#35 ”Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”
#36 ”You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
#37 ”The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”
#38 ”Love can be used for anything you can explain, any good thing that you can explain.”
#39 ”I am not competing with anyone other than myself. I want to be excellent at whatever I do.”
#40 ”We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it.”
#41 ”I’m careful about the words I use, because I know that my brain will remember and tell them back to me.”
#42 ”We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
#43 ”Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
#44 ”When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
#45 ”There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
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As a founder and chief author at InsightState.com, Bulgarea Candin helps readers on their spiritual journeys. His writings are designed to inspire creativity and personal growth, guiding readers on their journey to a more fulfilled and enlightened life.