Maya Angelou Famous 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 have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

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

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

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.

We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Maya Angelou Famous Quotes part 2

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

We need much less than we think we need.

It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.

When you learn, teach. When you get, give.

You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I’ll rise.

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

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

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

One isn’t necessarily born with courage but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.

I can’t believe my good fortune, and I am grateful for it, but I know that it’s nothing that I’ve done. It’s simply as a result of life’s unfolding, as we all deserve.

Nothing will work unless you do.

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

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

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

You are the best person to determine your own worth.

Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.

You are your best thing.

We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.

One love, one heart, one destiny.

All great achievements require time.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.

We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.

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

We can learn to see each other and see ourselves in each other and recognize that human beings are more alike than we are unalike.

A person is the product of their dreams. So make sure to dream great dreams. And then try to live your dream.

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.

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