118 Maya Angelou Quotes to Inspire and Motivate You

When we talk about inspirational quotes with positivity and optimism Maya Angelou name comes in mind naturally. Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, filmmaker, actor, dancer, 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 was called “the black woman’s poet laureate“, and her poems have been called the anthems of African Americans. Angelou received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.

Through Angelou’s words and actions, she has made a lasting impact on the world. Maya Angelou dreamed of a colorful society where everyone has the same opportunities. To honor her, we have curated the best Maya Angelou quotes. Here are some of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes!

Maya Angelou Quotes

1. “Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”  ~ Maya Angelou

2. “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love.” ~ Maya Angelou

3. “You can ask forgiveness of others, but in the end the real forgiveness is in one’s own self.” ~ Maya Angelou

4. “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

5. “I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.” ~ Maya Angelou

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

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

8. “We need much less than we think we need.” ~ Maya Angelou

9. “If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.” ~ Maya Angelou

10. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” ~ Maya Angelou

Famous Maya Angelou Quotes

11. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou
12. “I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh.” ~ Maya Angelou
13. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou
14. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. ” ~ Maya Angelou
15. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” ~ Maya Angelou

16. “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible. ” ~ Maya Angelou
17. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”~ Maya Angelou
18. “I know why the caged bird sings.” ~ Maya Angelou
19. “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!” ~ Maya Angelou
20. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou

Short Maya Angelou Quotes

21. “Grace is like a lake of drinkable water right outside your door. But you stay inside and die of thirst.” ~ Maya Angelou
22. “When you know you are of worth — not asking it but knowing it — you walk into a room with a particular power.” ~ Maya Angelou
23. “If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?” ~ Maya Angelou
24. “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” ~ Maya Angelou
25. “If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” ~ Maya Angelou
26. “Only equals can become friends.” ~ Maya Angelou
27. “I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.” ~ Maya Angelou
28. “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.” ~ Maya Angelou
29. “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” ~ Maya Angelou
30. “When I forgive other people, I let them go, I free them from my ignorance. And as soon as I do, I feel lighter, brighter and better.” ~ Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quotes

31. “Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls.” ~ Maya Angelou
32. “The best candy shop a child can be left alone in, is the library.” ~ Maya Angelou
33. “Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.” ~ Maya Angelou
34. “A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.” ~ Maya Angelou
35. “Nothing will work unless you do.” ~ Maya Angelou
36. “It’s very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race.” ~ Maya Angelou
37. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ~ Maya Angelou
38. “Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away.” ~ Maya Angelou
39. “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” ~ Maya Angelou
40. “Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.” ~ Maya Angelou

Inspiring Maya Angelou Quotes

41. “This is a wonderful day, I have never seen this one before.” ~ Maya Angelou
42. “To develop courage you have to start developing courage as you do any other muscle. You have to start with small things and build it up.” ~ Maya Angelou
43. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” ~ Maya Angelou
44. “There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.” ~ Maya Angelou
45. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou
46. “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” ~ Maya Angelou ( More Women’s Day Quotes)
47. “I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” ~ Maya Angelou
48. “Every day I awaken I am grateful. My intent is to be totally present in that day. And laugh as much as possible.” ~ Maya Angelou
49. “Determine to live life with flair and laughter.” ~ Maya Angelou
50. “I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.” ~ Maya Angelou

Motivational Maya Angelou Quotes

51. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou
52. “When was the last time anyone told you how important you are?” ~ Maya Angelou
53. “The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.” ~ Maya Angelou
54. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou
55. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” ~ Maya Angelou
56. “If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.” ~ Maya Angelou
57. “We are only as blind as we want to be.” ~ Maya Angelou
58. “I got my own back.” ~ Maya Angelou
59. “I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too.” ~ Maya Angelou
60. “Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.” ~ Maya Angelou

Best Maya Angelou Quotes

61. “Courage – 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.” ~ Maya Angelou
62. “I do my best because I’m counting on you counting on me.” ~ Maya Angelou
63. “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” ~ Maya Angelou
64. “Your belief and your work will speak for you.” ~ Maya Angelou
65. “We need to not be in denial about what we’ve done, what we’ve come through. It will help us if we all do that.” ~ Maya Angelou
66. “The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” ~ Maya Angelou
67. “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” ~ Maya Angelou
68. “You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” ~ Maya Angelou
69. “The children to whom we read simple stories may or may not show gratitude, but each boon we give strengthens the pillars of the world.” ~ Maya Angelou
70. “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” ~ Maya Angelou

Quotes by Maya Angelou

71. “Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn’t know before you learned it.” ~ Maya Angelou
72. “I want all my senses engaged. Let me absorb the world’s variety and uniqueness.” ~ Maya Angelou
73. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou
74. “Everybody is worth everything.” ~ Maya Angelou
75. “Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.” ~ Maya Angelou
76. “The needs of a society determine its ethics.” ~ Maya Angelou 
77. “You don’t have to think about doing the right thing. If you’re for the right thing, then you do it without thinking.” ~ Maya Angelou
78. “Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.” ~ Maya Angelou
79. “When we decide to be happy we accept the responsibility to bring happiness to someone else.” ~ Maya Angelou
80. We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ~ Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quotes

81. “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” ~ Maya Angelou
82. “You can’t get too high for somebody to bring you down.” ~ Maya Angelou
83. “You cannot have anything without working for it.” ~ Maya Angelou
84. “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.” ~ Maya Angelou
85. “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.” ~Maya Angelou
86. “I have great respect for the past.” ~ Maya Angelou
87. “Don’t hesitate to learn the most painful aspects of our history, understand it.” ~ Maya Angelou
88. “People trying to separate people rather than bring us together… please. You don’t just see it in America. It’s all over the world.” ~ Maya Angelou
89. “The most difficult thing in the world, it seems to me, is to realize that I am a child of God; to keep that in my mind all the time.” ~ Maya Angelou
90. “God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of us – in the dreariest and most dreaded moments – can see a possibility of hope.” ~ Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Inspirational Quotes

91. “Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘How are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully.” ~ Maya Angelou
92. “I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.” ~ Maya Angelou
93. “Women should be tough, tender, laugh as much as possible, and live long lives.” ~ Maya Angelou
94. “One person, with good purpose, can, constitute the majority.” ~ Maya Angelou
95. “Every storm runs out of rain.” ~ Maya Angelou
96. “My work is to be honest. My work is to try to think clearly, then have the courage to make sure that what I say is the truth.” ~ Maya Angelou
97. “All great achievements require time.” ~ Maya Angelou
98. “The honorary duty of a human being is to love.” ~ Maya Angelou
99. “Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.” ~ Maya Angelou
100. “Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.” ~ Maya Angelou

Best Maya Angelou Quotes

101. “I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” ~ Maya Angelou
102. “Don’t do anything that you think is wrong. Just do what you think is right, and then be ready to back it up even with your life.” ~ Maya Angelou
103. “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” ~ Maya Angelou
104. “The truth is, right may not be expedient. It may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul.” ~ Maya Angelou
105. “I like to speak on matters which matter to human beings, and almost everything matters to human beings.” ~ Maya Angelou
106. “I try to see every day as a celebration.” ~ Maya Angelou
107. “I became the kind of parent my mother was to me.” ~ Maya Angelou
108. “Home is a refuge not only from the world, but a refuge from my worries, my troubles, my concerns.” ~ Maya Angelou
109. “Be present in all things and thankful for all things.” ~ Maya Angelou
110. “Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude.” ~ Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quotes

111. “I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.” ~ Maya Angelou
112. “I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.” ~ Maya Angelou
113. “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” ~ Maya Angelou
114. “I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.” ~ Maya Angelou
115. “We are here to love each other. That is why you are alive. That is what life is for.” ~ Maya Angelou
116. “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” ~ Maya Angelou
117. “The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise and most possible.” ~ Maya Angelou
118. “I learned a long time ago, the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side.” ~ Maya Angelou

Want to read more quotes from American inspirers?

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• Mark Twain Quotes
• David Goggins Quotes
• Tony Robbins Quotes
• Jim Rohn Quotes
• Dr Seuss Quotes
• Robert Kiyosaki Quotes
• Benjamin Franklin Quotes
• Steve Jobs Quotes
• Zig Ziglar Quotes
• Helen Keller Quotes

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