Powerful Maya Angelou quotes will uplift and inspire you to celebrate success, love, life, purpose and strength.
Maya Angelou was influential poet, author, and civil rights activist. She received over 50 honorary degrees including one of the country’s highest honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom In 2010.
Here are some of our favorite Maya Angelou quotes on life, happiness, courage, family, friendship, education and much more. Hope these wise words will guide you whenever you need.
Famous Maya Angelou Quotes
“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.”
“Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.”
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
On Courage
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.”
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.”
“You develop courage by doing small things, just as you wouldn’t want to pick up a 100-pound weight without preparing yourself.”
On Love
“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”
“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
“If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.”
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
On Strength and Resilience
“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.”
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”
“I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.”
“I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as making a ‘life.’”
On Humanity and Unity
“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.”
On Success
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
“Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
On Identity and Self-Worth
“I sustain myself with the love of family.”
“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.”
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”
On Creativity and Writing
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
“I’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me.”
On Women and Empowerment
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”
On Happiness and Gratitude
“This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.”
These quotes by Maya Angelou inspire love, courage, resilience, and a deep appreciation for the beauty of life.