60+ Best Maya Angelou Quotes

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

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

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. Maya Angelou

What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain. Maya Angelou

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

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

Nothing will work unless you do. Maya Angelou

powerful maya angelou quotes

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Maya Angelou

All great achievements require time. Maya Angelou

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

Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution. Maya Angelou

Try to live your life in a way that you will not regret years of useless virtue and inertia and timidity. Take up the battle, take it up! It’s yours, this is your life, this is your world. Maya Angelou

deep maya angelou quotes

You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Maya Angelou

All my work, my life, everything I do is about survival, not just bare, awful, plodding survival, but survival with grace and faith. While one may encounter many defeats, one must not be defeated. Maya Angelou

I do my best because I’m counting on you counting on me. Maya Angelou

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

If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be. Maya Angelou

best maya angelou quotes

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

I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision Maya Angelou

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

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

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

meaningful maya angelou quotes

If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me? Maya Angelou

You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody. Maya Angelou

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

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

I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. Maya Angelou

famous maya angelou quotes

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

Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time. Maya Angelou

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

Life brings us as many joyful moments as it does downfalls. Let Dr Seuss quotes change the way you think about your own life and how you see the world.

Inspirational Maya Angelou Quotes

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

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

Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option. Maya Angelou

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

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

inspirational maya angelou quotes

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have Maya Angelou

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

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away. Maya Angelou

Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood. Maya Angelou

motivational maya angelou quotes

If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities. Maya Angelou

The first thing I do in the morning when I awaken is say, ‘Thank you, Lord!’ I’m grateful to be alive, and I’m going to try to tell the truth as well as I know and tell it as eloquently as I can so that people can hear it. Maya Angelou

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. Maya Angelou

I thank God that I’ve lived long enough to see what I have seen, and I pray that people will continue to do better. We are doing better, it may not seem so, but there was a time when people were lynched in the middle of the street and it was not against the law. We are doing better, but we have so much more to do. Maya Angelou

uplifting maya angelou quotes

There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth. Maya Angelou

I have a certain way of being in this world, and I shall not, I shall not be moved. Maya Angelou

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

wise maya angelou quotes

Let the brain go to work, let it meet the heart and you will be able to forgive. Maya Angelou

I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter. As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good. Maya Angelou

We are only as blind as we want to be. Maya Angelou

maya angelou quotes

This is a beautiful day, I’ve never seen this one before. Maya Angelou

I got my own back. Maya Angelou

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. Maya Angelou

top maya angelou quotes

I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too. Maya Angelou

We are not our brother’s keeper; we are our brother and we are our sister. We must look past complexion and see community. Maya Angelou

Determine to live life with flair and laughter. Maya Angelou

maya angelou quotes about life

The greatest gift we give to each other is the telling of the truth. Maya Angelou

And when you feel frustrated, Robin Williams quotes will remind you to appreciate the beauty around you.

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. Maya Angelou

maya angelou quotes about strength

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

You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure. So use that anger. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. Maya Angelou

profound maya angelou quotes

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

The idea of overcoming is always fascinating to me. It’s fascinating because few of us realize how much energy we have expended just to be here today. I don’t think we give ourselves enough credit for the overcoming. Maya Angelou