313 Maya Angelou Quotes and Sayings

1. "I do my best because i’m counting on you counting on me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

2. "If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

3. "Nothing will work unless you do." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

4. "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

5. "Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

6. "Only equals can become friends." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

7. "If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

8. "You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

9. "We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

10. "The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

11. "You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

12. "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) Click to tweet

13. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

14. "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) Click to tweet

15. "If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

16. "When you know you are of worth — not asking it but knowing it — you walk into a room with a particular power." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

17. "When you know you are of worth, you don’t have to raise your voice, you don’t have to become rude, you don’t have to become vulgar; you just are. And you are like the sky is, as the air is, the same way water is wet. It doesn’t have to protest." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

18. "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) Click to tweet

19. "My great blessing is my son, but i have daughters. I have white ones and black ones and fat ones and thin ones and pretty ones and plain. I have gay ones and straight. I have daughters. I have asian ones, i have jewish ones, i have muslim ones." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

20. "Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

21. "You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

22. "I was told many years ago by my grandmother who raised me: if somebody puts you on a road and you don’t feel comfortable on it and you look ahead and you don’t like the destination and you look behind and you don’t want to return to that place, step off the road." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

23. "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) Click to tweet

24. "I not only have the right to stand up for myself, but i have the responsibility. I can’t ask somebody else to stand up for me if i won’t stand up for myself. And once you stand up for yourself, you’d be surprised that people say, “can i be of help?”." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

25. "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." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

26. "Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily. If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented. So, to be bodacious enough to invent ourselves is wise." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

27. "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

28. "Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

29. "If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

30. "Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

31. "When you get give. When you learn teach." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

32. "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

33. "I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

34. "Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

35. "Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

36. "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) Click to tweet

37. "I can be changed by what happens to me, but i refuse to be reduced by it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

38. "Your belief and your work will speak for you." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

39. "Life loves the liver of it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

40. "All great achievements require time." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

41. "Determine to live life with flair and laughter." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

42. "Effective action is always unjust." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

43. "We need much less than we think we need." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

44. "The honorary duty of a human being is to love." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

45. "When you learn, teach, when you get, give." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

46. "Everybody is worth everything." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

47. "Achievement brings its own anticlimax." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

48. "Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

49. "Whining is just unbecoming." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

50. "I believe that every person is born with talent." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

51. "The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

52. "I know why the caged bird sings." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

53. "The needs of society determine its ethics." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

54. "If someone shows you who they really are, believe them." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

55. "If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

56. "All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

57. "You only are free when you realize you belong no place – you belong every place – no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

58. "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." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

59. "The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

60. "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) Click to tweet

61. "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) Click to tweet

62. "I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever i find myself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

63. "It’s very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

64. "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. You do everything about it. You talk it. Never stop talking it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

65. "Someone was hurt before you, wronged before you, hungry before you, frightened before you, beaten before you, humiliated before you, raped before you… yet, someone survived… you can do anything you choose to do." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

66. "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) Click to tweet

67. "Look what you’ve already come through! Don’t deny it. You’ve already come through some things, which are very painful. If you’ve been alive until you’re 35, you have gone through some pain. It cost you something. And you’ve come through it. So at least look at that. And have a sense to look at yourself and say, “well, wait a minute. I’m stronger than i thought i was." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

68. "I’m really saddened by the attempts to separate and polarize. This is a time when we have hungry people, people out of work, and people out of spirit. This is a time where we need to uplift, not to separate." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

69. "On what she feels about the world today: i feel very hopeful, very expectant. I’m looking forward to it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

70. "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) Click to tweet

71. "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) Click to tweet

72. "My great hope is to laugh as much as i cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

73. "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) Click to tweet

74. "I want all my senses engaged. Let me absorb the world’s variety and uniqueness." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

75. "How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

76. "If a human being dreams a great dream, dares to love somebody; if a human being dares to be martin king, or mahatma gandhi, or mother theresa, or malcolm x; if a human being dares to be bigger than the condition into which she or he was born – it means so can you. And so you can try to stretch, stretch, stretch yourself so you can internalize, ‘homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto. I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me.’ that’s one thing i’m learning." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

77. "This is a wonderful day, i have never seen this one before." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

78. "The best candy shop a child can be left alone in, is the library." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

79. "I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled christmas tree lights." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

80. "Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, ‘i’m going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that’s tough. I am going to snow anyway.’" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

81. "I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t laugh." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

82. "I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me, ‘i love you.’ there is an african saying which is: be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

83. "I never have written every day. When i’m writing a book, i write monday through friday. I always try to take saturday and pretend to have some sanity." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

84. "My life has been one great big joke, a dance that’s walked a song that’s spoke, i laugh so hard i almost choke when i think about myself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

85. "If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning ‘good morning’ at total strangers." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

86. "Take your time to read those. They are deep. (i personally re-read them a few times!)" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

87. "We are only as blind as we want to be." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

88. "You can ask forgiveness of others, but in the end the real forgiveness is in one’s own self." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

89. "Nobody can enjoy unless we all enjoy, truly enjoy." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

90. "When i decided to speak, i had a lot to say." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

91. "Grace is like a lake of drinkable water right outside your door. But you stay inside and die of thirst." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

92. "We are not just flesh and blood. And our hungers are not going to be set aside as just flesh and blood." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

93. "If you want what you’re saying heard, then take your time and say it so that the listener will actually hear it. You might save somebody’s life. Your own, first." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

94. "When was the last time anyone told you how important you are?" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

95. "Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of god." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

96. "Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

97. "A woman’s heart should be so hidden in god that a man has to seek him just to find her." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

98. "Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence, neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish, it is an imponderably valuable gift." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

99. "I’ve learned that even when i have pains, i don’t have to be one." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

100. "My mother said i must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

101. "Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

102. "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) Click to tweet

103. "Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

104. "You listen with interest. That gives some sense of confidence to the speaker." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

105. "I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life”." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

106. "I like to go back and read poems that i wrote fifty years ago, twenty years ago, and sometimes they surprise me – i didn’t know i knew that then. Or maybe i didn’t know it then, and i know more now." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

107. "I’ve learned that forgiving is one of the greatest gifts that i can give myself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

108. "A leader sees greatness in other people. He nor she can be much of a leader if all she sees is herself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

109. "Seek patience and passion in equal amounts. Patience alone will not build the temple. Passion alone will destroy its walls." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

110. "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

111. "I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

112. "We are here to love each other. That is why you are alive. That is what life is for." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

113. "There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

114. "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) Click to tweet

115. "Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

116. "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, ‘i’m with you kid. Let’s go’." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

117. "Human beings are more alike than unalike. Whether in paris, texas, or paris, france, we all want to have good jobs where we are needed and respected and paid just a little more than we deserve. We want healthy children, safe streets, to be loved and have the unmitigated gall to accept love." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

118. "I’m considered wise, and sometimes i see myself as knowing. Most of the time, i see myself as wanting to know. And i see myself as a very interested person. I’ve never been bored in my life." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

119. "Most people don’t grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

120. "We can be better, we can be wiser, we can be more kind. Yes we have to change. We have to grow up and stop acting like 10 years old. Yes there is much to do, much to see, much to go into." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

121. "Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

122. "I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

123. "I believe in living a poetic life, an art full life. Everything we do from the way we raise our children to the way we welcome our friends is part of a large canvas we are creating." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

124. "If we live long enough, we may even get over war. I imagine a time when somebody will mention the word war and everyone in the room will start to laugh. And what do you mean war?" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

125. "I encourage courtesy. To accept nothing less than courtesy, and to give nothing less than courtesy." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

126. "Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

127. "There are those who say that poets should use her and his art to change the world. I’d agree with that, but i think everybody should do that. I think the chef and the baker and the candlestick maker – i think everybody should be hoping to make it a better world." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

128. "We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

129. "To those who have given up on love: i say, “trust life a little bit”." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

130. "Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

131. "You can’t forgive without loving. And i don’t mean sentimentality. I don’t mean mush. I mean having enough courage to stand up and say, ‘i forgive. I’m finished with it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

132. "I am grateful to have been loved and to be loved now and to be able to love." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

133. "My great hope is to laugh as much as i cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

134. "What i really would like said about me is that i dared to love. By love, i mean that condition in the human spirit so profound it encourages us to develop courage and build bridges, and then to trust those bridges and cross the bridges in attempts to reach other human beings." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

135. "I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

136. "First best is falling in love. Second best is being in love. Least best is falling out of love. But any of it is better than never having been in love." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

137. "You can never be great at anything unless you love it. Not be in love with it, but love the thing, admire the thing. And it seems that if you love the thing, and you don’t just want to possess it, it will find you. But if you’re in love with the thing, it may run like hell away from you." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

138. "When we find someone who is brave, fun, intelligent, and loving, we have to thank the universe." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

139. "It’s very hard for adults to maintain respect and romance so that a love affair can be sustained over years." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

140. "If i am not good to myself, how can i expect anyone else to be good to me?" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

141. "Forgiveness. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. You are relieved of carrying that burden of resentment. You really are lighter. You feel lighter. You just drop that." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

142. "When people see the laughing face, even if they’re jealous of it, their burden is lightened. But do it first for yourself. Laugh and dare to try to love somebody, starting with yourself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

143. "Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

144. "Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

145. "Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

146. "I believe that people want the scent of love, more than anything else. And i don’t mean sentimentality, i don’t mean mush. I mean that idea, that human beings are more alike than we are different." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

147. "It’s hard because people think they have something to lose and the truth is they have everything to gain in trying to love somebody." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

148. "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) Click to tweet

149. "By love i don’t mean indulgence. I do not mean sentimentality. And in this instance, i don’t even mean romance. I mean that condition that allowed humans to dream of god. That condition that allowed the “dumb” to write spirituals and russian songs and irish lilts. That is love, and it’s so much larger than anything i can conceive." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

150. "Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

151. "If you happen to fall in love with someone in another race, it’s more difficult, because you have to translate yourself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

152. "I’m convinced that the negative has power. It lives. And if you allow it to perch in your house, in your mind, in your life, it can take you over. So when the rude or cruel thing is said – the lambasting, the gay bashing, the hate – i say, “take it all out of my house!” Those negative words climb into the woodwork and into the furniture, and the next thing you know they’ll be on my skin." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

153. "If you want to liberate someone, love them. Not be in love with them – that’s dangerous." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

154. "If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

155. "Whining lets the brute know there’s a victim for him in the neighborhood." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

156. "I’ve learned that whenever i decide something with an open heart, i usually make the right decision." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

157. "I have enough of life in me to make somebody jealous enough to want to knock me down. I have so much courage in me that i have the effrontery, the incredible gall to stand up. That’s it. That’s how you get to know who you are." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

158. "Those who have something to say accept the fact that that’s lonely. One already knows that there will be adversaries." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

159. "At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

160. "The only way you can be a mark is if you want something for nothing. If you’re greedy, you’re set up." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

161. "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. (see also: 14 ways to be fearless, lifehack.org)" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

162. "If i’m here, i’ll be trying to be a better human being, a better writer, a better friend and a better beloved." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

163. "Courage, i don’t think anybody is born with courage. I think you may be born with a flair to braggadocio, you know. That’s not courage." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

164. "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat, so that we can know who we are." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

165. "In the latter years of your life, your happiness and your self-esteem will be determined by the mountains you surmounted, the valleys you climbed out of, and the life and/or career that you forged for yourself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

166. "The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

167. "If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat – i don’t know how long you’re supposed to stand there and turn the other cheek, so he or she can get a better angle at taking your head off." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

168. "If i am going to do the most difficult and frightening thing – dying – is it possible that i could do some difficult and impossible things that are good?" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

169. "I think that each of us is so much alike, and yet at the same time we are so different, and i have a feeling that if you encountered difficulty, and i with my age encountered the same difficulty, i would respond one way, and you would respond another. Neither would be right or wrong. It’s just that each of us is courageous, and that’s what i encourage, courage, and the courage to see, and the courage to say to oneself what one has seen. Don’t be in denial." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

170. "You have to deal with what you encounter. But you must not be reduced. And so a way not to be reduced is don’t whine! Don’t let the incidents which take place in life bring you low." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

171. "I did get knocked down flat in front of the whole world, and i rose. I didn’t run away – i rose right where i’d been knocked down. And then that’s how you get to know yourself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

172. "In order to win, we pay with energy and effort and discipline. If we lose, we pay in disappointment, discontent, and lack of fulfillment." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

173. "I am not competing with anyone other than myself. I want to be excellent at whatever i do." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

174. "I have respect for the past, but i’m a person of the moment." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

175. "Be present in all things and thankful for all things." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

176. "I try to see every day as a celebration." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

177. "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) Click to tweet

178. "I’m here, and i do my best to be completely centered at the place i’m at, then i go forward to the next place." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

179. "Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

180. "Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, i maintain an attitude of gratitude." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

181. "She comprehended the perversity of life, that in the struggle lies the joy." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

182. "If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you will look forward, do so prayerfully. But the wisest course would be to be present in the present gratefully." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

183. "Joy is a freedom. It helps a person to find his or her own liberation. The person who is joyous takes responsibility for the time he/she takes up and the space that he/she occupies. You share it! Some of you have it … you share it! That is what joy is! When you continue to give it away you will still have so much more of it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

184. "Happiness is a chance to talk to a friend, to hear good music, to have a good glass of wine. Happiness is a chance to be myself and to find people with whom i agree or who i don’t agree but i can learn something." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

185. "The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, i maintain an attitude of gratitude. If i insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today i am blessed." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

186. "It’s the fire in my eyes, and the flash of my teeth, the swing in my waist, and the joy in my feet." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

187. "When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity, happiness… all the good things." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

188. "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) Click to tweet

189. "When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

190. "Be present in all things and thankful for all things." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

191. "A friend may be waiting behind a stranger’s face." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

192. "The most called-upon prerequisite of a friend is an accessible ear." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

193. "Only equals can become friends." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

194. "Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm, when we look at each other we must say, i understand. I understand how you feel because i have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

195. "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That’s why it’s important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

196. "I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

197. "A man or woman who sees other people as whole and prepared and accords them respect and the same rights has arranged his or her own allies." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

198. "Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

199. "I think the more we know the better we are. I mean not just facts. The more we know about each other, the closer we are to learn something about our selves." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

200. "I think we ought to give ourselves more time. We should be more patient with ourselves and with each other." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

201. "I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

202. "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." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

203. "Home is a refuge not only from the world, but a refuge from my worries, my troubles, my concerns." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

204. "I do not believe that the accident of birth makes people sisters and brothers. It makes them siblings. Gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood are conditions people have to work at. It’s a serious matter. You compromise, you give, you take, you stand firm, and you’re relentless… and it is an investment. Sisterhood means if you happen to be in burma and i happen to be in san diego and i’m married to someone who is very jealous and you’re married to somebody who is very possessive, if you call me in the middle of the night, i have to come." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

205. "The sisters and brothers that you meet give you the materials which your character uses to build itself. It is said that some people are born great, others achieve it, some have it thrust upon them. In truth, the ways in which your character is built have to do with all three of those. Those around you, those you choose, and those who choose you." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

206. "I sustain myself with the love of family." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

207. "If i have a monument in this world, it is my son." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

208. "My pride had been starched by a family who assumed unlimited authority in its own affairs." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

209. "A mother’s love liberates." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

210. "I became the kind of parent my mother was to me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

211. "Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

212. "I have a feeling that i make a very good friend, and i’m a good mother, and a good sister, and a good citizen. I am involved in life itself – all of it. And i have a lot of energy and a lot of nerve." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

213. "The sadness of the women’s movement is that they don’t allow the necessity of love. See, i don’t personally trust any revolution where love is not allowed." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

214. "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." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

215. "Courage allows the successful woman to fail – and to learn powerful lessons from the failure – so that in the end, she didn’t fail at all." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

216. "Stepping onto a brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

217. "A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

218. "I am a woman phenomenally, phenomenal woman that is your grandmother, that is your mother, that is your sister, that is you and that is me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

219. "My mother had said me, “all right, you’ve been raised, so don’t let anybody else raise you. You know the difference between right and wrong. Do right. And remember – you can always come home.” And she continued to liberate me until she died." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

220. "On her mother: on the night she died, i went to the hospital. I told my mom, “let me tell you about yourself. You deserved a great daughter, and you got one. And you liberated me to be one. So if it’s time for you to go, you may have done everything god brought you here to do." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

221. "When teachers or people in authority put me down or in one way or another tried to make me feel less than equal to what they thought i should be – my mother was on my side. It was amazing." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

222. "My mother raised me, and then freed me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

223. "My mother is so full of joy and life. I am her child. And that is better than being the child of anyone else in the world." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

224. "I’ve learned that i still have a lot to learn." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

225. "I do hope that young men and women will start to think for themselves and start to take responsibility for their own thoughts." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

226. "We need to remember to teach our children that solitude can be a much-to-be-desired condition. Not only is it acceptable to be alone; at times it is positively to be wished for… ..in the silence we listen to ourselves. Then we ask questions of ourselves. We describe ourselves to ourselves, and in the quietude we may even hear the voice of god." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

227. "I think we have systematically and critically harmed ourselves and many young people by advising them not to try things." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

228. "My mother said i must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

229. "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

230. "Each child belongs to all of us and they will bring us a tomorrow in direct relation to the responsibility we have shown to them." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

231. "If i’m going to a new country, i try to learn something about the language and the culture, so i don’t just go bumbling over things." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

232. "Children’s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

233. "The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself. If we don’t have that we never grow, we never learn, and sure as hell we should never teach." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

234. "People feel guilty. And guilt is stymieing. Guilt immobilizes. Guilt closes the air ducts and the veins, and makes people ignorant." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

235. "If a person – any human being – is told often enough, “you are nothing. You are nothing. You account for nothing. You count for nothing. You are less than a human being. I have no visibility of you”, the person finally begins to believe it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

236. "There is nothing so pitiful as a young cynic because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

237. "If the door has been opened and i’ve been invited, or if i’m not invited and i somehow know i’m supposed to go in there, i put myself together and go in, praying all the while. I try to learn something before i go in. I try to show some respect of the place i’m going into." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

238. "If you’re in love with your children, you’re in their lives all the time. Leave them alone. Let them grow and make some mistakes. (see also: why we should let our children fail)" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

239. "On her mother: she’d talk to me as if i had some sense." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

240. "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) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

241. "While i know myself as a creation of god, i am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also god’s creation." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

242. "Stand up straight and realize who you are, that you tower over your circumstances. You are a child of god. Stand up straight." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

243. "I believe that each of us comes from the creator trailing wisps of glory. So at this wonderful, young age of 65, i don’t know yet what the lord has for me to do. I try to live up to the energy and to the calling, but i wouldn’t dare say i have even scratched the surface yet." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

244. "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) Click to tweet

245. "I’m working at trying to be a christian, and that’s serious business. It’s like trying to be a good jew, a good muslim, a good buddhist, a good shintoist, a good zoroastrian, a good friend, a good lover, a good mother, a good buddy – it’s serious business." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

246. "While the rest of the world has been improving technology, ghana has been improving the quality of man’s humanity to man." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

247. "There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

248. "The truth is very important. No matter how negative it is, it is imperative that you learn the truth, not necessarily the facts. I mean, that, that can come, but facts can stand in front of the truth and almost obscure the truth. It is imperative that students learn the truth of our history." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

249. "My equipment tends to be that of a social humanitarian and a poet, which i suppose is the same thing, and i tend to watch how people are." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

250. "In the 16th century, niccolò machiavelli – in an attempt to get back in the good graces of the powerful – wrote a slim volume called the prince. In that book he showed the powers that be how to control the people. That book is a statement: separate and rule, divide and conquer. That’s five hundred years ago and it still works, because we allow ourselves to be lead around with holes through our noses." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

251. "We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

252. "I believe we are still so innocent. The species are still so innocent that a person who is apt to be murdered believes that the murderer, just before he puts the final wrench on his throat, will have enough compassion to give him one sweet cup of water." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

253. "I wish that we could look into each other’s faces, in each other’s eyes, and see our own selves. I hope that the children have not been so scarred by their upbringing that they only think fear when they see someone else who looks separate from them." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

254. "I pray for humility because that comes from inside out. And what humility does for one, is it reminds us that there are people before me. I have already been paid for. And what i need to do is prepare myself so that i can pay for someone else who has yet to come, but who may be here and needs me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

255. "This is what i am learning, at 82 years old: the main thing is to be in love with the search for truth." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

256. "I believe what i have to say is important, and i believe the people coming to hear me are important, and so the occasion of itself alone has an importance, which forces me to stare down my nerves." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

257. "I like to speak on matters which matter to human beings, and almost everything matters to human beings." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

258. "The root cause of all the problems we have in the world today is ignorance of course. But most, polarization." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

259. "It is better to control oneself, if one can, and not hit back. But on certain occasions, it is imperative to defend oneself. I don’t think it’s fair to ask anybody not to defend herself or himself." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

260. "Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

261. "Let’s tell the truth to people. When people ask, ‘how are you?’ have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

262. "The truth is, right may not be expedient. It may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

263. "My heart is so heavy when i see the reality of the indian reservation and as an american, i know i am, too, responsible." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

264. "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) Click to tweet

265. "I am overwhelmed by the grace and persistence of my people." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

266. "Don’t hesitate to learn the most painful aspects of our history, understand it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

267. "It is imperative that young white men and women study the black american history. It is imperative that blacks and whites study the asian american history." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

268. "There’s something beautiful about the fact that obama was not just elected, but elected decisively across racial, and socio-economic and cultural groups and that we all celebrated in his win." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

269. "The country didn’t get that way in a week; we’ve had years and years of getting behind in our economy. So president obama stepped into a hellhole and people wanted him to change it as soon as he came in. But he’s got his adversaries to deal with in the house and senate, so it’s not easy." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

270. "All of my history as an african-american woman, as a jewish woman, as a muslim woman. I’m bringing everything i ever knew, and all the stories i’ve read – everything good, strong, kind and powerful. I bring it all with me into every situation, and i will not allow my life to be minimized by anybody’s racism or sexism or ageism." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

271. "History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

272. "I would encourage us all, african americans, asians, latinos, whites, native americans to study history. I long for the time when all the human history is taught as one history. I am stronger because you are stronger. I am weaker if you are weak. So we are more alike than we are unlike." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

273. "I have great respect for the past." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

274. "The problem i have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don’t know my story." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

275. "There’s racism and sexism and ageism and all sorts of idiocies. But bad news is not news. We’ve had bad news as a species for a long time. We’ve had slavery and human sacrifice and the holocaust and brutalities of such measure." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

276. "My people couldn’t have survived slavery without having hope that it would get better." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

277. "I’m a descendant of someone bought and sold, and brought in 1619 in what was to become the united states." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

278. "As far as i knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, black men desired them and black women worked for them." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

279. "We are growing up. We are growing up! Out of the idiocies – the ignorances of racism and sexism and ageism and all those ignorances." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

280. "For africa to me… is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

281. "We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

282. "The fact that the adult american negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors, and deserves respect if not ent." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

283. "We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate – thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

284. "It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

285. "Alone, all alone. Nobody, but nobody. Can make it out here alone." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

286. "I couldn’t tell fact from fiction, or if the dream was true. My only sure prediction in this world was you. I’d touch your features inchly. Beard love and dared the cost. The sented spiel reeled me unreal and i found my senses lost." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

287. "We need joy as we need air. We need love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

288. "When my bones are stiff and aching, and my feet won’t climb the stair, i will only ask one favor: don’t bring me no rocking chair. When you see me walking, stumbling, don’t study and get it wrong. ‘cause tired don’t mean lazy and every goodbye ain’t gone. I’m the same person i was back then, a little less hair, a little less chin, a lot less lungs and much less wind. But ain’t i lucky i can still breathe in." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

289. "Just do right. Right may not be expedient, it may not be profitable, but it will satisfy your soul. It brings you the kind of protection that bodyguards can’t give you. So 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) Click to tweet

290. "Out of the huts of history’s shame, i rise. Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, i rise. I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide. Welling and swelling i bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, i rise. Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, i rise. Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, i am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise, i rise, i rise." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

291. "The variety of our skin tones can confuse, bemuse, delight, brown and pink and beige and purple, tan and blue and white… i note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

292. "I am a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

293. "Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

294. "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) Click to tweet

295. "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

296. "My mother’s gifts of courage to me were both large and small. The latter are woven so subtly into the fabric of my psyche that i can hardly distinguish where she stops and i begin." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

297. "I will look after you and i will look after anybody you say needs to be looked after, any way you say. I am here. I brought my whole self to you. I am your mother." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

298. "I want you to learn that you cannot have anything without working for it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

299. "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) Click to tweet

300. "We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

301. "The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

302. "A bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

303. "A caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

304. "You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, i’ll rise!" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

305. "Had i known that the heart breaks slowly, dismantling itself into unrecognizable plots of misery… had i known yet i would have loved you, your brash and insolent beauty, your heavy comedic face and knowledge of sweet delights, but from a distance i would have left you whole and wholly for the delectation of those who wanted more and cared less." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

306. "You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still like dust, i’ll rise." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

307. "You can’t get too high for somebody to bring you down." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

Note: Badass Maya Angelou Quotes That Will Blow Your Mind

308. "I had to trust life, since i was young enough to believe that life loved the person who dared to live it." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

309. "“can i do it? I’d rather not try and fail”. That’s stupid talk maya. Every try will not succeed. But if you’re going to live, live at all, your business is trying… you fail, you get up and try again.”" (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

310. "Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size. But when i start to tell them, they think i’m telling lies. I say, it’s in the reach of my arms the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips. I’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

311. "Men themselves have wondered what they see in me. They try so much but they can’t touch my inner mystery. When i try to show them they say they still can’t see. I say, it’s in the arch of my back, the sun of my smile, the ride of my breasts, the grace of my style. I’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

312. "Now you understand just why my head’s not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing it ought to make you proud. I say, it’s in the click of my heels, the bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, the need of my care, ’cause i’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet

313. "I know that i’m not the easiest person to live with. The challenge i put on myself is so great that the person i live with feels himself challenged. I bring a lot to bear, and i don’t know how not to." (Maya Angelou) Click to tweet