7 Inspirational Quotes by Maya Angelou to Uplift Your Life

Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist whose poems remain an inspiration to millions. A few of the most inspirational quotes by Maya Angelou revolve around the issues of resilience, empathy, and self-worth, helping us determine how to overcome conflicts in life with all its adversities and challenges and render them with grace.

Angelou has timeless insights into the human condition, whether being used as the basis of daily inspiration or to spread words of wisdom to a friend.

Who was Maya Angelou?

Maya Angelou was born in 1928 as Marguerite Annie Johnson and she took her personal struggles and made it a literary heritage. Throughout her 50 year career she managed to write seven autobiographies, three books of essays and numerous poetry books. Her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings of 1969 made literary history when it became the first, nonfiction, bestseller by an African American woman.

Angelou had a cultural influence way beyond literature. In 1993, she read her poem On the Pulse of Morning during the first inauguration of the newly elected president Bill Clinton. As one of the most influential women in the world, President Barack Obama conferred the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States onto her in 2010.

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7 Best Maya Angelou Quotes About Life and Resilience

Here are seven of the most powerful and uplifting Maya Angelou quotes, categorized by the themes they represent.

1. Empathy and Human Connection

"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."

2. Taking Action

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

3. Overcoming Adversity

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

4. Personal Growth

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

5. Living Fully

"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."

6. True Success

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

7. Transformation

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

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