Quotes by Maya Angelou

“Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.”

“One isnt necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We cant be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

“Life is like a piano... what you get out of it depends on how you play it.”

“But the real secret to total gorgeousness is to believe in yourself, have self confindence, and try to be secure in your decisions and thoughts.”

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”

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

“Living a life is like constructing a building: if you start wrong, youll end wrong.”

“There is a very fine line between loving life and being greedy for it.”

“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”

“There is this quality in things, of the Right was seeming Wrong at first. To test our faith”

“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.”

“My life has been one great big joke, A dance thats walked, A song thats spoke, I laugh so hard I almost choke, When I think about myself.”

“Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others.”

“See, you don’t have to think about doing the right thing if you are for the right thing then you’ll do it without thinking.”

“Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.”

“Some critics will write Maya Angelou is a natural writer - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.”

“Some people unable to go to school were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors.”

“When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace,love, prosperity, happiness... all the good things.”

“Someone was hurt before you; wronged before you; beaten before you; humiliated before you; raped before you; yet, someone SURVIVED”

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. Please remember that your difficulties do not define you. They simply strengthen your ability to overcome.”