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Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou Quotes

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Famous Maya Angelou Quotes

“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 of you.”

PeopleInspirationalWellsMotivationalEyeSuccessMotivationWomenGoalCan DoWealthMoneyBusinessRichesPursueAfrican AmericanMaking MoneyMoving OnThoughtfulAccomplishedMondayDo The BestRich PeopleBest WorkWealth CreationLoving LifeGet MoneyLove Of MoneyMake You Feel GoodMotivational WorkRich MoneyBecome RichSomething You LoveWise MoneyGood MoneyInspirational MoneyThings You LoveChange Your AttitudeMoney Can't Buy HappinessMakin MoneyBest MoneyOld MoneyBlack History InspirationalFeeling DownGreatest WealthWork You LoveWork LoveInspirational Money MakingYou Can't Change PeopleAccomplishing SomethingLove And MoneyCreating ThingsSuccess And MoneySuccess MoneyMoney Doesn't Buy HappinessSmart MoneyAccomplish Your GoalsHappy Womens DayI Love MoneyWork And Money
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleWayLifeInspirationalPersonsLightThreeLostInspiringTreeParentingHandleChristmasLive LifeI've LearnedThoughtfulI Have LearnedThree ThingsLoving LifeRainyRainy DayOpen HeartTangledThings I've LearnedChristmas TreeLuggageForget EverythingRaining DayLearned PersonChristmas LightsForget The Pain
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleWayGivingSaidCharacterUseThreeBornAchieveBrotherMaterialsBuiltYou ChooseBrothers And SistersThrust
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I am convinced that most people do not grow up...We marry and dare to have children and call that growing up. I think what we do is mostly grow old. We carry accumulation of years in our bodies, and on our faces, but generally our real selves, the children inside, are innocent and shy as magnolias.”

PeopleThinkingLifeYearsChildrenRealSelfBodyFacesGrowsGrowing UpGrowingDareConvincedInnocentShyAccumulationReal SelfMagnolias
Book:Letter to My Daughter
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“There were people who went to sleep last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake again. And those dead folks would give anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of plowing. So you watch yourself about complaining. 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.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWayGivingLastsNightBlackSleepWhitePoorWatchesRichFiveMinutesTenFolksComplainingWeatherLife LessonFive MinutesLast NightCan't ChangePlowing
Author:Maya Angelou
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“Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avaoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWayWantSometimesPainAsksHurtAnswersHonestyFineResearchSelf WorthCuresKneesTelling The TruthMore TimeNerves
Book:Letter to My Daughter
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“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.”

PeopleIfsLoveLifeGivingHomeHumorFunnyChoicesFamilyMorningCourageStreetsStrengthSmilePositivityStrangerLoved OnesEmpowering WomenFamily LoveGood MorningI SmileWomen Empowering WomenYour SmileGrinningJust SmileMy SmileRandom Acts Of KindnessKeep SmilingPhenomenal WomanBest SmileJust Keep SmilingFunny Good MorningSurlyAll SmilesEmpowering LoveYou Made Me SmileFunny SmileSmile To The WorldMake People SmileKickass WomenSmile Love
Book:The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleLoveInspirationalPersonsLove YouTrustSelf LoveOffersTrue LoveCarefulNakedShirtsLove YourselfBe CarefulBlack WomenI Love YouTrust MeInsperationalDon't TrustI Loved YouLove And TrustPhenomenal WomanTrust IssuesI Trust YouI Love You So MuchTrust And RespectTrust LoveLoving PersonNot TrustingTrusting YouDon't Trust AnyoneHard To TrustTrusting PeopleI Don't Trust YouWho To TrustDon't Trust People
Author:Maya Angelou
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“A certain person wondered why a big strong girl like me wouldn't keep a job which paid a normal salary. I took my time to lead her and to read her every page. Even minimal people can't survive on minimal wage. A certain person wondered why I wait all week for you. I didn't have the words to describe just what you do. I said you had the motion of the ocean in your walk, and when you solve my riddles you don't even have to talk.”

PeoplePersonsSaidBigsJobsCertainGirlStrongWaitingWalksWeekNormalOceanPagesPaidSolveLike MeMy TimeSalaryRiddleStrong Girl
Book:I Shall Not Be Moved: Poems
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“Oh, Black known and unknown poets, how often have your auctioned pains sustained us? Who will compute the lonely nights made less lonely by your songs, or by the empty pots made less tragic by your tales? If we were a people much given to revealing secrets, we might raise monuments and sacrifice to the memories of our poets, but slavery cured us of that weakness.”

PeopleIfsInspirationalMadeMightPainNightSongGivenBlackMemoriesSecretKnownSacrificePoetWeaknessLonelyEmptyRaisesSlaveryTalesTragicPotRevealingMonumentLonely Nights
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.”

PeopleGivingBelieveConditionsBrotherBirthDon't BelieveAccidentsMy BrotherBrotherhoodMy SisterBrothers And SistersSiblingSisterSisterhoodYour BrotherMy SiblingsBrotherlyBrotherly LoveBrother SisterYounger BrotherSiblings SistersSister LoveCute SiblingOther SisterSiblings BrothersSiblings Sisters And BrothersBaby SisterFunny Brother And SisterFunny Brother SisterCute Brother And SisterFunny SiblingFunny SisterSisters FriendshipCute Brother SisterCute SisterhoodCute SisterFunny BrotherInspirational SisterhoodFunny SisterhoodInspirational SisterSibling DaySister FriendRakhiBrother LoveCute BrotherLove My BrotherInspirational Brother And SisterSibling InspirationalSisters And Mothers
Book:Conversations with Maya Angelou
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“Words are things. You must be careful, careful about calling people out of their names, using racial pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that. Some day we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally in to you.”

PeopleThinkingAbleNamesIgnoranceWallCallingClothesCarefulBe CarefulPower Of WordsUpholstery
Author:Maya Angelou
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“We are all creative, but by the time we are three of four years old, someone has knocked the creativity out of us. Some people shut up the kids who start to tell stories. Kids dance in their cribs, but someone will insist they sit still. By the time the creative people are ten or twelve, they want to be like everyone else.”

PeopleWantYearsStillsStoriesKidsCultureThreeJusticeCreativityCreativeFourTenDiversitySocial JusticeFour YearsTwelveShut UpCreative People
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I look at some of the great novelists, and I think the reason they are great is that they're telling the truth. The fact is they're using made-up names, made-up people, made-up places, and made-up times, but they're telling the truth about the human being- what we are capable of, what makes us lose, laugh, weep, fall down, and gnash our teeth and wring our hands and kill each other and love each other.”

PeopleThinkingHumansLooksMadeReasonFactsHandsFallNamesLosesHuman BeingsInspiringLaughingCapableAnd LoveDown AndTeethNovelistsThoughtfulTelling The TruthFalling DownLove Each OtherLoving LifeThoughts On Life
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleIfsGivingBelieveMeanMatterHappensNightHumanityMiddleConditionsSeriousBrotherBirthMarriedInvestmentAccidentsCompromiseFirmCall MeJealousBrotherhoodBrothers And SistersSiblingRelentlessSisterhoodMiddle Of The NightPossessiveStand FirmBurmaSan Diego
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me, if I do that well enough, then I'll be able to look after someone else -- the children or the husband or the elderly. But I have to look after myself first. I know that some people think that's being selfish, I think that's being self-full.”

PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsFirstsWellsLooksChildrenLongI CanSelfEnoughAbleSidesCan DoMy OwnHusbandLong TimeSelfishLike MeLong Time AgoElderlyWisestBeing Selfish
Author:Maya Angelou
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“I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. 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. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.”

PeopleShouldHeartStillsPainDecisionWarmI've LearnedFriendlyReach OutHugI Have LearnedOpen HeartRight DecisionThings I've LearnedMake The Right DecisionTouch Someone
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleLifeInspirationalFeelsMadeSaidFeelingsInspirationMotivationalDeathWomenMemoriesForgetInspiringPowerfulAttitudeHistoryPositivePositive ThinkingInspirational LifeCommunicationYogaInspiredAfrican AmericanMoving OnI've LearnedLive ByNever ForgetGraduationCarpe DiemInsperationalForgetfulnessPhenomenalForget YouRemembers YouMentoringBe InspiredWise WomenInspiring LeaderChange For The BetterSuccessful WomenPower To ChangeMotivational LeadershipWomen PowerInspire WomenPhenomenal WomanCool MotivationalCourage To LoveInspirational AdversityPositive OptimisticLift You UpGreat MarketingSuccessful LeadersLife And InspirationalLove And CourageBlack Women InspirationalFemale WritersLove Life InspirationalLive For YourselfInspiration And LifePowerful InspirationalForget The PainRemembering HerEncouragement For WomenYou Have ChangedYou Live And LearnForget The WorldInspiration To OthersVery InspirationalForget A FriendPowerful Life
Author:Maya Angelou
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“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

PeopleInspirationalFirstsBelieveShowsMotivationI BelieveInspiringRelationshipTrustFirst TimeI Believe InAfrican AmericanMoving OnEmpoweringBlack WomenHusseinEmpowering WomenPeople In Your LifeMind BlowingWomen Empowering WomenInspirational WomenBeliveWise WomenInspirational Strong WomenMeeting New PeoplePhenomenal WomanChristianity And IslamStrong InspirationalGetting To Know Each OtherMother Wit
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleSaidSchoolMotherUnderstandingEducationIgnoranceCollegeIntelligentExcellenceEducationalEducatedProfessorsEducateCampusCollege EducationIlliteracyCollege LifeGoing To CollegeCollege CampusI Know Why The Caged Bird SingsCollege ProfessorsCollege Success
Author:Maya Angelou
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“If you have only one smile in you give it to the people you love.”

PeopleIfsLifeInspirationalGivingSelf EsteemCommunicationSmileValentineBlack WomenValentine's DayFamily LoveI SmileYour SmileGrinningJust SmileMy SmileHave A Good DayFunny Valentines DayValentine LoveValentines Day LoveMake You SmilePhenomenal WomanBest SmileRomantic Valentines DaySmile On Your FaceFunny ValentineJust Keep SmilingHappy ValentinesFunny Good MorningHappy Valentines DayMake Me SmileCute Valentines DayHappy Valentines Day FunnySurlyValentines Day CardsBe My ValentineAll SmilesYou Made Me SmileFunny Single Valentines DayValentines Day SpecialSmile MoreCute ValentineFunny SmileValentines GreetingsYou Make Me SmileSmile To The WorldBaby SmileHe Makes Me SmileCute SmileFebruary LoveMake People SmileCute Funny Valentines DayKickass WomenValentines Day GreetingsSmile LoveSweet SmileSmile And Tears
Book:The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
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“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

PeopleYoungParentTeachTeachingStrengthDiversityParentingEducationalInclusionLiteracyUnity In DiversityMom And DadAfrican American WomenParents LoveChildren LearningChildren EducationParents And TeachersInspirational StrengthInspirational DiversityDiversity Of LifeAmazing ParentsStrength And BeautyHuman DiversityWise ParentsYoung ParentsMom Dad
Author:Maya Angelou
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“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.”

PeopleIfsLifeTryingMayIdeasDiesCultureWorryLaughingJourneyCryThis WorldAdventureTravelRacismLaughterWanderAround The WorldBigotryTime TravelIntroducingTraveledTravelerFunny TravelAdventurousTravellerTravel WritingGreat TravelInspiring TravelTravel The WorldTravel AdventureBigotsDemonstratingAdventure And TravelSeeing The WorldOther CulturesNomadLife Is An AdventurePhotography And TravelDream WorldInspirational AdventureRoads TraveledLife AdventureAdventure And LifeWant To TravelBackpackingTravel AbroadNomadicTravel JourneyRoads And JourneysNext AdventureTravel ExperienceRoad LifeTravel And CultureCosta RicaForeign TravelAdventurous SoulsDiscovery And TravelInspiration To OthersUnderstanding Each Other
Book:Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
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