Maya Angelou Quotes

Achievement brings its own anticlimax.

All great achievements require time.

All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened.

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.

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.

At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.

Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.

Children’s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.

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.

Effective action is always unjust.

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.

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

I believe that every person is born with talent.

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.

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

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.

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.

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.

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.