104 Maya Angelou Quotes To Enlighten And Inspire

If there is someone out there, someone with vast wisdom, then that someone has poured most of it into Maya Angelou. To list all of her achievements, one first has to know where to start and mentioning her work as a civil rights activist together with such historical figures as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. would be a good place. Although that's absolutely not the sole achievement of Angelou—she's also an acclaimed author, a correspondent, an actress, producer, a Reynolds Professor, and so much more. Each of her roles has gained her acclaim, 50 honorary titles, and dozens of awards. What's most important, though, is that her words and actions changed societies worldwide and inspired people to be the best versions of themselves.

To paraphrase The Guardian writer Gary Younge, to know Maya Angelou's life story is both to wonder what the heck you have been doing with yours and to feel relieved that you didn't have to go through it all at the same time. Her story starts in the years of the Great Depression deep in the South. After that, it's a whirlwind of events and an array of occupations, each of which definitely added to Angelou's immense wisdom and worldliness. And although all of her words are noteworthy, we've rounded up the most memorable, most impactful Maya Angelou quotes in one place. Be warned, though—you might come out even better than you are after reading her wise words!

However much we'd like to include all of Maya Angelou's motivating quotes on our list, we've restricted ourselves to a hundred and four of them. Still, plenty to read and plenty to absorb! So, as per usual, give your votes for the intelligent quotes that moved you the most, and share this article with anyone in need of encouragement and inspiration!