Maya Angelou
I was married a few times, and one of my husbands was jealous of me writing.
I do like to have guns around. I don't like to carry them. But I like - if somebody is going to come into my house and I have not put out the welcome mat, I want to stop them.
If I walked into the kitchen without washing my hands as a kid, I'd hear a loud 'A-hem!' from my mother or grandmother. Now I count on other people to do the same.
I speak a number of languages, but none are more beautiful to me than English.
All information belongs to everybody all the time. It should be available. It should be accessible to the child, to the woman, to the man, to the old person, to the semiliterate, to the presidents of universities, to everyone. It should be open.
I've conducted the Boston Pops! Imagine that! Me! Maya Angelou! I've sang and danced at La Scala!
I want to write so well that a person is 30 or 40 pages in a book of mine... before she realizes she's reading.
I'm a religious woman. And I feel I have responsibility. I have no modesty at all. I'm even afraid of it - it's a learned affectation and it's just stuck on me like decals. Now I pray for humility because that comes from inside out.
If you were the President of the United States or the Queen of England - you couldn't have a person who would be more protective than my mother was for me. Which meant really that I could dare to do all sorts of things.
I was born in St. Louis but lived there just for a few minutes in my life.
I don't know how much longer I'll be around. I'll probably be writing when the Lord says, 'Maya, Maya Angelou, it's time.'
The terrorist action of 9/11 gave birth to President Obama's entry to the White House. Not directly, but indirectly.
If you're a human being, you can attempt to do what other human beings have done. We don't understand talent any more than we understand electricity.
I admire people who dare to take the language, English, and understand it and understand the melody.
I'm considered wise, and sometimes I see myself as knowing. Most of the time, I see myself as wanting to know. And I see myself as a very interested person. I've never been bored in my life.
I think that that's the wisest thing - to prevent illness before we try to cure something.
There's something which impels us to show our inner souls. The more courageous we are, the more we succeed in explaining what we know.
I'm very, very serious - I'm serious enough not to take myself too seriously. That means I can be completely wedded to the moment. But when I leave that moment, I want to be completely wedded to the next moment.
Timidity makes a person modest. It makes him or her say, 'I'm not worthy of being written up in the record of deeds in heaven or on earth.' Timidity keeps people from their good. They are afraid to say, 'Yes, I deserve it.'
I like chicken a lot because chicken is generous - that is to say, it's obedient. It will do whatever you tell it to do.
That's the biggest gift I can give anybody: 'Wake up, be aware of who you are, what you're doing and what you can do to prevent yourself from becoming ill.'
How wonderful it is to be an American. We have known the best of times and the worst of times.
I read the Bible to myself; I'll take any translation, any edition, and read it aloud, just to hear the language, hear the rhythm, and remind myself how beautiful English is.
Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise.
It's so tedious writing cookbooks or writing the recipes because I've never been much of a measurer. But to write a book, you have to measure everything.
Until blacks and whites see each other as brother and sister, we will not have parity. It's very clear.
Every December, I host a tree-trimming party. I serve chili with cornbread and lots of good wine. It's a wonderful party, and it shows how much adults like to play.
When the human race neglects its weaker members, when the family neglects its weakest one - it's the first blow in a suicidal movement. I see the neglect in cities around the country, in poor white children in West Virginia and Virginia and Kentucky - in the big cities, too, for that matter.
I love a Hebrew National hot dog with an ice-cold Corona - no lime. If the phone rings, I won't answer until I'm done.
Whenever I'm around some who is modest, I think, 'Run like hell and all of fire.' You don't want modesty, you want humility.
A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
I have a son, who is my heart. A wonderful young man, daring and loving and strong and kind.
If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'
I got my own back.
The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.
Bitterness is cancer - it eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the object of its displeasure.
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.Collection: Inspirational
If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.Collection: Inspiring
You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!Collection: Inspirational
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 styleCollection: Inspirational
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.Collection: Motivational
Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.Collection: Success
When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they areCollection: Believe
Open your eyes to the beauty around you, open your mind to the wonders of life, open your heart to those who love you, and always be true to yourself.Collection: Love You
If you are going down a road and don't like what's in front of you, and look behind you and don't like what you see, get off the road. Create a new path!Collection: Positive Attitude