21 Influential Maya Angelou Quotes

Maya Angelou passed away today at the age of 86. Known for work as an educator, author and leader in the civil rights movement, the world was deeply impacted by her poetry and her beautiful smile. She touched the lives of many, and was one of the most influential people who ever lived. Here are 21 of her best quotes as a way of paying tribute to this incredible woman.

  1. “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
  2. “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.”
  3. “Nothing will work unless you do.”
  4. “Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.”
  5. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.”
  6. “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 style.”
  7. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.”
  8. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”
  9. “If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.”
  10. “If you get, give. If you learn, teach.”
  11. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
  12. “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.”
  13. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
  14. “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.”
  15. “There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.”
  16. “All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.”
  17. “During bad circumstances, which is the human inheritance, you must decide not to be reduced. You have your humanity, and you must not allow anything to reduce that. We are obliged to know we are global citizens. Disasters remind us we are world citizens, whether we like it or not.”
  18. “Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.”
  19. “Once you appreciate one of your blessings, one of your senses, your sense of hearing, then you begin to respect the sense of seeing and touching and tasting, you learn to respect all the senses.”
  20. “The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.”
  21. “Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.”

21 Famous Nelson Mandela Quotes

Nelson Mandela was one of the most amazing leaders to ever live.  His selfless service to humanity will not be forgotten.  He is an incredible example of how much change one person can affect on the planet when there is the will to do so.  He was determined to help his fellow human beings at the cost of his own freedom.   We hope his words will motivate and inspire you.

21 of Nelson Mandela’s greatest quotes of all time:

  1. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
  2. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
  3. “A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.”
  4. “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
  5. “Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.”
  6. “If I had my time over I would do the same again. So would any man who dares call himself a man.”
  7. “The United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions long after the decisions were taken.”
  8. “I have retired, but if there’s anything that would kill me it is to wake up in the morning not knowing what to do.”
  9. “There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only reply is savage attacks on an unarmed and defenseless people.”
  10. “There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty.”
  11. “I can’t pretend that I’m brave and that I can beat the whole world.”
  12. “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”
  13. “Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.”
  14. “Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.”
  15. “I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people.”
  16. “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
  17. “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”
  18. “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
  19. “We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.”
  20. “A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.”
  21. “Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.”