Jun.

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Maya Angelou on Life

Outside of the strong women in my family, the one person who can make me sit up straight and consider my actions and how I use words is DR. MAYA ANGELOU.

Simply put, Ms. Maya is my Yoda. She’s wise. She’s matter-of-fact and I appreciate that Ms. Maya never accepts excuses for incompetence and constantly challenges us to be better, do better.

I’ve been known to pepper my conversations with quotes by Ms. Maya, so I thought I would share some of her words of wisdom in the hope that she will inspire you too.

“Modesty is learned affectation. As soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops. Modesty speaks volumes about falseness.”

“I can’t ask somebody else to stand up for me, if I won’t stand up for myself.”

“You can not allow yourself to be pecked to death by ducks. Some people don’t have the courage to just reach up and grab your throat, so they just take little pieces of you with their rude comments. They try to demean you.”

“When people show you who they are, believe them, the first time!” (Such an important lesson)

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

“Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”

“Each of us, famous or infamous, is a role model for somebody and if we aren’t we should behave as though we are–cheerful, kind, loving, courteous. Because you can be sure someone is watching and taking deliberate and diligent notes about you.”

“I did then what I knew how to do, now that I know better, I do better.”

“I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.”

“I’ve learned that you can tell alot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas lights.

“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.”

Life + Style 1 Comment


One Response to “Maya Angelou on Life”

  1. 1
    meredith says:
    June 1, 2011 at 10:21 pm

    “When people show you who they are, believe them…”

    Words I live by…