“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Maya Angelou
Seeing this wonderful classic quote emblazoned on a chalk board at one of my favorite local hangouts prompted me to share more words of wisdom from the beloved author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to inspire us all today:
“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
“Courage is the most important of virtues, because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
“The human heart is so delicate and sensitive that it always needs some tangible encouragement to prevent it from faltering in its labour.”
“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.”
“We need to remember that we are created creative and can invent new
scenarios as frequently as they are needed.”
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
“It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable.”
“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.”
“In order to win, we pay with energy and effort and discipline. If we lose, we pay in disappointment, discontent, and lack of fulfillment.”
“Each time I write a book, every time I face that yellow pad, the challenge is so great.”
“I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline, and creativity is daring to dare.”
“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”
There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you.”
“Any one of us can be a rainbow in someone’s clouds.”
Just watched her bio on NPR’s American Masters series. I had no idea she’d had such a varied life, done so many things–much less that she’d been a dancer, singer, stripper. She has travelled,
worked for many causes, lectured–when did she have time to write? My hero!