Legendary poet and essayist Maya Angelou defined success as appreciating oneself, one’s actions, and the manner in which those actions are performed. Her quote continues to inspire and motivate the younger generation seeking success.
Quote of the day by Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
According to the internationally renowned and acclaimed writer, success lies in self-acceptance and enjoyment of work as well as attitude towards its achievement.
Her career spanned nearly five decades, during which she published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry. In addition, she is credited in a list of games, movies and TV shows.
Born in St Louis, Missouri
She received several awards and more than 50 honorary degrees for her outstanding contribution to literature. The famous civil rights activist was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St Louis, Missouri. She was a victim of child abuse at a very young age. She was deeply affected and troubled by tragedy in her early life, after which her love of books and literature and her ability to listen and observe the world around her developed.
It was her teacher and family friend, Bertha Flowers, Maya Angelou, who helped her overcome her depression and embrace a love of reading the works of Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and James Weldon Johnson, among others.
The apartheid advocate “achieved more than many artists hope to achieve in a lifetime”, said writer and gender justice activist Marcia Ann Gillespie. Angelou held many jobs and roles, working as a professional dancer, composer, writer for singer Roberta Flack, and film score composer. In addition, she has written articles, short stories, television scripts, documentaries, autobiographies and poetry.
In the 1970s, she was honored with numerous awards, including more than thirty honorary degrees from colleges and universities around the world.
Angelou became famous in 1993 after reciting her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration. In doing so, she became the first female poet to perform an inaugural recitation by Robert Frost at the 1961 inauguration of John F. Kennedy.
