"We need much less than we think we need."
- Maya Angelou

Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

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.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HiE4lt_DUY

"The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise."
- Maya Angelou

"I believe the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare."
- Maya Angelou

"Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."
- Maya Angelou

"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."
- Maya Angelou

Do you tell the raw, naked truth? The truth hurts sometimes.....

"Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you."
- Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter

"Most people don’t grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging. But to grow up, to take responsibility for the time you take up, and the space you occupy, to honor every living person for his or her humanity, that is to grow up."
- Maya Angelou

From the article 'Is There A Need To Change That Thing You Dislike?' by Fahmeena Moore:

Most would agree some situations should never be tolerated. Examples are abuse, sexual harassment and discrimination. But what about that job that drives you crazy or that annoying neighbor? Many people would think of “changing” that job by getting a new one or “changing” that neighbor by moving. Some people may try to “change” that job by dealing with the problem – by trying to work out their differences with an individual, for example. The quote above mentions an alternative: change the way you think about the job or that neighbor.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140814212016-6733373-is-there-a-need-to-change-that-thing-you-dislike