Communications Wisdom from Maya Angelou

Award winning and world-renowned writer Maya Angelou died this week at the age of 86. By all accounts, Angelou lived a full life, traveling the world as an artist, civil rights activist and teacher. She received honors from numerous groups for her writing and civic work, including a Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and more than thirty honorary degrees.

Angelou was a master communicator whose observations on life, race and identity resonated in her writing. Her words also offer some insight and inspiration for PR communicators. Here’s a brief sample of Maya Angelou’s wisdom:

• The idea is to write so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.
• Making a decision to write was a lot like deciding to jump into a frozen lake.
• If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.
• If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.
• You should never make someone a priority who views you as an option.
• Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
• There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
• The best candy shop a child can be left alone in is the library.
• You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
• At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did; they will remember how you made them feel.

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