Photo Source: Maya Angelou's Official Website

The phenomenal Maya Angelou recently celebrated her 80th birthday. Dr. Angelou is immensely talented on several fronts, and she is a personal favorite of mine.

I remember reading I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings as a child on my own, thank you, and being swept into her body of literary works. From documenting her incredible journey to directing movies and setting off Bill Clinton's '93 inauguration, Dr. Angelou is truly incredible.    

Here are a few quotes to get you through the day, but I highly encourage you to spend some time with Dr. Angelou's work:

• "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
• "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."
• "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."
• "Nothing will work unless you do."
• "The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart."
• "I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass."