Business lessons inspired by the words of Maya Angelou

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

Maya Angelou’s magnificent life did not need to end in order for her to earn the respect millions of people who follow her literary and social works. Even before her unfortunate passing, she was already admired beyond her beautiful words – it was her faith in the good of humanity that made people look up to her as a source of inspiration and wisdom.

As we remember a prolific writer, a willed activist and a global treasure, we should also make sure that her legacy of words and illumination would not die along with her physical existence.

For people in the business world, let us honor Maya Angelou’s contribution to mankind by embodying some of her memorable quotes.

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Passion is the common factor among businesses who have withstood the test of time. It’s not something you conjure up deliberately. Passion needs to grow from within. As business owners, salespeople and marketers, we need to embrace our tasks with utmost joy and fulfillment, so we may pass on that spirit by serving our customers well. That’s the true measure of success.

“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!”

Once you have the passion, you need to couple it with determination and ambition. Triumphant business people did not wait for that big break to come; they created a vision, developed a plan, executed efficiently, and grabbed their prize.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”

No business has ever breezed through hardships and went straight to success. Challenges are part of the growing process. To finish that quote, Maya said “it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

You have aggressive competitors. You have a demanding target market. You belong in an industry oozing with developing technology. On top of all that, you have a growing ambition to take your business to the next level. How to tackle all of these challenges? Creativity. It’s your survival tool in a dog-eat-dog world.

“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.”

Enough said.

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Rest in peace, Maya Angelou (1928-2014)