STOUT Inspiration + Action To Accelerate Your Week
Find inspiration in Maya Angelou lifetime of ground-breaking and use our Stout Action Plan to find your own strength and challenge the status quo.
Maya Angelou was an acclaimed American poet, storyteller and activist, best known for her seven autobiographies including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
From working as the first black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco, to being the first African-American woman to have a screenplay (Georgia, Georgia) produced, to finding her place as one of the first African-American female members in the Directors Guild of America, Angelou was a ground breaker who brought diversity to many disciplines in her lifetime.
As a civil rights activist, she worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. She also served as the Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University, was nominated for multiple Tony and Emmy awards and served on presidential committees for both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.
She was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton and in 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama. Angelou has been recognized for her influence in promoting diversity and as “a spokesperson for… all people who are committed to raising the moral standards of living in the United States.”
The most important ingredient we put into any relationship is not what we say or what we do, but what we are.
❶ Check Your Toolbox
Where do your strengths lie? Define your skills, unique viewpoints and potential and take Maya Angelou’s example to look for ways they can apply across many disciplines.
❷ Break Through
Don’t let fear hold you back. Set a goal and reach for it- someone has to be the first to forge new ground and it may as well be you!
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