Quotes: Oprah Winfrey

"You are not your circumstances. You are your possibilities. If you know that, you can do anything."

–– Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954), American talk show host, TV producer, actress, author, and philanthropist 

Quotes: Nelson Mandela

"There can be no greater gift than that of giving one's time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return."

–– Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, South Africa's first Black president (1994-1999), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1993 

Quotes: Janelle Monáe

"Embrace what makes you unique, even if it makes others uncomfortable. I didn't have to become perfect because I've learned throughout my journey that perfection is the enemy of greatness."

–– Janelle Monáe (b. 1985), American singer, rapper and actress

Quotes: Miles Davis

"For me, music and life are all about style."

–– Miles Davis (1926-1991), American musician, bandleader, and composer 

Quotes: Alice Walker

"Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming."

–– Alice Walker (b. 1944), American writer and activist 

Quotes: James Baldwin

"Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety." 

–– James Baldwin (1924-1987), American writer and activist 

Quotes: Maya Angelou

"If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be."

–– Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist 

Quotes: Langston Hughes

"An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose."

 –– Langston Hughes (1901-1967), American writer and social activist 

Quotes: Octavia Butler

"People who want to write either do it or they don't. At last I began to say that my most important talent – or habit – was persistence. Without it, I would have given up writing long before I finished my first novel. It's amazing what we can do if we simply refuse to give up."

–– Octavia Butler (1947-2006), American science fiction writer 

Quotes: Marcus Garvey

"Always try to associate with people from whom you can learn something. All the knowledge that you want is in the world, and all you have to do is go and seek it." 

–– Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator 

Quotes: Nicki Minaj

"If you don't have critics, you probably don't have success either." 

–– Nicki Minaj (b. 1982), Trinidad and Tobago rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, radio personality

Quotes: Langston Hughes

"A dream deferred is a dream denied." 

–– Langston Hughes (1901-1967), American writer and social activist 

Quotes: Nnedi Okorafor

"Its ok to care about what other people think, but you should give a little more weight to what you, yourself, think. ... The habit of thinking is the habit of gaining strength. You're stronger than you believe."

–– Nnedi Okorafor (b. 1974), Nigerian-American writer, professor

Quotes: Miles Davis

"It's not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change."

–– Miles Davis (1926-1991), American musician, bandleader, and composer 

Quotes: Erykah Badu

"You don't have to believe everything you think." 

–– Erykah Badu (b. 1971), American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress 

Quotes: Nelson Mandela

"You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself."

–– Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, South Africa's first Black president (1994-1999), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1993 

Quotes: Ruby Dee

"God, make me so uncomfortable that I will do the very thing I fear." 

–– Ruby Dee (1922-2014), American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist

Quotes: Marcus Garvey

"Never forget that intelligence carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent."

–– Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator 

Quotes: Jessye Norman

"One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation." 

–– Jessye Norman (1945-2019), American opera singer and recitalist 

Quotes: Langston Hughes

"When a man starts out to build a world, he starts first with himself." 

–– Langston Hughes (1901-1967), American writer and social activist

Quotes: Octavia Butler

"First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice." 

–– Octavia Butler (1947-2006), American science fiction writer 

Quotes: James Baldwin

"You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can't, but also knowing that literature is indispensable to the world... The world always changes according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimetre, the way... people look at reality, then you can change it."

–– James Baldwin (1924-1987), American writer and activist 

Quotes: Lido Pimienta

"There's a discipline that comes out of repetition and patience. You really have to have patience and then things will make sense. If you just do something, and you don't put a lot of effort into it, then you're going to have to justify it. And, to me, that is the worst thing for the artist, to have to justify something.

When you see a work of art, when you hear any composition, you have to feel something. You don't necessarily have to think the same thing the artist was thinking about when they were making the work, but you definitely have to think something that relates to the feeling that the artist had when they were making the work."

–– Lido Pimienta (b. 1986), Colombian-Canadian singer, producer, and visual artist 

via: The Creative Independent

Quotes: Miles Davis

"I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something to do with my life."

–– Miles Davis (1926-1991), American musician, bandleader, and composer 

Quotes: Oprah Winfrey

"Improving your life doesn't have to be about changing everything – it's about making changes that count." 

–– Oprah Winfrey (b. 1954), American talk show host, TV producer, actress, author, and philanthropist

Quotes: Lincoln Alexander

"It is not your duty to be average. It is your duty to set a higher example for others to follow." 

–– Lincoln Alexander (1922-2012), Canadian politician

Quotes: Jacqueline Woodson

"A book has to leave you a little bit different than how you were when you started reading it." 

–– Jacqueline Woodson (b. 1963), American writer 

Source: The Globe and Mail. "Books." The Book Report, Saturday August 27, 2016, p. R14. 

via: Sketchbook 29, 2016, p. 86.

Quotes: Nelson Mandela

"I never lose. I either win or learn." 

–– Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, South Africa's first Black president (1994-1999), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1993