{"id":26205,"date":"2014-05-30T05:00:12","date_gmt":"2014-05-30T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=26205"},"modified":"2014-05-30T05:00:12","modified_gmt":"2014-05-30T10:00:12","slug":"live-life-that-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou"},"content":{"rendered":"

The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Since the news of her death, I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about Maya Angelou. Her legacy offers several valuable insights for living a life of true significance.<\/p>\n

\"Maya<\/a>
Maya Angelou speaking at Burns Library, Boston College. Creative Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The odds were against Angelou in her early years. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she spent several years under the care of her grandparents.
\n
\nThen, when she finally moved back with her mother at age eight, she was sexually abused by her mom\u2019s boyfriend. Within hours of his conviction the abuser was murdered.<\/p>\n

Angelou blamed herself for the man's death. Can you imagine the trauma? It was so overwhelming she became a mute and wouldn\u2019t speak for years. But somehow writing gave her a road out.<\/p>\n

She wrote poems as a teen, moved to New York as a young woman and joined the Harlem Writers Guild, and then traveled abroad as a journalist, working in Egypt and Ghana.<\/p>\n

At home in the States she was active in the Civil Rights movement and also worked as a singer, actor, and screenwriter. She\u2019s best remembered as a poet and the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/a><\/em>, the first of five best-selling memoirs.<\/p>\n

Sure, people will debate the merits of her work, disagree with her politics, and criticize her literary contribution. But whatever your opinion, Maya Angelou has a lot to teach us.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure others could come up with their own lists, but here are five lessons from Angelou\u2019s story that resonate with me as important for living a life of lasting significance:<\/p>\n

Lesson #1: Faith Is a Source of Courage<\/h3>\n

A foundation of faith can give us the confidence we need to act boldly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found that … I was a child of God,\u201d Angelou told<\/a> an interviewer about her faith, \u201cwhen I understood that, when I comprehended that … when I internalized that, I became courageous. I dared to do anything that was a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look at the long list of Angelou\u2019s accomplishments, and ask what we could do if we could take courage in our faith. I bet it\u2019s more\u2014and better\u2014than we dream.<\/p>\n

Lesson #2: Excellence Pays Big Dividends<\/h3>\n

Everyone today says we should follow our passions, that we should do what we love. I agree<\/a>. But that\u2019s only a recipe for significance if people care about what we love.<\/p>\n

I like how Angelou put it: \u201cYou can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever our passion and drive, we have to contribute to others for our lives to matter to them. We need to offer something they really need, something they just can\u2019t let go of.<\/p>\n

Lesson #3: Success Takes Work<\/h3>\n

Angelou\u2019s writing is so graceful it can seem effortless. But it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a natural writer is like being a natural concert pianist who specializes in Prokofiev!” she said<\/a> during a talk at Johns Hopkins. “To write well one works hard at understanding the language. I believe it's almost impossible to say what you mean and make someone else understand.”<\/p>\n

It takes practice, training, and cultivation for talent to become more than potential. A life that matters requires work.<\/li>\n

Lesson #4: Optimism Puts Us in Control<\/h3>\n

Speaking about the South, Angelou said it\u2019s easy to see it as \u201ca repository of all bad things,\u201d but she decided to see it differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful!” she said. “That's why people have fought for it. The place where I live is lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why be so upbeat? I think the key is in a line from her book, Letter to My Daughter<\/a><\/em>: \u201cYou may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Optimism puts us in control of negative events. Sometimes the only thing we can control is our reaction. And refusing to let the tragic and unfortunate get the upper hand is the best response if we want to rise above.<\/p>\n

Lesson #5: It\u2019s Worth Taking a Few Dares<\/h3>\n

Sometimes others know us better than we do. A challenge from the outside can be just what we need to trigger excellence.<\/p>\n

Initially, Angelou didn\u2019t want to write I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings<\/a><\/em>, but a friend, James Baldwin, conspired<\/a> with Angelou\u2019s editor Robert Loomis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want Maya Angelou to do something,\u201d Baldwin said, \u201ctell her she can\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loomis followed Baldwin\u2019s advice, called Angelou, and told her to forget it\u2014writing the memoir didn\u2019t make any sense. \u201cIt\u2019s nearly impossible to write autobiography as literature,\u201d he said<\/a>. She took the bait.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll start tomorrow.\u201d And the rest is history.<\/p>\n

And thank goodness. Maya Angelou has had a global impact for these and many other reasons. Perhaps the best way to honor her accomplishments is to take what was best in her life and let it fuel our own.<\/p>\n

What do you think is the most important characteristic of a life that matters?<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Since the news of her death, I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about Maya Angelou. Her legacy offers several valuable insights for living a life of true significance. The odds were against Angelou in her early years. Her parents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[637,665,228,33,1064,554,39,407],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Maya Angelou\u2019s provides five lessons for doing so.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Maya Angelou\u2019s provides five lessons for doing so.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Full Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Maya-Angelou_Boston-College.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Hyatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@michaelhyatt\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Hyatt\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/e326267e17b1b742f4062fcbd4fdfff7\"},\"headline\":\"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\"},\"wordCount\":910,\"commentCount\":63,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Adversity\",\"excellence\",\"influence\",\"Leadership\",\"Maya Angelou\",\"optimism\",\"Success\",\"transformation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Personal Development\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\",\"name\":\"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Maya Angelou\u2019s provides five lessons for doing so.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/\",\"name\":\"Full Focus\",\"description\":\"Win at Work and Succeed at Life\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Full Focus\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg\",\"width\":805,\"height\":178,\"caption\":\"Full Focus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fullfocusplanner\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/e326267e17b1b742f4062fcbd4fdfff7\",\"name\":\"Michael Hyatt\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96062f5af6c86933efd0adddcb29204f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96062f5af6c86933efd0adddcb29204f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Hyatt\"},\"description\":\"Michael Hyatt is the founder and chairman of Full Focus. He has scaled multiple companies over the years, including a $250M publishing company with 700+ employees and his own leadership development company that has grown over 60% year over year for the past 4 years. Under his leadership, Full Focus has been featured in the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America for three years in a row and in 2020 the company was named to Inc.\u2019s Best Work Places list. He is also the author of several New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling books, including Platform, Living Forward, Your Best Year Ever, Free to Focus and his newest book The Vision Driven Leader. He enjoys The Double Win with his wife of 40+ years, five daughters, and nine grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelhyatt\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/author\/michaelhyatt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou","description":"The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Maya Angelou\u2019s provides five lessons for doing so.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou","og_description":"The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Maya Angelou\u2019s provides five lessons for doing so.","og_url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/","og_site_name":"Full Focus","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\/","article_published_time":"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Maya-Angelou_Boston-College.jpg"}],"author":"Michael Hyatt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@michaelhyatt","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Hyatt","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/e326267e17b1b742f4062fcbd4fdfff7"},"headline":"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou","datePublished":"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/"},"wordCount":910,"commentCount":63,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization"},"keywords":["Adversity","excellence","influence","Leadership","Maya Angelou","optimism","Success","transformation"],"articleSection":["Personal Development"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/","name":"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-30T10:00:12+00:00","description":"The desire to create lasting transformation in the world is what really drives us as leaders, right? Maya Angelou\u2019s provides five lessons for doing so.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/live-life-that-matters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Live a Life That Matters: 5 Lessons from Maya Angelou"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/","name":"Full Focus","description":"Win at Work and Succeed at Life","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization","name":"Full Focus","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg","width":805,"height":178,"caption":"Full Focus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fullfocusplanner\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/e326267e17b1b742f4062fcbd4fdfff7","name":"Michael Hyatt","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96062f5af6c86933efd0adddcb29204f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96062f5af6c86933efd0adddcb29204f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Hyatt"},"description":"Michael Hyatt is the founder and chairman of Full Focus. He has scaled multiple companies over the years, including a $250M publishing company with 700+ employees and his own leadership development company that has grown over 60% year over year for the past 4 years. Under his leadership, Full Focus has been featured in the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in America for three years in a row and in 2020 the company was named to Inc.\u2019s Best Work Places list. He is also the author of several New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling books, including Platform, Living Forward, Your Best Year Ever, Free to Focus and his newest book The Vision Driven Leader. He enjoys The Double Win with his wife of 40+ years, five daughters, and nine grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/fullfocus.co","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelhyatt"],"url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/author\/michaelhyatt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26205\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}