During an interview, Oprah Winfrey once said to Maya Angelou, “Just listening to you now, I’m thinking, ‘What is it about Maya’ I think it’s that you know yourself.”  To which she agreed.

Oprah: You know that you are supported by something bigger than yourself. That you are loved. That you have the right to stand up for yourself. And that comes from knowing who you are.

Maya: And I not only have the right to stand up for myself, but I have the responsibility. I can’t ask somebody else to stand up for me if I won’t stand up for myself. And once you stand up for yourself, you’d be surprised that people say, “Can I be of help?”