Send us a text

Maya Angelou.

Seven autobiographies. Fifty honorary degrees. Presidential inaugural poet. The voice that could command a room with a single word.

And the quote that's been shared millions of times: "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."

The world knows Maya Angelou as the boundary goddess. The woman who always knew her worth. Who never made herself small. Whose wisdom seemed to come from somewhere ancient and unshakeable.

But here's what the biographies barely mention:

Maya Angelou wasn't always Maya Angelou.

She was born Marguerite Johnson. And somewhere between Marguerite and Maya, something happened. Something that would shape every word she wrote, every stage she stood on, every piece of wisdom she would later teach.

The cameras captured the icon. They weren't there for the becoming.

In this episode, we follow the thread the biographies gloss over. The years that forged the wisdom. The transformation that happened in the spaces between the achievements we celebrate.

Because the boundary goddess wasn't born knowing. She learned.

And how she learned changes everything.

Listen to discover what shaped the woman who helped shaped the discussion on boundaries.

For women of any age who need to know: wisdom is earned, not given. And what you can carry into your world to help you.

New episodes: Friday.

Remember: it's never too late to be the you that you want to be.

Keywords: Maya Angelou, women's empowerment, being yourself, women in history, inspirational women, personal transformation, women who changed the world, historical women, Black women in history

Support the show