--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead, pursue the things you love…" description: "\"“Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.”\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png" --- # Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do… ![“Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png) > ““Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.”” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursue passions excellently so others cannot ignore you. **In simple terms:** Do what you love well to attract attention. Key Takeaway Excel at your passions to stand out. Themes passion excellence visibility achievement inspiration Mood enthusiastic confident Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - artistic performance - entrepreneurship - public speaking - sports Key Concepts personal branding skill mastery focus Questions to Reflect On - What skill can you improve to showcase your passion? - How do you stay motivated to excel? A Different Perspective Excellence without humility may alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doing People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-people/) [Instead Pursue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead-pursue-2200798/) [Love Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-doing/) [Pursue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue/) [Pursue Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue-things-482721/) ## Related quotes > [You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-only-become-truly-accomplished-at-something-you-love-don-t-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You can only accomplish what I really love. Do not take the money as a goal. Instead, pursue the things you passionate about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-can-only-accomplish-what-i-really-love-do-not-take-the-money-as-a/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Dont make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/you-can-only-become-truly-accomplished-at-something-you-love-dont/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-only-become-truly-accomplished-at-something-you-love-don-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pursue the thing inside us and others will help us. Pursue the things outside us and others will compete with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/pursue-the-thing-inside-us-and-others-will-help-us-pursue-the-things/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [We must, therefore, pursue the things that make for happiness, seeing that when happiness is present, we have everything; but when it is absent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/we-must-therefore-pursue-the-things-that-make-for-happiness-seeing/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [I love 'Battles,' and I love what it's doing for people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-porsha-renae/i-love-battles-and-i-love-what-it-s-doing-for-people/) [La'Porsha Renae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-porsha-renae/) > [People pursue things. As soon as they have them they run away from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-pursue-things-as-soon-as-they-have-them-they-run-away-from-them/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So try to pursue the very things that you are passionate about- that is the difference between good and great!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-doyle/so-try-to-pursue-the-very-things-that-you-are-passionate-about-that/) [Shawn Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-doyle/) > [I was raised to pursue my passions and pursue the things that I love, and to just live life to the fullest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-gubelmann/i-was-raised-to-pursue-my-passions-and-pursue-the-things-that-i-love/) [Fiona Gubelmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-gubelmann/) > [Do not expect to arrive at certainty in every subject which you pursue. There are a hundred things wherein we mortals. . . must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/do-not-expect-to-arrive-at-certainty-in-every-subject-which-you/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [The fear of not succeeding becomes replaced with the courage to pursue the things that interest you outside of the career you're trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/the-fear-of-not-succeeding-becomes-replaced-with-the-courage-to/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) > [I've very much moved on and I want to pursue other things. I've done 'Emmerdale,' I wanted to move on and do other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-fletcher/i-ve-very-much-moved-on-and-i-want-to-pursue-other-things-i-ve-done/) [Kelvin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-fletcher/) > [Happy New Year!I wish you a better year to pursue the things you need to.This year may be another year of challenges, but these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-chad-iii/happy-new-year-i-wish-you-a-better-year-to-pursue-the-things-you-need/) [Prince Chad III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-chad-iii/) > [I would love to pursue other things only if they are related to dance, as I have always been passionate about dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-mohan/i-would-love-to-pursue-other-things-only-if-they-are-related-to-dance/) [Shakti Mohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-mohan/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Pursue quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For some reason when I decide to pursue something, I never have any fear that it won't happen. I think it's just ingrained in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-blatz/for-some-reason-when-i-decide-to-pursue-something-i-never-have-any/) [Kelly Blatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-blatz/) > [At one point when I was very young, when I was first starting out, I thought, 'Well, one day I'll be able to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/at-one-point-when-i-was-very-young-when-i-was-first-starting-out-i/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [What begins as a Utopian vision, always - always - ends in bloodshed. Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Humility is an elusive virtue. The more we pursue it - and the more we seem to acquire it - the more we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-aquilina/humility-is-an-elusive-virtue-the-more-we-pursue-it-and-the-more-we/) [Mike Aquilina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-aquilina/) > [In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/in-our-system-of-government-the-judicial-and-legislative-branches/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [We need to remain a nation that doesn't just welcome but that celebrates legal immigrants who come here seeking to pursue the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/we-need-to-remain-a-nation-that-doesn-t-just-welcome-but-that/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Wherever you go and whatever ends you pursue, you must always fulfill the trust reposed in you by your nation, your parents and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samar-mubarakmand/wherever-you-go-and-whatever-ends-you-pursue-you-must-always-fulfill/) [Samar Mubarakmand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samar-mubarakmand/) > [Our noblest hopes grow teeth and pursue us like tigers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-noblest-hopes-grow-teeth-and-pursue-us-like-tigers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, "We aren't bound by that." That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [It required unusual inquisitiveness to pursue the development of scientific curiosities such as charged pith balls, the voltaic cell, and the electrostatic machine. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-seitz/it-required-unusual-inquisitiveness-to-pursue-the-development-of/) [Frederick Seitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-seitz/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [There's a side to reality TV that is part education, as well. I've seen that since doing "MasterChef Junior," in terms of the effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-ramsay/there-s-a-side-to-reality-tv-that-is-part-education-as-well-i-ve-seen/) [Gordon Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-ramsay/) [Browse all 1,872 Pursue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing-and-then-do-them-so-well/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pursue" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing-and-then-do-them-so-well/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56c/maya-angelou-104_pursue_instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing_2023305.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.” — Maya Angelou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Instead, pursue the things you love...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing-and-then-do-them-so-well/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/instead-pursue-the-things-you-love-doing-and-then-do-them-so-well/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```