All mistakes teach us something, so there are, in reality, no mistakes.

First rising to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the Black Arts Movement, award-winning poet Nikki Giovanni established herself as a leading proponent of racial and gender equality; her early works "Black Feeling, Black Talk" and "Black Judgement" are among the most important volumes of modern African American poetry. This quote appears in the 2016 book "In the Company of Women," a literary collection of empowering wisdom and advice to which Giovanni contributed. In it, the poet explains that she seldom dwells on self-doubt, since "mistakes are a fact of life." Her words are a reminder that when questions arise, so, eventually, do answers. It's integral to face adversity head on, because only then can we learn from it.