You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.

Angelou frames creativity as a generative capacity rather than a finite resource. Unlike money or physical materials, imaginative power grows through practice: writing, speaking, making, and experimenting strengthen the very faculties that produce new ideas. The line also counters the fear that one might “run out” of inspiration, suggesting that withholding one’s gifts out of scarcity only diminishes them. In Angelou’s broader public persona—as a poet, memoirist, performer, and teacher—the sentiment aligns with an ethic of disciplined creation: showing up to the work invites more work to arrive. It is both encouragement and a philosophy of artistic abundance.

1) “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use it, the more you have.”
2) “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”