20 Quotes to Keep You Inspired and Committed to Social Change

Staying motivated in the face of social challenges can be tough, but sometimes all it takes is the right words to reignite your passion.

If you're working on the frontlines of activism, pursuing a social-impact career, or making quiet contributions to your community, maintaining a sense of purpose is crucial. To help you stay inspired and committed to social change, we've gathered 20 powerful quotes from leaders, activists, and changemakers who have left an enduring impact on the world. Let these words serve as a reminder of the difference you can make!

The importance of taking action

"Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind." -Pearl S. Buck

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -Richard Buckminster Fuller

"It is not enough to be compassionate – you must act." -The Dalai Lama

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." -Gandhi

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." -William James

"The willingness to share does not make one charitable; it makes one free." -Robert Brault

The power of small steps

"The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change the world." -James Baldwin

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

"One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested." -E.M. Forster

"No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted." -Aesop

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -Theodore Roosevelt

"I wish to do something Great and Wonderful, but I must start by doing the little things like they were Great and Wonderful." -Albert Einstein

"People say, 'What is the sense of our small effort?' They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time." -Dorothy Day

"Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." -St. Francis of Assisi

by Aaron McCoy