100 Quotes on Making a Difference in the World

I have read many inspirational books about making a difference in the world that stirs a longing inside me (Read my top 5 inspirational books here). I want to be a positive light for people. I want to use my writing to educate and encourage others to be their best selves. And I know that there are others like me.

It can be intimidating when you think of the challenge it can take to make a difference in the world. You may feel too small or insignificant to really stir any change in the world. But it only takes one person. I use positive affirmations to improve my self-confidence in my ability to change myself and the world, you can get my free printable affirmations if you want to try them too.

Here are 100 quotes on making a difference to help motivate you to be the change you want to see.

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100 Quotes on Making a Difference in the World:

It starts with you:

1. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes- William Paul Young, The Shack

2. I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do- Edward Everett Hale

3. You will have to make up for the smallness of your size by your courage and selfless devotion to duty, for it is not life that matters, but the courage, fortitude and determination you bring to it-Muhammad Ali Jinnah

4. Love people who hate you. Pray for people who have wronged you. It won’t just change their life…it’ll change yours- Mandy Hale

5. You don’t have to know a lot of things for your life to make a lasting difference in the world. But you do have to know the few great things that matter, perhaps just one, and then be willing to live for them and die for them- John Piper

6. It’s the curiosity that drives me. It’s making a difference in the world that prevents me from ever giving up- Deborah Meier

7. It’s not about what I SEE for our future, or humanity; It’s about what I DO for our future and humanity- Steve Maraboli

8. If there is richness and righteousness in us, then we can make a difference in the lives of others, just as key individuals have influenced the lives of each of us for good and made us richer than we otherwise would have been- Spencer W. Kimball

9. You’ve got to know what your magic is. How else will you fully share your gifts with others and enrich the world for these precious years that you live?- Rasheed Ogunlaru

10. The best way to make a difference in the world is to start by making a difference in your own life- Julia Louis-Dreyfus

11. If you believe you can make a difference, then you will make a difference. Believe in yourself, your family and your community and you will win- Lindsay Fox

12. When you believe in what you’re doing and use your imagination and initiative, you can make a difference- Samuel Dash

13. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make- Jake Goodall

14. Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it’s inspiring- Anonymous

15. If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different from the world- Elaine S. Dalton

16. If you cannot feed a hundred people, feed one- Mother Teresa

17. If we want to change things, we must first change ourselves- Paul Rusesabagina

18. The mind has exactly the same power as the hands: not merely to grasp the world, but to change it- Colin Wilson

19. Believe with all your heart that how you live your life makes a difference- Colin Brown

20. Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader, they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role, always about the goal- Jeremy Bravo

21. Don’t chase success. Decide to make a difference and success will find you- Jon Gordon

22. Never give up on you. In order to make a difference you would have to somehow be different- Johnnie Dent Jr.

23. Knowing your purpose on earth is simple, but the task here is to bring about the success of your destiny- Michael Bassey Johnson

24. Learn to appreciate every moment of your life, stop thinking of the future too much, you have a choice to make a difference in your life at any time you wish- Auliq Ice

25. If you want to make a difference, think different- Palle Oswald

26. Find something that you are passionate about in making a difference and you’ll find a waiting kinship of people willing to unite for the cause- Wes Adamson

27. It’s only when we can work with something that brings out our strengths that we’re of any real use- Henning Mankell

28. Learn to see things from different perspectives. Never limit yourself to one point of view- Anonymous

29. You must be the change you want to see in the world- Mahatma Gandhi

30. Believe you can and you’re halfway there- Theodore Roosevelt

31. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself- Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

31. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not- Dr. Seuss

It only takes one to make a change:

32. Understand and be confident that each of us can make a difference by caring and acting in small as well as big ways- Marian Wright Edelman

33. To whoever you initiate contact with and wherever, try to leave a positive impression. To whoever you have the power to make smile, exploit that power as often and best as you can, because when every other material thing fades, it’s those memories that keep us alive- Ufuoma Apoki

34. Focus on your work. Do what you’re great at. Don’t compare yourself to others and or waste time criticizing the lives and work of others. Do what matters most to you and make a difference doing that- Germany Kent

35. Unless you walk out into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in your life are pretty low- Tom Peters

36. I think there’s no higher calling in terms of a career than public service, which is a chance to make a difference in people’s lives and improve the world- Jack Lew

37. I choose bold. I choose action. I choose what’s right for the people. I choose to make a difference- Bill Richardson

38. Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count- Stella McCartney

39. I think one of the best words in the English language is ‘compassion.’ I think it holds everything. It holds love, it holds care… and if everybody just did something, We would all make a difference- Michael Crawford

40. Rosa Parks was the queen mother of a movement whose single act of heroism sparked the movement for freedom, justice and equality. Her greatest contribution is that she told us a regular person can make a difference- Marc Morial

41. Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference has never tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in the room- The Dalai Lama

42. We rise by lifting others- Robert Ingersoll

43. No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted- Aesop

44. To make a difference in someone’s life, you don’t have to be brilliant, rich, beautiful, or perfect. You just have to care enough and be there- Anonymous

45. Act as if what you do makes a difference, it does- William James

46. In this life we cannot always do great things. But we can do small things with great love- Mother Teresa

47. Little things make a big difference- Yogi Berra

48. Aim to make a difference in someone’s life every single day, including your own- Dow Zantamata

49. We can ALWAYS make a difference to someone, no matter what role we play- Lindsey Sterling

50. You don’t have to be a billionaire to believe you can make a difference. Give your resources to a charity and volunteer in your community- Germany Kent

51. You can make a difference, wherever you are. It begins with a decision and defined purpose- Lailah Gifty Akita

52. To make a difference in the world, it only takes one optimistic person, who can gather millions of people to make the change- Gia Russell

53. One person really can make a difference. Each person is the revolution- Bryant McGill

54. I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that, then I realized I am somebody- Anonymous

55. When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping”- Fred Rogers

56. It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little, do what you can- Sydney Smith

57. Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you- Mother Teresa

58. Charity sees the need, not the cause- German Proverb

59. Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light- Norman B. Rice

60. Want to get ahead? Make life easier for those around you- Dan Rockwell

Be the change you want to see:

61. If we don’t make our own future, it will be made for us- Mike Klepper

62. When you live for the purpose of making a difference for the people, for society, for the things that are beyond you, then significance will not be able to elude you- Sunday Adelaja

63. You and I were put on this earth to serve something greater than our narrow interests. When our focus becomes self-centered instead of God-centered we lose our greatest source of power. Our God-given talents are meant to benefit others- Nick Vujicic

64. Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver- Barbara De Angelis

65. I believe that every single one of us, celebrity or not, has a responsibility to get involved in trying to make a difference in the world- Shakira

66. Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change- Barbara Mikulski

67. When you encourage others, you in the process are encouraged because you’re making a commitment and difference in that person’s life- Zig Ziglar

68. Make a difference about something other than yourselves- Toni Morrison

69. Regardless of whatever I do, I know what my purpose is: to make a difference in people’s lives- Tim Tebow

70. It is better to have a meaningful life and make a difference than to merely have a long life- Bryant McGill

71. We can choose to be affected by the world or we can choose to affect the world- Heidi Wills

72. One person can make a difference, and everyone should try- John F. Kennedy

73. Help others to see themselves better than they are until they believe- ATGW

74. There is no greater joy, nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life- Mary Rose McGeady

75. Each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so- Dr. Cornel West

76. Never underestimate the valuable and important difference you make in every life you touch for the impact you make today has a powerful rippling effect on every tomorrow- Leon Brown

77. Heart is what makes a difference- Jerry Sloan

78. We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in our hands to make a difference- Nelson Mandela

79. In a world where very few people care if you live or die, there is a light that shines in the distance. It has a name that they call hope and it carries with it people that never stop caring- Shannon L. Alder

80. It’s about making a difference in people’s lives. Remembered or not, lived out in a small town or on the world stage, the journey of relevance matters- Marian Deegan

81. The way you treat people who are in no position to help you, further you, or benefit you reveals the true state of your heart- Mandy Hale

82. Always show kindness and love to others. Your words might be filling the empty places in someone’s heart- Mandy Hale

83. We must never be afraid to be a sign of contradiction for the world- Mother Teresa

84. Having a vested interest in other souls unconditionally creates a ripple effect that produces miracles in the lives of those around us- Molly Friedenfeld

85. We may not have the ability to change all of the world’s wrongs, but we can make a difference where we are- Dillon Burroughs

86. Majority of folks out there are trying to make a difference. Don’t just make a difference; become the difference- Ogwo David Emenike

87. All a guy needed was a chance. Somebody was always controlling who got a chance and who didn’t- Charles Bukowski

88. Legacy is not what’s left tomorrow when you’re gone. It’s what you give, create, impact and contribute today while you’re here that then happens to live on- Rasheed Ogunlaru

89. If we wish to truly experience a life that makes an eternal difference, the power within us is not enough. It is the power God offers that matters- Dillon Burroughs

90. On a mission to make a difference, build an empire, and leave a legacy- The Mogul Mom

91. Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light- Albus Dumbledore

92. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that.- Dr. Martin Luther King

93. The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new- Socrates

94. Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth: the only way to help yourself is to help others- Elbert Hubbard

95. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world- Anne Frank

96. The purpose of life is not to be happy but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all- Leo Rosten

97. We can do no great things, only small things with great love- Mother Teresa

98. The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit- Nelson Henderson

99. The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own- Benjamin Disraeli

100. What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal- Albert Pike

Each one of us can be the change we want to see in the world. A great way to start is by viewing yourself more positively so that you can make greater change. Get my free printable affirmations to start your positivity journey today.