--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think, by and large, the way big social…" description: "\"I think, by and large, the way big social change happens is every individual person taking on whatever little piece they can take on.\" — Eugene Puryear" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg" --- # I think, by and large, the way big social change happens… ![“I think, by and large, the way big social change happens is every individual person taking on whatever little piece they can take on.” quote by Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg) > “I think, by and large, the way big social change happens is every individual person taking on whatever little piece they can take on.” [Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social change emerges from many small, individual actions combined over time. **In simple terms:** Small actions collectively drive change. Key Takeaway Take one actionable step. Themes social change individual action collective impact empowerment grassroots Mood motivational pragmatic Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - volunteering - local activism - policy advocacy - daily habit formation Key Concepts systems theory behavioral economics civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can you amplify your small impact? - What structures help unite many small actions? A Different Perspective Individual efforts may feel insignificant without coordination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-change/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Know what happens when an individual declares bankruptcy and how it affects his or her life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-vos-savant/know-what-happens-when-an-individual-declares-bankruptcy-and-how-it/) [Marilyn vos Savant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-vos-savant/) > [Nobody really wants to bowl a bad over, but if it happens, the individual is more disappointed than anyone else in the stadium or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ms-dhoni/nobody-really-wants-to-bowl-a-bad-over-but-if-it-happens-the/) [MS Dhoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ms-dhoni/) > [What is now happening to the people of the East as of the West is like what happens to every individual when he passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/what-is-now-happening-to-the-people-of-the-east-as-of-the-west-is/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Remember how social change happens. Each of us has a worldview that pretty much interprets the world for us, puts our personal and public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-robinson/remember-how-social-change-happens-each-of-us-has-a-worldview-that/) [Gene Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-robinson/) > [That power of the individual person - just the girl - is infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-weiss/that-power-of-the-individual-person-just-the-girl-is-infinite/) [Emily Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-weiss/) > [“In the last analysis, the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for "finding himself." If he persists in shifting his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tai-sheridan/in-the-last-analysis-the-individual-person-is-responsible-for-living/) [Tai Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tai-sheridan/) > [Choose to be who you are. . . The individual who would become a person must at some point take over his entire being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/choose-to-be-who-you-are-the-individual-who-would-become-a-person/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [On her daughter Deva: I didn't have familiarity with children. I'm learning day after day, with her. And what impress me the most is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-bellucci/on-her-daughter-deva-i-didn-t-have-familiarity-with-children-i-m/) [Monica Bellucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-bellucci/) > [Love is individual to each person and I dont think you can define it before experiencing it because it isnt going to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/love-is-individual-to-each-person-and-i-dont-think-you-can-define-it/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [I think, in the end, we are all our own individual person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-liu/i-think-in-the-end-we-are-all-our-own-individual-person/) [Amber Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-liu/) > [What is repugnant to every human being is to be reckoned always as a member of a class and not as an individual person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/what-is-repugnant-to-every-human-being-is-to-be-reckoned-always-as-a/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Whether or not you like an object, it's the product of an individual person making decisions about things. That's what makes it interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-wanders/whether-or-not-you-like-an-object-it-s-the-product-of-an-individual/) [Marcel Wanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-wanders/) > [“Strictly speaking, what one life sees no other can. Every individual, whether person, nation, or epoch, is an organ, for which there can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beinfield/strictly-speaking-what-one-life-sees-no-other-can-every-individual/) Harriet Beinfield > [... an artist is a person first. He is an individual. If there is no person, there is no artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/an-artist-is-a-person-first-he-is-an-individual-if-there-is-no-person/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [Each individual person is very important. Each person has tremendous potential. She or he alone can influence the lives of others within the communities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/each-individual-person-is-very-important-each-person-has-tremendous/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) ## More by Eugene Puryear > [I think one of the great things that I have seen happen since the rise of the movement for black lives is the growth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-think-one-of-the-great-things-that-i-have-seen-happen-since-the/) [Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) > [Usually, being a volunteer organizer essentially means that I am part of a core base of individuals, that when we start a project -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/usually-being-a-volunteer-organizer-essentially-means-that-i-am-part/) [Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) > [An hour to one person might be way more than like a week to somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/an-hour-to-one-person-might-be-way-more-than-like-a-week-to-somebody/) [Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) > [I think what drives me is a sense of, well, who is going to do it if you don't do it? I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-think-what-drives-me-is-a-sense-of-well-who-is-going-to-do-it-if/) [Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) > [I got involved as an activist when I was in high school, around the Iraq war. That's how I got involved. It seemed like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-got-involved-as-an-activist-when-i-was-in-high-school-around-the/) [Eugene Puryear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) [Explore all 6 Eugene Puryear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think, by and large, the way big social change happens is every individual person taking on whatever little piece they can take on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eugene Puryear" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social-change-happens-is-every/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social-change-happens-is-every/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/eugene-puryear-58052_bigs_i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social_654487.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think, by and large, the way big social change happens is every individual person taking on whatever…” — Eugene Puryear", "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": "Eugene Puryear", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-puryear/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think, by and large, the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social-change-happens-is-every/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-puryear/i-think-by-and-large-the-way-big-social-change-happens-is-every/#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 } } ] } ```