---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good people are found not changed. They…"
description: "\"Good people are found not changed. They can change themselves, but you can't change them. You want good people, you have to find them. If you want moti..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/jim-rohn-243_can-t-change_good-people-are-found-not-changed-they-c_538877.jpg"
---

#  Good people are found not changed. They can change…

![“Good people are found not changed. They can change themselves, but you can't change them. You want good people, you have to find them. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them.” quote by Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/jim-rohn-243_can-t-change_good-people-are-found-not-changed-they-c_538877.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/jim-rohn-243_can-t-change_good-people-are-found-not-changed-they-c_538877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/jim-rohn-243_can-t-change_good-people-are-found-not-changed-they-c_538877.jpg)

> “Good people are found not changed. They can change themselves, but you can't change them. You want good people, you have to find them. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them.”

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People who already possess positive traits cannot be forced to become better; instead, seek out those who already embody the desired qualities.

**In simple terms:** Good people are already good; you must locate them.

Key Takeaway

Seek out talent rather than trying to create it.

Themes

talent acquisition motivation leadership

Mood

pragmatic realistic

Type

advice leadership

When to use this quote

- recruiting
- team building
- coaching
- mentoring

Key Concepts

self‑actualization intrinsic motivation selection bias

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you identify genuine talent?
- What are the risks of trying to motivate the unmotivated?

A Different Perspective

Finding the right people is often harder than trying to change them.

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[Can't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/) [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

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Eric C. Sinoway

> [For now realize that you can change anything you want, but you can't change everything you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/for-now-realize-that-you-can-change-anything-you-want-but-you-can-t/)

[Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/)

> [If you're outraged at conditions, then you can't possibly be free or happy until you devote all your time to changing them and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/if-you-re-outraged-at-conditions-then-you-can-t-possibly-be-free-or/)

[Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/)

> [You can change anything you want. You just can't change everything you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/you-can-change-anything-you-want-you-just-can-t-change-everything-you/)

[Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/)

> [Good people are found, not changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/)

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> [Some days I'm just flipping through the iPod trying to get pumped, some days I don't want to listen to anything and just focus.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-polamalu/some-days-i-m-just-flipping-through-the-ipod-trying-to-get-pumped/)

[Troy Polamalu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-polamalu/)

> [“Most people can motivate themselves to do things simply by knowing that those things need to be done. But not me. For me, motivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/most-people-can-motivate-themselves-to-do-things-simply-by-knowing/)

[Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/)

> [“What motivates some people will not motivate others, a fact that provides all the more reason to understand the needs of your particular target…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/what-motivates-some-people-will-not-motivate-others-a-fact-that/)

[Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/)

> [If you want things to change, You have to change. If you want things to be better, You have to be better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-you-want-things-to-change-you-have-to-change-if-you-want-things-to/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

## More by Jim Rohn

> [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/)

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> [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-the-idea-of-having-to-change-ourselves-makes-us-uncomfortable-we/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [When a new idea comes our way, we must put it on our mental scales and weigh it carefully before deciding its value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/when-a-new-idea-comes-our-way-we-must-put-it-on-our-mental-scales-and/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, I wish someone would come by and turn me on. What if they don't show up?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-best-motivation-is-self-motivation-the-guy-says-i-wish-someone/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [Faith is the ability to see things that don't yet exist. Faith, though, can turn difficulty into reality, positive reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/faith-is-the-ability-to-see-things-that-don-t-yet-exist-faith-though/)

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## More Can't change quotes

> [Donʹt worry now about what you canʹt change. Rest when you can so youʹll be ready for tomorrowʹs battles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/don-t-worry-now-about-what-you-can-t-change-rest-when-you-can-so-you/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [You can't change your life. This mode in literature goes against the more middle-brown mode, which is about shaping your destiny, changing it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-mccarthy/you-can-t-change-your-life-this-mode-in-literature-goes-against-the/)

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[Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/)

> [I don't worry about the things I can't change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/i-don-t-worry-about-the-things-i-can-t-change/)

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> [When a poem is really finished, you can't change anything. You can't move words around. You can't say, 'In other words, you mean.' No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/when-a-poem-is-really-finished-you-can-t-change-anything-you-can-t/)

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> [The only thing one can usually change in one's situation is oneself. And yet one can't change that either-only ask Our Lord to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-only-thing-one-can-usually-change-in-one-s-situation-is-oneself/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-can-t-change-my-gender-and-i-refuse-to-stop-making-movies/)

[Kathryn Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-bigelow/)

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[Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/)

> [You can't change t he wor ld f rom t he rear view mir ror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/you-can-t-change-t-he-wor-ld-f-rom-t-he-rear-view-mir-ror/)

[Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/)

> [You can't change your attitude because you're the champion. I've always kept my feet on the ground and never wanted to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renan-barao/you-can-t-change-your-attitude-because-you-re-the-champion-i-ve/)

Renan Barao

> [By the time you're 30, you know who you are inside. You learn to laugh at things you can't change; you learn to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajol/by-the-time-you-re-30-you-know-who-you-are-inside-you-learn-to-laugh/)

[Kajol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajol/)

> [Those that can't change even their toothbrush and pyjamas are trying to change the world! Let us be serious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/those-that-can-t-change-even-their-toothbrush-and-pyjamas-are-trying/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [The message I'm sending to myself - I can't change the world until I change myself first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-message-i-m-sending-to-myself-i-can-t-change-the-world-until-i/)

[Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/)

[Browse all 311 Can't change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/)

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