--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As an organizer I start from where the…" description: "\"As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/saul-alinsky-3048_accepting_as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-w_1068336.png" --- # As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is… ![“As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be - it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we…” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/saul-alinsky-3048_accepting_as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-w_1068336.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/saul-alinsky-3048_accepting_as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-w_1068336.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/saul-alinsky-3048_accepting_as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-w_1068336.png) > “As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be - it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be. That means working in the system.” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective change starts by acknowledging current realities, then working within existing structures to transform them toward desired goals. **In simple terms:** Begin with reality, then work within the system to change it. Key Takeaway Start where you are and act strategically for change. Themes activism strategy realism change Mood determined strategic Type political inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy reform - social movements - business innovation Key Concepts systems thinking pragmatism empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance acceptance and ambition? - What tactics help shift a system from within? A Different Perspective It may underplay the difficulty of influencing entrenched systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-world-593185/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Begin World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-world-699315/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire to change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-to-change/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Going Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-change/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Organizer Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizer-start-2554037/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Start World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-world-2129806/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-world-is-as-it-is-not-as-i-3/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-world-is-as-it-is-not-as-i/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [It is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul/it-is-necessary-to-begin-where-the-world-is-if-we-are-going-to-change/) [Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul/) > [We accept the world in order to change it. If you do not accept, then what are you going to change?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/we-accept-the-world-in-order-to-change-it-if-you-do-not-accept-then/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Because it proves that you don't need much to change the entire world for the better. You can start with the most ordinary ingredients.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/because-it-proves-that-you-don-t-need-much-to-change-the-entire-world/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [But where was I to start? The world is so vast, I shall start with the country I knew best, my own. But my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/but-where-was-i-to-start-the-world-is-so-vast-i-shall-start-with-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you want to make a difference in the world, start with the world around you. Making a big difference all at once is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-want-to-make-a-difference-in-the-world-start-with-the-world/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We have it in our power to begin the world over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/we-have-it-in-our-power-to-begin-the-world-over-again/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“But here’s the great, great news: You have a choice in this matter. It is not predetermined. Nor is a previous bad choice—or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-pelham/but-here-s-the-great-great-news-you-have-a-choice-in-this-matter-it/) [Jack Pelham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-pelham/) > [“But where shall I start? The world is so vast, I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/but-where-shall-i-start-the-world-is-so-vast-i-shall-start-with-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourself begin all over again, in them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/of-course-if-you-like-your-kids-if-you-love-them-from-the-moment-they/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“The most important thing I can add from my own observations is this: Knowing it started from unremarkable circumstances should be a comfort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/the-most-important-thing-i-can-add-from-my-own-observations-is-this/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [“When you have developed a relationship with yourself, you can begin to take on the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriella-kortsch-ph-d/when-you-have-developed-a-relationship-with-yourself-you-can-begin-to/) [Gabriella Kortsch Ph. D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriella-kortsch-ph-d/) > [“Stop aspiring and start being. The world needs you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/stop-aspiring-and-start-being-the-world-needs-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“We begin in the world as anagrams of our antecedents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/we-begin-in-the-world-as-anagrams-of-our-antecedents/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be - it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be. 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