--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Be the change you wish to be" description: "\"“Be the change you wish to be”\" — The Dalai Dalai Lama" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg" --- # Be the change you wish to be ![“Be the change you wish to be” quote by The Dalai Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg) > ““Be the change you wish to be”” [The Dalai Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-dalai-dalai-lama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal transformation is the first step toward broader societal change. **In simple terms:** Change yourself to change the world. Key Takeaway Start with self‑improvement. Themes change self‑improvement influence Mood inspirational hopeful Type Change:1 Change the world:0 Wish:0 Change Wish:0 When to use this quote - personal development - community leadership - activism Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What personal habits reflect your desired world? - How can personal change inspire collective action? A Different Perspective Changing yourself may not directly alter systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) [Change Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-wish-239736/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [Do you want to come climb the transformationa l leadership mountain with me? Your first step begins with DESIRE. Do you want to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/do-you-want-to-come-climb-the-transformationa-l-leadership-mountain/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [You must be the change you wish to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-be-the-change-you-wish-to-see-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be the change that you wish to see the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/be-the-change-that-you-wish-to-see-the-world/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/we-must-be-the-change-we-wish-to-see-in-the-world/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Be the change you wish to see in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-the-change-you-wish-to-see-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be The Change You wish to see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-the-change-you-wish-to-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be the change you wish to see in this world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gandhi/be-the-change-you-wish-to-see-in-this-world/) [Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gandhi/) > [I realized I was holding onto something that doesn't exist anymore. That person I missed didn't exist anymore. People change, the things we like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey/i-realized-i-was-holding-onto-something-that-doesn-t-exist-anymore/) [Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey/) > [Be the change that you wish to see in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-the-change-that-you-wish-to-see-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aminah/you-must-be-the-change-you-wish-to-see-in-the-world-gandhi/) [Aminah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aminah/) > [Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/such-is-the-state-of-life-that-none-are-happy-but-by-the-anticipation-2/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/such-is-the-state-of-life-that-none-are-happy-but-by-the-anticipation/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“I was, but then I realized that I was holding on to something that didn't exist anymore. That the person I missed didn't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ockler/i-was-but-then-i-realized-that-i-was-holding-on-to-something-that/) [Sarah Ockler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ockler/) > [We must change ourselves first if we wish to see change in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/we-must-change-ourselves-first-if-we-wish-to-see-change-in-the-world/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [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/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Be the change you wish to be”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "The Dalai Dalai Lama" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-dalai-dalai-lama/be-the-change-you-wish-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-dalai-dalai-lama/be-the-change-you-wish-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddc/the-dalai-dalai-lama-282307_change_be-the-change-you-wish-to-be-997246_997246.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be the change you wish to be” — The Dalai Dalai Lama", "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": "The Dalai Dalai Lama", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-dalai-dalai-lama/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Be the change you wish to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-dalai-dalai-lama/be-the-change-you-wish-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-dalai-dalai-lama/be-the-change-you-wish-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```