--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The revolution starts at the bottom." description: "\"The revolution starts at the bottom.\" — Yvon Chouinard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png" --- # The revolution starts at the bottom. ![“The revolution starts at the bottom.” quote by Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png) > “The revolution starts at the bottom.” [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Change begins with grassroots actions, not top‑down directives. **In simple terms:** Big change starts small. Key Takeaway Start at the base to spark revolution. Themes activism grassroots leadership Mood determined hopeful Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - community organizing - local business reforms - environmental activism Key Concepts social change bottom‑up empowerment Questions to Reflect On - What small action can you take today? - How can you rally others locally? A Different Perspective Top‑down policies may resist bottom‑up pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bottom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolution Starts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution-starts-1115301/) [Starts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starts/) ## Related quotes > [The revolution starts now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-earle/the-revolution-starts-now/) [Steve Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-earle/) > [Revolution starts in the mind. Question everything!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revolution-starts-in-the-mind-question-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Real Revolution Starts At Learning, If You're Not Angry, Then You Are Not Paying Attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mcilrath/real-revolution-starts-at-learning-if-you-re-not-angry-then-you-are/) [Tim McIlrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mcilrath/) > [Rather than finding the devil "out there," we battle the devil within us. The revolution starts inside each of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/rather-than-finding-the-devil-out-there-we-battle-the-devil-within-us/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Real revolution starts with learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-mcilrath/real-revolution-starts-with-learning/) [Tim McIlrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-mcilrath/) > [A positive human revolution starts with the evolution of one's self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaronn-kinchen/a-positive-human-revolution-starts-with-the-evolution-of-one-s-self/) [Aaronn Kinchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaronn-kinchen/) > [The electoral system is not where change starts - it usually starts in communities and from the bottom up - but it is where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-electoral-system-is-not-where-change-starts-it-usually-starts-in/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [You count a man's U.S. Amateur titles after he starts winning professional majors. That's something any intelligent golf writer with a sense of history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/you-count-a-man-s-u-s-amateur-titles-after-he-starts-winning/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [Every journey starts with fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-gyllenhaal/every-journey-starts-with-fear/) [Jake Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-gyllenhaal/) > [Every song I write, including 'Too Close,' always starts on the guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-clare/every-song-i-write-including-too-close-always-starts-on-the-guitar/) [Alex Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-clare/) > [Time starts out as a notion. But after you turn fifty, time is not a notion anymore but a fact that you start feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/time-starts-out-as-a-notion-but-after-you-turn-fifty-time-is-not-a/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [When the business starts shaping the art, or the delivery of the art, then it's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mould/when-the-business-starts-shaping-the-art-or-the-delivery-of-the-art/) [Bob Mould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mould/) > [You've always got to have that inner confidence in you. That's where it all starts. You're gong to have good days, you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-tolzien/you-ve-always-got-to-have-that-inner-confidence-in-you-that-s-where/) [Scott Tolzien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-tolzien/) > [“project starts to go off target the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-moore/project-starts-to-go-off-target-the/) [Simon Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-moore/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) ## More by Yvon Chouinard > [Once you educate yourself, you're left with choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/once-you-educate-yourself-you-re-left-with-choices/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [A real capitalist knows that $10 given today does a lot more good than $100 given 10 years from now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/a-real-capitalist-knows-that-10-given-today-does-a-lot-more-good-than/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Doing risk sports had taught me another important lesson: never exceed your limits. You push the envelope and you live for those moments when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/doing-risk-sports-had-taught-me-another-important-lesson-never-exceed/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [But I'm really trying to run this company like it is going to be here a hundred years from now. That's what's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/but-i-m-really-trying-to-run-this-company-like-it-is-going-to-be-here/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Who are businesses really responsible to? Their customers? Shareholders? Employees? We would argue that it’s none of the above. Fundamentally, businesses are responsible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/who-are-businesses-really-responsible-to-their-customers-shareholders/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [It's okay to be eccentric if you're rich; otherwise you're just crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/it-s-okay-to-be-eccentric-if-you-re-rich-otherwise-you-re-just-crazy/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/evil-doesn-t-have-to-be-an-overt-act-it-can-be-merely-the-absence-of/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [The whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain. But if you compromise the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-whole-purpose-of-climbing-something-like-everest-is-to-effect/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [At Patagonia, making a profit is not the goal because the Zen master would say profits happen 'when you do everything else right'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/at-patagonia-making-a-profit-is-not-the-goal-because-the-zen-master/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Traveling is my form of self-education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/traveling-is-my-form-of-self-education/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Everything we personally own that’s made, sold, shipped, stored, cleaned, and ultimately thrown away does some environmental harm every step of the way, harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/everything-we-personally-own-that-s-made-sold-shipped-stored-cleaned/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [We've teamed up with some Japanese companies to, basically by 2010, make all our clothing out of recycled and recyclable fibers. And we're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/we-ve-teamed-up-with-some-japanese-companies-to-basically-by-2010/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [You can solo-climb Everest without using oxygen or you can pay guides and Sherpas to carry your loads, put ladders across crevasses, lay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/you-can-solo-climb-everest-without-using-oxygen-or-you-can-pay-guides/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Climbing for speed records will probably become more popular, a mania which has just begun. Climbers climb not just to see how fast and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/climbing-for-speed-records-will-probably-become-more-popular-a-mania/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) > [Everything we make pollutes. The most responsible thing we can do is to make each product as well as we know how so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/everything-we-make-pollutes-the-most-responsible-thing-we-can-do-is/) [Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) [Explore all 101 Yvon Chouinard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/) ## More Bottom quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Filmmaking, like sex, isn't a polite enterprise. It involves a lot of mess and the bottom line is, if somebody ain't screaming, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-woods/filmmaking-like-sex-isn-t-a-polite-enterprise-it-involves-a-lot-of/) [James Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-woods/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I plead with my Moonlight fans to give this show a chance if they let me give it a chance. I can’t do Moonlight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/i-plead-with-my-moonlight-fans-to-give-this-show-a-chance-if-they-let/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [Well, the bottom line is that I'm extremely pleased with 'The Stupids.' I'm pleased that it's coming out, and it should look good. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-landis/well-the-bottom-line-is-that-i-m-extremely-pleased-with-the-stupids-i/) [John Landis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-landis/) > [Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and you will own a precious shield that will guard you well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/search-for-the-seed-of-good-in-every-adversity-master-that-principle/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [I would have had a clause in my contract; I would've definitely put some fine print in my contract that said, "If the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-budden/i-would-have-had-a-clause-in-my-contract-i-would-ve-definitely-put/) [Joe Budden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-budden/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [When I hit bottom, I can attack the problem and get to where I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/when-i-hit-bottom-i-can-attack-the-problem-and-get-to-where-i-want-to/) [Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/) > [If I had lost the popular vote but won the electoral college and in my first day as president the intelligence community came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-had-lost-the-popular-vote-but-won-the-electoral-college-and-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The bottom line, in the professional level, no matter where you go, there's going to be competition. That's what it is. At the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-tolzien/the-bottom-line-in-the-professional-level-no-matter-where-you-go/) [Scott Tolzien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-tolzien/) > [Life is a climb and it's a struggle getting to the top but the drop to the bottom can be quick and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/life-is-a-climb-and-it-s-a-struggle-getting-to-the-top-but-the-drop/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-garagiola/one-thing-you-learned-as-a-cubs-fan-when-you-bought-you-ticket-you/) [Joe Garagiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-garagiola/) > [The political satirist usually votes against their own interests, but the bottom line is that it doesn't really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-winstead/the-political-satirist-usually-votes-against-their-own-interests-but/) [Lizz Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-winstead/) [Browse all 2,558 Bottom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The revolution starts at the bottom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yvon Chouinard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bottom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/yvon-chouinard-5320_bottom_the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom-3068_3068900.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The revolution starts at the bottom.” — Yvon Chouinard", "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": "Yvon Chouinard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The revolution starts at the bottom.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/the-revolution-starts-at-the-bottom/#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 } } ] } ```