Writing
Quotations About Change, With the Attributions Checked
Quotations about change circulate more than almost any other category, and a striking number of them are attributed to the wrong person. This page collects the ones worth using, grouped by what you actually need them for, and flags the well-known ones whose usual attribution does not hold up. If you are going to quote someone in a presentation or a piece of writing, getting the name right is the minimum.
By Arshad Hossain · Published
The short version
- Several of the most-shared change quotations are misattributed, including one usually given to Darwin.
- Pick a quotation by the job it is doing — opening a talk, closing a memo, steadying yourself.
- Attribute accurately or not at all; a wrong attribution undermines the point you are making.
- In business communication, a quotation supports an argument. It cannot replace one.
On change being constant
These suit openings, where you need to establish that the situation is not stable and standing still is itself a choice.
"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly." — Henri Bergson
"It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today." — Isaac Asimov
"Change is the only constant. Hanging on is the only sin." — Denise McCluggage
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it and join the dance." — Alan Watts
On acting rather than waiting
These work at the end of a piece, where the reader needs to do something rather than agree with something.
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." — Maya Angelou
"Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced." — James Baldwin
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." — Margaret Mead
Widely shared, wrongly attributed
These are the ones to be careful with. Each is repeated constantly with an attribution that does not survive checking.
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." This is attributed to Charles Darwin on a very large number of slides and it is not his. It appears to originate with Leon C. Megginson, a management professor, paraphrasing Darwin in a 1963 address. It is a reasonable paraphrase of natural selection; it is not a quotation from Darwin, and citing it as one in front of an audience that knows better is costly.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." Almost universally given to Mahatma Gandhi, and not found in his collected writings in that form. His actual related remark is longer and less quotable: that if we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. The pithy version appears to be a later condensation.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Regularly attributed to Albert Einstein, with no evidence he said or wrote it. Its documented appearances are much later and unrelated to him.
The general lesson is practical: if a quotation is unusually neat and attributed to a very famous person, that combination is itself a reason to check before using it. Quote Investigator and Wikiquote both track origins carefully and are quicker to consult than the reputational cost of getting it wrong.
Using a quotation well
A few rules that apply whether you are writing a keynote or an internal memo.
Use one. A piece with three quotations reads as though the writer had nothing of their own to say, and each additional one weakens the last.
Put it where it does work, not where it decorates. A quotation at the very start often delays your actual point; the stronger position is usually just after you have made a claim, where it functions as support.
Say something after it. Quotations do not conclude arguments — dropping one and moving on leaves the reader to do the work. One sentence connecting it to your specific situation is what makes it earn its place.
Attribute accurately or drop the attribution. If you cannot verify who said it, either leave the name off or do not use it. In a business context, a confidently wrong attribution undermines the credibility of everything around it.
- One quotation per piece, in almost all cases
- Placed after your claim, as support, rather than before it as decoration
- Followed by a sentence tying it to your actual situation
- Attributed accurately, or not attributed at all
- Checked against Wikiquote or Quote Investigator if it seems too neat
- Reproduced exactly, with any alteration marked in square brackets
A note on why this page is here
QuillBill is a tool for making invoices, quotations and proposals, where "quotation" means a priced offer rather than a memorable line. The two senses of the word share a page in search results constantly, so this page exists for people who meant this one.
If you arrived looking for the business kind, how to write a quotation is the guide you want. On the punctuation, quotation marks covers the rules.
Questions about quotations on change
What is a good short quotation about change?
Denise McCluggage's "Change is the only constant. Hanging on is the only sin." is short, correctly attributed and rarely overused. Maya Angelou's "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." works better when you need action rather than acceptance.
Who said "change is the only constant"?
The full phrasing above is Denise McCluggage's. The underlying idea is much older and is usually traced to Heraclitus, though the neat English wording attributed to him is a paraphrase rather than a translation of anything he wrote.
What did Darwin actually say about adaptability?
Not the famous line. "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change" traces to Leon C. Megginson, a management professor paraphrasing Darwin in 1963. Attribute it to him or paraphrase it yourself.
Did Gandhi really say "be the change"?
Not in that form. It does not appear in his collected writings as commonly quoted. A longer related remark of his makes a similar point about changing oneself first. The condensed version appears to be a later paraphrase that spread independently.
How do I check whether a quotation is genuine?
Wikiquote maintains sourced and disputed sections for most well-known figures, and Quote Investigator traces origins in detail. A useful heuristic: a very neat line attributed to a very famous person is exactly the combination most likely to be misattributed.
How do I use a quotation in a presentation?
Use one, place it after the claim it supports rather than before as decoration, and say something immediately afterwards connecting it to your specific situation. A quotation left to stand alone leaves the audience to do the work of making it relevant.
How many quotations should I use in a piece of writing?
Usually one. Quotations borrow authority, and borrowing repeatedly suggests you have none of your own. The exception is writing where the quotations are the subject rather than the support, such as a collection or a piece analyzing them.
Is it legal to use a quotation in commercial material?
Short quotations with attribution are generally fine. Longer passages from copyrighted work are not, and song lyrics in particular are aggressively enforced even at very short lengths. Public domain sources and pre-twentieth-century writing carry far less risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Darwin say the most adaptable survive?
Did Gandhi say "be the change you wish to see in the world"?
What is a good quotation to open a presentation about change?
Sources
- Charles Darwin: disputed and misattributed quotations — Wikiquote
- Mahatma Gandhi: disputed and misattributed quotations — Wikiquote
- Quote Investigator — Quote Investigator
More on writing
- Quotation Marks: The Rules, With Examples
How quotation marks work in American and British style, where the punctuation goes, and the rules for quoting inside business documents.
- Random Quote Generators: How They Work, and Their Attribution Problem
What random quote generators and quote meme makers do, the attribution and licensing problems they create, and how to build one yourself.
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