Small Differences Quotes:

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.

- Marian Wright Edelman

source: Marian Wright Edelman (1987). “Families in Peril: An Agenda for Social Change”, p.107, Harvard University Press

topic: Inspirational, Peace, Women, Woman Leader, One Person Can Make A Difference

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

- Leo Tolstoy

source: "The Artist's Way at Work: Riding the Dragon". Book by Mark A. Bryan with Julia Cameron and Catherine A. Allen, p. 160, 1999.

topic: Inspirational, Change, Happiness, Making A Difference In The World, Times Have Changed

I've found that small wins, small projects, small differences often make huge differences.

- Rosabeth Moss Kanter

source: "Building a winning boardroom team". CNN Interview, www.cnn.com. May 16, 2005.

topic: Winning, Differences, Small Wins, Small Differences

Develop the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results.

- Brian Tracy

topic: Motivational, Winning, Differences, Inspirational Winning, Great Winning

We can do no great things-only small things with great love.

- Mother Teresa

topic: Life, Encouraging, Time, Giving Love, Small Things In Life

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

- Mother Teresa

topic: Inspirational, Inspiring, Yoga, Social Good, Hunger And Poverty

It may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena. A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the later. Prediction becomes impossible, and we have the fortuitous phenomena.

- Henri Poincare

topic: Differences, Errors, Finals, Fortuitous, Initials

Be The Peace You Wish To See In The World!

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Positive, Important Work, Social Good

In any society, the artist has a responsibility. His effectiveness is certainly limited and a painter or writer cannot change the world. But they can keep an essential margin of non-conformity alive. Thanks to them the powerful can never affirm that everyone agrees with their acts. That small difference is important.

- Luis Bunuel

topic: Powerful, Responsibility, Artist, Small Differences

Intolerance of groups is often, strangely enough, exhibited more strongly against small differences than against fundamental ones.

- Sigmund Freud

topic: Differences, Fundamentals, Groups, Small Differences

A contact with an extraterrestrial civilization is the greatest challenge for mankind in the Third Millennium. We would finally realize that we are indeed not alone, what could cause a new Copernican revolution, a quantum leap in our thinking and perspective. We would finally realize that we are one mankind and all the small differences which separate humans from each other today-nationality, race, religion-would disappear. Only together can mankind explore the universe, our true home and destiny.

- Michael Hesemann

topic: Home, Destiny, Thinking, Quantum Leap, Extraterrestrial

When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters. I thought, we can't keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way.

- Shinya Yamanaka

source: "Risk Taking Is in His Genes". Interview with Martin Fackler, www.nytimes.com. December 11, 2007.

topic: Mother, Daughter, Differences, Embryos, Small Differences

Together on the path of love, we can try to make a small difference in someone's life. What else is there to do?

- Chan Khong

source: Chan Khong, Sister (2008). “Learning True Love: Practicing Buddhism in a Time of War: Easyread Edition”, p.431, ReadHowYouWant.com

topic: Love, Differences, Trying, Path Of Love, Small Differences

Most soulish believers assume an attitude of self-righteousness, though often it is scarcely detectable. They hold tenaciously to their minute opinions we ought to lay aside the small differences and pursue the common objective.

- Watchman Nee

topic: Attitude, Self, Differences, Self Righteousness, Self Righteous

I love making people smile. I get so much energy through interacting and feeling like I've made a difference, a small difference.

- Debbi Fields

source: "Debbi Fields Talks The Importance Of Persistence And Staying Present In ORIGIN Magazine". Interview with Maranda Pleasant, www.huffingtonpost.com. October 27, 2013.

topic: Differences, People, Feelings, Small Differences

I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference.

- Ellen Goodman

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Volunteers Making A Difference, Goodman

Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. […] If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, to take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there.

- Gene Roddenberry

source: "Socialism in One Galaxy?" by Nicole Colson, socialistworker.org. September 15, 2016.

topic: Stars, Maturity, Ideas, Differences In Life, Deserving

The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather they make all the difference.

- Aristotle

topic: Education, Differences, Childhood, Small Differences

The laws of Pluto's kingdom know small difference between king and cobbler, manager and call-boy; and, if haply your dates of life were conterminant, you are quietly taking your passage, cheek by cheek (O ignoble levelling of Death) with the shade of some recently departed candle-snuffer.

- Charles Lamb

source: Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb (2017). “Delphi Complete Works of Charles and Mary Lamb (Illustrated)”, p.885, Delphi Classics

topic: Kings, Boys, Law, Cobblers, Pluto

The change from atoms to bits is irrevocable and unstoppable. Why now? Because the change is also exponential - small differences of yesterday can have suddenly shocking consequences tomorrow.

- Nicholas Negroponte

source: "Being Digital". Book by Nicholas Negroponte, 1995.

topic: Differences, Yesterday, Atoms, Why Now, Small Differences

There is, to be sure, sometimes only a small difference between being alert to possible danger and allowing oneself to become terrified to the point of paralysis by seeming or imagined portents.

- Sherwin B. Nuland

topic: Differences, Sometimes, Danger, Portents, Small Differences

I think it's this congenital problem with journalism that we oversell the difference we make. We make small differences.

- Katherine Boo

source: "Katherine Boo: Slum dweller" by Susanna Rustin, www.theguardian.com. June 8, 2012.

topic: Thinking, Differences, Journalism, Small Differences

Look at identical twins. When you get closer, you start to see the small differences. It all depends on how much you magnify it.

- Bryan Swanson

topic: Differences, Looks, Twins, Identical Twin, Small Differences

The moments that we have with friends and family, the chances that we have to make a big difference in the world or even to make a small difference to the ones we love, all those wonderful chances that life gives us, life also takes away. It can happen fast and a whole lot sooner than you think.

- Larry Page

topic: Thinking, Differences, Giving, Small Differences

Everyone's goals are the same with very small differences. I mean, the goal of a socialist and the goal of a libertarian are exactly the same. The goals are happiness and security and freedom, and you balance those.

- Penn Jillette

source: Big Think Interview, bigthink.com.

topic: Mean, Differences, Goal, Security And Freedom, Small Differences

The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.

- Elliot W. Eisner

topic: Art, Differences, Perception, Small Differences

No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater...The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that's the key. It's like a big pie chart, and the love in a relationship has to be the biggest piece. Love can make up for a lot.

- Sarah Dessen

topic: Love, Order, Differences, Love And Marriage, This Lullaby

In a word, acts of any kind produce habits or characters of the same kind. Hence we ought to make sure that our acts are of a certain kind; for the resulting character varies as they vary. It makes no small difference, therefore, whether a man be trained in his youth up in this way or that, but a great difference, or rather all the difference.

- Aristotle

topic: Character, Men, Differences, Vary, Nicomachean Ethics

The difference between a good picture and a mediocre picture is a question of millimeters - small, small differences - but it’s essential. I didn’t think there is such a big difference between photographers. Very little difference. But it is that little difference that counts, maybe

- Henri Cartier-Bresson

source: "Henri Cartier-Bresson: 'There Are No Maybes'". Interview with Sheila Turner-Seed, lens.blogs.nytimes.com. 1971.

topic: Thinking, Differences, Essentials, Small Differences

The ethics of plagiarism have turned into the narcissism of small differences: because journalism cannot own up to its heavily derivative nature, it must enforce originality on the level of the sentence.

- Malcolm Gladwell

source: "Something Borrowed". www.newyorker.com. November 22, 2004.

topic: Differences, Levels, Derivatives, Small Differences

And it has been sarcastically said, that there is a wide difference between a good physician and a bad one, but a small difference between a good physician and no physician at all; by which it is meant to insinuate, that the mischievous officiousness of art does commonly more than counterbalance any benefit derivable from it.

- Gilbert Blane

source: Gilbert Blane (1821). “Elements of Medical Logick”, p.10

topic: Art, Medicine, Differences, Small Differences