The Power of Initiative: Stepping Forward Before You’re Asked

Initiative is the drive to act before you’re told to, to solve problems without waiting, and to take responsibility for making things better. It means seeing a need and stepping into it with courage and creativity. People with initiative don’t wait for permission—they get started, and they figure things out as they go. This simple but powerful habit transforms ideas into action and intentions into results. Here are five insightful quotes about initiative, along with a true story that proves why it’s one of the most important virtues for creating real change.

A True Story: Clara Barton and the Founding of the American Red Cross

During the American Civil War, Clara Barton noticed that wounded soldiers were dying not just from bullets, but from lack of basic care and supplies. No one had asked her to help. But she didn’t wait for orders. She began collecting bandages, food, and medicine and traveled to the front lines herself—nursing soldiers directly on the battlefield.

After the war, Barton learned about the International Red Cross in Europe. America had no equivalent. So again, without waiting for approval, she campaigned, organized, and finally founded the American Red Cross in 1881.

Her story is one of pure initiative: no official role, no invitation—just the courage to see suffering and step forward. Because of her, millions have received help in times of disaster, conflict, and crisis.

Three Quotes from Books About Initiative

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989), Stephen Covey explains initiative as the essence of personal leadership:

Highly proactive people don’t blame circumstances. They own their response. They take initiative.

~ Stephen R. Covey

In So Good They Can’t Ignore You (2012), Cal Newport describes initiative as the key to standing out:

Unremarkable careers are built on waiting to be told what to do. Remarkable ones are built on initiative.

~ Cal Newport

In Originals (2016), Adam Grant explains how initiative drives innovation:

The hallmark of originality is rejecting the default and exploring whether a better option exists.

~ Adam Grant

Five More Quotes About Initiative

In 1776, Thomas Paine spoke of action as the antidote to fear.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.

~ Thomas Paine

In 1859, John Stuart Mill linked initiative to liberty and progress.

A person whose desires and impulses are not his own has no character, no more than a steam-engine has character.

~ John Stuart Mill

In 1931, Winston Churchill emphasized that action shapes fate.

To each, there comes a moment… when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do something unique.

~ Winston Churchill

In 1960, John F. Kennedy urged Americans to act before being asked.

Let every nation know… that we shall pay any price, bear any burden… to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

~ John F. Kennedy

In 2015, Sheryl Sandberg emphasized taking initiative in Lean In:

If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.

~ Sheryl Sandberg

Life Lesson:

Initiative is the spark that starts every fire. Without it, potential stays locked inside us. With it, ordinary people do extraordinary things. Clara Barton’s story reminds us that no one needs to give you permission to make the world better. See the need. Step forward. Don’t wait. The people who change things are the ones who don’t ask if they’re allowed—they ask what needs to be done. Then they start doing it.