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Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that…

Howard Thurman

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What Makes You Come Alive

Topic: Courage, Integrity, & Purpose

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Howard Thurman

Howard Thurman, born on November 18, 1899, in Daytona Beach, Florida, emerged as a highly influential figure in American history. As a theologian, philosopher, educator, and civil rights leader, Thurman’s intellectual pursuits underscored the intersection of spirituality and the fight for social justice. Growing up in a segregated society, he became a beacon of enlightenment and understanding, using religion and spirituality as powerful tools to combat racial discrimination and social injustice. His profound impact on American society is evident through his extensive writings and teachings, which continue to inspire.

Thurman’s influence extended notably to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whom he mentored. His book, Jesus and the Disinherited, profoundly shaped King’s understanding of nonviolent resistance, which became a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement. In addition to his role as a mentor, Thurman achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first African-American dean of a predominantly white university, serving as the dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University. His guidance and teachings helped foster a deeper understanding of the potential role of Christian churches in social justice efforts, which significantly influenced the direction and spirit of the Civil Rights Movement.

Even after King left Boston University, Thurman continued to support him and other civil rights leaders, emphasizing the importance of maintaining spiritual roots amidst their social justice efforts. He urged them to remain vigilant in their spiritual journeys through meditation, prayer, singing, celebration, and worship. Thurman believed that true social change could only come through personal transformation and adherence to spiritual disciplines. Howard Thurman passed away on April 10, 1981, in Daytona Beach, Florida, leaving behind a substantial and impactful legacy that continues to inspire individuals in the fields of civil rights, theology, and education.

(1899-1981) Christianity

Thurman, Howard. “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Violence Unveiled: Humanity at the Crossroads, by Gil Bailie, Crossroad, 1996, p. xv.

Howard Thurman


Theme: Moral Courage

About This Howard Thurman Quotation [Commentary]

Howard Thurman’s guidance—“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that”—turns the usual question of service on its head. Rather than beginning with outward demands, Thurman invites us to return to what stirs life within. His closing line makes the point plain: “Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” The focus is not on abandoning care for the world, but on recognizing that the most vital contribution flows from inner vitality. The world’s needs are real, but they are best met by those who act from what is whole and awake within them.

This orientation calls for moral courage. To “come alive” is not a fleeting feeling—it’s a commitment to follow what is inwardly true, even when that path leads away from convention. The instruction to “go do that” asks more than impulse; it asks integrity. In this light, Thurman is not encouraging indulgence, but a kind of clarity: that life’s real work begins when we act from our own aliveness. The courage to follow what makes us come alive is often quiet, requiring trust in one’s deeper direction, especially when it conflicts with expectations or approval.

Elsewhere in Meditations of the Heart, Howard Thurman speaks of seeking a life “under the influence of… the fruits of the inner life.” This inner ground is not passive; it leads to action. When he says, “go do that,” he speaks to a rooted way of living, not a reactive one. The repetition of “come alive” is deliberate—it emphasizes that aliveness is the necessary condition for meaningful engagement. Those who follow this way do not turn from the world; they meet it with presence, clarity, and the strength of their own awakened life.

A Couple of Additional Quotations From Howard Thurman

“There is in every person an inward sea—And in that sea, there is an island—And on that island is an altar—And standing guard before that altar is the angel with the flaming sword. Nothing can get by that angel to be placed upon that altar unless it has the mark of your inner authority. Nothing passes the angel with the flaming sword—to be placed upon your altar—unless it be a part of the fluid area of your consent. This is your crucial link with THE ETERNAL.”

—Thurman, Howard. Meditations of the Heart. 16651st ed., Beacon Press, 1999.

“All my life I have been seeking to validate, beyond all ambivalences and frustrations, the integrity of the inner life. I have sensed the urgency to find a way to act and react responsibly out of my own center. I have sought a way of life that could come under the influence of, and be informed by, the fruits of the inner life.”

—Thurman, Howard. The Centering Moment. 1st ed., Friends United Press, 2007.

Verification of the Citation via Quote Investigator 

Quote Investigator: In 1995 teacher Gil Bailie published “Violence Unveiled: Humanity at the Crossroads”. Bailie stated that he heard the quotation under examination from Howard Thurman. [1997 (1995 Copyright), Violence Unveiled: Humanity at the Crossroads by Gil Bailie, Section: In Gratitude by Gil Bailie, Date on Section: August 1994, Start Page xv, Quote Page xv, A Crossroad Book: The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York.]

Once, when I was seeking the advice of Howard Thurman and talking to him at some length about what needed to be done in the world, he interrupted me and said: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

The text above appeared in a section titled “In Gratitude” dated August 1994. Bailie indicated that he heard the remark from Thurman twenty years in the past, i.e., around 1974. Howard Thurman died in 1981.

Resources

  • The Inward Sea, Author Howard Thurman. Awakin.org, Apr8, 2024
  • Thurman & Hildegard on Inner and Outer Work and Creativity by Matthew Fox, July 29, 2021 Art as Meditation
  • Remembering Spiritual Masters Project Howard Thurman, Spirituality & Practice

Related Quotes

  • Let Nothing Frighten You. - Saint Teresa of Avila,
  • No Coward Soul Is Mine - Emily Brontë, No Coward Soul Is Mine
  • Stand On Your Own Feet - Thomas Merton,
  • What Makes You Come Alive - Howard Thurman,
  • Moral Courage Is - Robert F. Kennedy,
  • Like Brave Soldiers - Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy,
  • True Belonging - Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness
  • The Ground Of Your Soul - John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
  • Practicing Universal Principles - Stephen R. Covey,
  • On Your Own Ground - John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
  • To the Mountaintop - Martin Luther King Jr., I've Been to the Mountain Top

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