If you want to have a big impact, government is the way to do it.

“If you want to have a big impact, government is the way to do it. Just think of the number of people you can touch.” Thus spoke Gina Raimondo, a leader who rose from the quiet halls of local governance to the vast chambers of national power, and whose words shine like a beacon for those who believe that service, not self, is the truest measure of greatness. In this statement lies a truth that the wise of all ages have known — that the strength of government is not in its power to command, but in its power to uplift. Raimondo reminds us that government, when guided by compassion and purpose, is the grandest vessel of human connection, for through it one may touch the lives of millions and shape the destiny of generations yet unborn.

The origin of this quote springs from Raimondo’s reflections on her own journey in public service — from her time as the Governor of Rhode Island to her role as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. She had seen the machinery of governance not as a lifeless bureaucracy, but as a living network of human effort — one that could transform schools, protect workers, build roads, expand opportunity, and guard the weak. To her, the word “government” was not a symbol of red tape or power, but of impact. In these words, she speaks not to the cynics who distrust institutions, but to the dreamers who see them as instruments of renewal. Her vision is both practical and idealistic: she calls upon the ambitious not merely to profit, but to serve, and in doing so, to leave a mark upon the world that endures beyond wealth or fame.

Her phrase, “just think of the number of people you can touch,” carries with it the breath of wonder — a recognition that within the labyrinth of governance lies the potential to reach every corner of human life. A single policy can educate millions of children, a single program can lift countless families from poverty, a single act of leadership can ignite hope in the hearts of the forgotten. In a world obsessed with individual success, Raimondo calls us back to the collective — to the sacred duty of public service. Her insight is not that government alone can save the world, but that it remains the most powerful structure through which humanity may strive together toward justice.

To understand her meaning, we might look to the story of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who, at a time of despair, used the power of government to heal a wounded nation. Through the New Deal, he built bridges and dams, created jobs, and restored faith in the idea that democracy could care for its own. His policies touched not a few, but millions — reshaping the fabric of America itself. Or consider Nelson Mandela, who emerged from the darkness of imprisonment to build a government that reconciled a divided land. Their greatness did not come from their titles, but from the lives they touched. In their hands, government became not an engine of control, but an instrument of compassion — the living proof of Raimondo’s belief that to serve through governance is to wield the power of transformation.

Yet Raimondo’s words also carry a challenge, for she knows that impact requires integrity. To “touch” the lives of others is not merely to change them, but to care for them. Power without empathy corrupts, but power guided by empathy ennobles. Government, she implies, is a sacred trust, and those who enter it must remember that every decision ripples through countless unseen lives. The budget line is not a number — it is a child’s education, a worker’s wage, a family’s home. Thus, to serve in government is to hold the heartbeat of a people in one’s hands. It is a calling that demands not arrogance, but humility; not ambition for glory, but hunger for service.

And yet, how easily this truth is forgotten! Too many treat government as a stage for ambition or a fortress for ideology. But Raimondo speaks to the higher purpose of governance — the purpose that animated the philosophers of old and the reformers of the modern age: to bind together the fates of many into a single destiny. In ancient times, the wisest leaders were those who saw themselves not as rulers, but as stewards — caretakers of the common good. The same principle holds today: the greatest impact one can make is not through wealth or conquest, but through the patient work of improving human life.

Therefore, O listener, let this teaching take root within you: impact is not measured by fame, but by service. Whatever your path — whether in government, in community, or in your daily dealings — seek to touch lives, not merely to advance your own. If you wish to build a better world, do not shun the work of the public sphere; it is there, amid the toil and the struggle, that the seeds of justice are sown. The world changes not through grand speeches or slogans, but through the steady labor of those who choose to serve rather than to rule.

Gina Raimondo’s wisdom calls to the heart of every citizen: if you would make a difference, act where humanity gathers — where the voice of one can echo into the lives of many. Government, at its best, is not distant authority but shared effort — the embodiment of our belief that together, we can rise higher than alone. So take up your own share of that duty. Lend your voice, your hands, your heart to the public good. For when we labor for others, we touch eternity — and in that service, we find the truest meaning of greatness.