To be human is to be needed by someone else… it’s one of those quotes that hits you right in the gut, doesn’t it? It completely flips the script on how we typically view our value. We spend so much time focused on what we need, but this reminds us that our deepest purpose is found in being the answer to someone else’s need.
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Table of Contents
Meaning
At its core, this quote argues that our fundamental humanity isn’t a solo act. It’s activated, it’s validated, when we play a necessary role in the life of another person.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. We live in a world that’s obsessed with self-sufficiency. Independence is the ultimate goal, right? But McKnight and Block are pointing to a deeper truth. They’re saying that our real worth, the stuff that makes life meaningful, comes from interdependence. It’s that moment you realize your presence, your skills, your simple ability to listen—it matters to someone. It’s not about being a hero. It’s about being a neighbor, a friend, a contributor. That’s where we find our place. That’s where we feel whole.
Quote Summary
Reading Level66
Aesthetic Score87
Origin & Factcheck
This gem comes straight from John McKnight and Peter Block’s 2010 book, The Abundant Community, published in the United States. You sometimes see deep quotes like this misattributed to philosophers or ancient texts, but this one is firmly rooted in their work on community building and asset-based development.
Attribution Summary
Author Bio
John McKnight, Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University had spent decades of his life helping people rediscover the power of relationships. Being, co-founder of the ABCD Institute, his core idea revolves around communities that grows by identifying and connecting their assets. You’ll find the John McKnight book list here which are anchored by Building Communities from the Inside Out, The Careless Society, The Abundant Community, and The Connected Community.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | To be human is to be needed by someone else |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2010; ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781605095844; Last edition: 2012; Number of pages: 192. |
| Where is it? | Chapter: Being Needed, Approximate page from 2012 edition: 168 |
Context
In the book, this isn’t just a feel-good statement. It’s a strategic point. They’re contrasting the “consumer society,” where we’re passive recipients of services, with an “abundant community,” where everyone’s gifts are essential. They argue that systems and professionals have displaced the natural ways we rely on each other, and this quote is a call to remember that power.
Usage Examples
So how do you actually use this? Let me give you a couple of scenarios.
- For a Community Leader or Organizer: Use it to shift the focus from “what’s wrong with this neighborhood” to “what gifts do we have here?” Frame meetings around identifying how every single person can be needed.
- In a Team or Workplace Setting: Talk about it to combat silos. Emphasize that the team’s strength isn’t in a collection of independent experts, but in how each person’s unique contribution is needed by the others to succeed.
- Personal Reflection: Honestly, ask yourself: “Who needs me? And not in a transactional way, but in a way that truly matters?” And then flip it: “Whose needs do I respond to?” The answers can be incredibly revealing.
To whom it appeals?
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Motivation Score85
Popularity Score79
Shareability Score84
FAQ
Question: Does this mean we have no value unless someone needs us?
Answer: Great question, and it’s a common pushback. It’s not about having no value, but about how that value is activated. Think of a beautiful, perfectly tuned guitar. It has intrinsic value. But its purpose—its music—is only realized when a musician needs it to create a song. Our humanity finds its song in connection.
Question: What about people who are isolated or feel like a burden?
Answer: This is the most important critique. The quote is an ideal, a north star for building communities that actively seek out and invite everyone’s gifts. It’s a critique of a society that creates isolation, not a judgment on the isolated individual. The work is to build a world where everyone can find their “needed” role.
Question: Is this just another way of saying “it takes a village”?
Answer: It’s related, but it’s more personal and more active. “It takes a village” is about collective responsibility. “To be human is to be needed” is about individual purpose within that collective. It’s the micro to the village’s macro. You are a vital, needed part of that village.
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