"I choose bold. I choose action. I choose what's right for the people. I choose to make a difference"
About this Quote
The subtext is defensive in a familiar way. “Bold” and “action” quietly answer the charge that public service is slow, compromised, bureaucratic - all the things voters already suspect. By framing leadership as personal selection, Richardson also sidesteps the messy truth of politics: you don’t “choose” alone. You negotiate. You trade. You count votes. The line aims to make collective constraint feel like individual willpower.
Then there’s the phrase that reveals the target audience: “what’s right for the people.” It’s populist without being ideological; “the people” is a flattering blank check that lets every listener imagine their own priorities endorsed. “Make a difference” seals the pitch with moral aspiration instead of policy specificity, a classic move in retail politics where affect must arrive before details can.
In context, Richardson’s career - diplomat, governor, energy secretary - was built on deal-making across factions. The quote tries to translate that transactional skill into a story of principled decisiveness: not just a negotiator, but a chooser. That’s the intent: convert complexity into clarity, and ambition into virtue.
Quote Details
| Topic | Servant Leadership |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Richardson, Bill. (2026, January 17). I choose bold. I choose action. I choose what's right for the people. I choose to make a difference. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-choose-bold-i-choose-action-i-choose-whats-48835/
Chicago Style
Richardson, Bill. "I choose bold. I choose action. I choose what's right for the people. I choose to make a difference." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-choose-bold-i-choose-action-i-choose-whats-48835/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I choose bold. I choose action. I choose what's right for the people. I choose to make a difference." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-choose-bold-i-choose-action-i-choose-whats-48835/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.









