Change the World by Changing Me

The Sufi Bayazid says this about himself:

I was a revolutionary when I was young and all my prayer to God was “Lord, give me the energy to change the world.” As I approached middle age and realized that half my life was gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to “Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come in contact with me. Just my family and friends, and I shall be satisfied.” Now that I am an old man and my days are numbered, my one prayer is, “Lord, give me the grace to change myself.” If I had prayed for this right from the start I should not have wasted my life.
_{Anthony de Mello, The Song of the Bird}