A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.

The line frames social and political progress as the product of collective civic action rather than the will of a single leader. By pairing “ordinary people” with “extraordinary things,” it rejects the idea that only elites or heroes make history, and instead elevates everyday participation—voting, organizing, volunteering, speaking out—as the engine of reform. In Obama’s rhetoric, this theme often supports a democratic, movement-based view of change: institutions shift when enough individuals accept responsibility beyond private life and act with unusual courage, persistence, or solidarity. The quote’s significance lies in its motivational claim that agency is widely distributed, and that “change” is achievable through shared effort.