What's your Impact?

I want to start off with a quick exercise. Think of someone in your life, past or present. Someone that you don't particularly like to be around. It could be a coworker, ex, friend of a friend, etc. Got someone in mind? Good, hold that thought.

Over break I crashed Jackson's National Sales meeting. I did this because Jeff and Jessica, the to partners I use to work with were in town. I wanted to see them. I also went to the office a couple of days to see some of my old coworkers (I didn't see everyone I wanted to, so of course, I went back.) And it got me thinking about why I wanted to see some of these people, and frankly, why there were plenty of people that I use to work with I didn't. There were so many people at Jackson that made and impact in my life, from the manager who hired me all those years ago, to the recruiters, coworkers and bosses. Some of them set out to make an impact. Some of them did not. Some of the impacts were positive, and some, well, let's just say I wasn't excited to see everyone back at the office.

It felt so good to hear the excitement from some of my old coworkers, seeing some of the external sales guys, a manager in a completely different department. Apparently, based on what they said to me, I made an impact on them. I will never know the breadth of the impact I made, but even more so will never know any negative impact I made.

So let's jump back to that person you are thinking about. The one that you won't be buying the next round for. I have a few in mind. Now I don't think they woke up each morning thinking about how they could be mean, rude, obnoxious etc towards you. There might be a few extreme examples, but other than that, I highly doubt they thought of you. Or more importantly, thought of their impact.

Everything you do is going to effect others. That is just the nature of the beast. You might be in a rush, and bump into a stranger on the streets, who might be having a bad day, who now (ir)rationally hates you. Or maybe someone doesn't appreciate your cutting in line. But on the other side, holding the door open might make someones bad day a little better. A simple thank you for a job well done. The point is, everything you do has the potential to impact others.

But how many people think about their impact on others? How many people try to make as many interactions they have positive ones? To me, it doesn't seem that hard to do. Start with the smaller things. Build from there. But most importantly, simply be aware of the impact you are making on everyone around you.

I am trying to continue making a positive impact through not only my life, but my blog. From some feedback I have received, I have been doing a good job at that so far. But i do ask one favor in addition to feedback (as always, good or bad is appreciated!), if you believe in what I write, and feel that it will help someone else who reads it, please feel free to share it. And as always, let me know what you think.