First, you are probably wondering "what do you mean by impact?" Great question. This is really an "eye of the beholder" characteristic - YOU need to define what you mean when you think impact.
For example, does "making an impact" mean to you:
- Influencing a person
- Changing a system
- Becoming recognized or remembered for something
Once you pinpoint the number one "what" it is you want to impact, you then need to further define "what" is, such as
- What is it that you want to do to make that impact?
- Is there a target domain/audience?
- What do you want the end results to be?
For example, for a long time I've personally wanted "impact" throughout my lifetime "education". That's a bit too broad to really feel a sense of impact and accomplishment. So I've had to peel back the onion over the years and ask
- Is it the "system" I want to impact, or the "people" in the system?
- Is there a particular domain of education I am more interested in changing then others?
I've finally honed in on 2 areas for impact
- Making the educational process more efficient and effective (which I am lucky to do at the day job)
- Helping motivate girls to get educated so to open their eyes to the world ahead of them (which is part of side projects I work on)
I'm cheating a bit as I have 2 impact areas (remember, overachiever here), but these are at least well defined reference points I have to help determine if the next opportunity that comes my way is something I want to jump on, or not.
What do you want to impact today, tomorrow and in the future?
PS - Small things do matter. Read The Tipping Point on how little things can make a big difference.
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