Have you ever thought about the impact you are making on others? You may be thinking something like, “Shucks, Scott, little ol’ me can’t make an impact on anyone. I am not some politician, entertainer, or successful business person.” If that is what you are thinking, here is my reply:

So?

You do not have to be any of those people to make an impact on others. As a matter of fact, I believe that you are ABSOLUTELY making an impact on those with whom you come in contact. The only question is…

…are you making a GOOD one or a BAD one?

I wrote an article on Linkedin recently. My attitude is that – if I feel I have to something to share of value – I want to tell others about it. I do not care how many Likes or Comments I get. I almost never go back to check those things.

Something grabbed my attention about this post, however. When I looked, I discovered that my post was liked by a few people. The mind-blowing thing to me was that not only were there some Americans who liked the post, but that people from HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD did as well. People from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India had liked what I had to say enough to hit the Like button.

I say this to teach you something. The words that you say – as well as the actions you take – DO impact people. You may never know who some of those people are, but many you will. Something as little as taking a small bouquet of flowers to your 13-year-old daughter for having the courage to do a monologue on stage in front of 300 people (like my daughter did yesterday) will have an impact.

Saying Hello, and then listening to an elderly neighbor tell you about his or her life, makes an impact.

Picking up someone’s empty trash can that has blown into the street will make an impact. You may think that it won’t unless someone sees it. Here is something you may not have ever thought about: It DOES make an impact – ON YOU. You see, every time you do something nice for someone else, you feel better about yourself. Every time you say something uplifting to another soul, you are making a positive impact on your soul.

Every time you believe in another, you believe in yourself more.

Or at least you should.

Start today recognizing the impact you are making on others – and on yourself. Decide that, from now on, you will do your best to make the impact a positive one.