We’re well into our third year of E-Impact.  I’ve told stories about sports, love, missions, leadership, fear, disease, terrorism, education, and of course, generosity.  In all of these editions of the blog there has been a focus on impact.  

One of the podcasts that I host is called Speaking of Impact and I founded a company called Initiate Impact.  It’s clear what my mission is.  However, I’ve also learned the need for evaluation and shift.

Don’t worry, this is not a special announcement for a different focus.  It’s just an acknowledgement that as time passes, information and knowledge increase, and focus is even more necessary.  

The blog and podcast have allowed me to hear from so many different people over the years and I’ve learned (and forgotten) an incredible amount of things.  You’ve done the same if you’ve been reading and listening consistently.  I am realizing that there is such a wealth of information that it can be paralyzing.

The perfect example just happened as I type this on Saturday, November 5, 2022.  I just got a notification of a tweet by Adam Grant (author of Think Again, a great source of inspiration for my book, Personal Finance in a Public World).  Naturally, I stopped typing and checked the tweet (not multitasking, but also not distraction as it added to this entry).  I quoted the tweet because it really resonated.

That last paragraph was a mild plug for my Twitter profile but also a perfect example of all the information and highly relevant to the point itself.  Adam knows there is so much out there and that it’s more important to implement the most meaningful things than to learn more about the not as meaningful things.  

Inspiration

The only way that The Impactmaker Movement is going to reach it’s highest levels is if people begin to take action.  I feel as if we’ve spoken to enough people and delved deep into enough subjects that we have a critical amount of knowledge.  In fact, we have more than enough to get started.  

We’re missing some inspiration.  

The hard thing about inspiration is that it’s not easy to create.  A lot of times, it’s found or you might say stumbled upon.  The easy thing about it is replication.  Humans are a diverse species but our minds aren’t all that different.  Positive meaningful things can generally be agreed upon.  In other words, inspiration can come in bunches and it’s contagious.  

This tells me that we have to do a better job of starting ourselves and inspiring others to start.  I have a quote on this website that says, “Everyone can lead a life of fulfillment.  Everyone else can encourage and empower them to do it by being generous.”  If this is true, we have great work to do.  Part of our own fulfillment is leading others to that place.  It does’t mean you have to be a professional business or life coach, or even be a verbal inspirer.  You can encourage people just by your actions and the results of the meaningful work you do.

Inspiration is two things to The Impactmaker Movement:

-fuel

&

-byproduct

Fuel

The relevant definition of fuel is as follows:

a thing that sustains or inflames passion, argument, or other emotion or activity

You cannot be successful without fuel.  The Impactmaker Movement is not about money, fame, status, or any other goal that society has set before us.  We simply care about doing the best we can with what we have.  That’s a passion.  It might spark an argument and it certainly will spark emotions.  I’ve seen it.  See E-Impact 60, E-Impact107, and my book for the story that comes to mind first.  

The last word of the definition above is what we miss at times.  The activity must be there.  

Inspiration has to be the fuel for activity.

My plea is that you finish reading this entry and instead of going back to read another, start something simple but great.  Take a small action toward a big impact project.  

Remember, you may not change the world but you can change the world for one.

Byproduct

Here’s what gets me most excited about positive impact - byproducts!

A byproduct is:

an incidental or secondary product made in the manufacture or synthesis of something else

Wait, aren’t those bad?

Let’s go to the United States Protection Agency for more information.  See, "What are combustion products?"  When you burn fuel, it creates byproducts that aren’t great for the environment.  Most of the science behind it is over my head but it’s pretty easy to see the exhaust coming out of a gas-powered car and realize that it’s probably not too good for the atmosphere.

Positive impact is much different than the internal combustion engine.  Instead of creating harmful byproducts, it creates helpful ones.  Or, you might say it just multiplies the fuel that was put in.  

When you are inspired, you ooze inspiration.  

This entry is all about inspiring others and I believe the best way to do that is to be inspired yourself.  

You take in inspiration and in the process of making impact you produce more inspiration.

This is a great cycle isn’t it?

Getting on the Train

The simple solution to start an inspiration cycle is to just get on the train.  But I did say above that inspiration isn’t easy to create.  In fact, I would say that even if you can “create” inspiration, it’s likely to lose intensity because it’s not truly something meaningful to you.

You have to go to places that you know are inspiring for you.  Surround yourself with people, sounds, and words (like these!) that provide inspiration.   It’s about putting yourself in the best possible situation to “catch” the inspiration.

Getting on the train is more about getting in the way of the train so that when it passes, you can jump on.

Keep reading E-Impact and get involved with all the impactmakers we’ve talked to.  Participate in groups that inspire you.  Take up a leadership role in an inspiring group.  Nothing gives more incentive than the reliance of other people.  This would be a good form of taking action with what you have.

Staying on the Train

I firmly believe that staying on the train is easier than getting on the train.  I’m listening to the November 2, 2022 episode of The Steve Weatherford Show.  Steve is talking with his wife about doing 75 Hard from Andy Frisella.  It’s a self-development program focused on discipline with your diet and exercise.  Most are highly intimidated by the thought of even trying and many are unable to complete the full 75 days of discipline. 

Laura, (Steve’s wife) talks about what it was like to go through the whole plan.  It’s apparent that committing is very hard.  Once you’re in it though, the inspiration and determination takes over.   

I think the same concept applies to our inspiration as impactmakers.  

I am asking you to do something hard - commit to taking action on what you’ve learned over the past couple years.  

I am also asking you to do something simple.  Stay consistent.  Complete a small step every day as part of your impact efforts.  Keep the inspiration train going.  

Leadership

I mentioned earlier about taking up a leadership position.  Here’s a secret: you already are a leader.  You’ve inspired people over the years - even if you didn’t realize it.  

I am now asking you to be inspired to inspire.  As also mentioned above, reading meaningful words is a way of putting yourself in the path of the inspiration train.  I’d like to think that these words are a pass of the train every week.

Congratulations for putting yourself in the way of the train and congratulations to me for driving a small engine on a huge train.

You are a leader in your personal and professional life.  Yes, feel a little pressure but remember that the pressure is just part of the inspiration.

Good leaders know that they have responsibilities to the people that they lead.   Whether it’s the volunteers of a non-profit, employees of a for-profit corporation, or members of a family, the people of a group deserve the right to be successful in what they do.  Volunteers deserve the right to effectively use their efforts to make an impact.  Employees deserve the right to execute their role well and be recognized for it.  Family members deserve the right to contribute to the greater mission of their loved ones. 

The best leaders never forget these things and are inspired and pressured, but not overwhelmed.  Their works requires them to be inspired to inspire.  

Some people with leadership titles are inspired to be successful, to get a raise, to get a promotion, or even to get out of the role they are in.  The best are inspired to help the people they lead be successful.  As mentioned earlier, you can’t be successful without action. 

An inspired work force will take action.  

Don’t be the leader that loves to know about the work but does nothing with the knowledge.

Leadership is about action.

Sharing the Love

Good leadership is also extremely generous.  It requires an abundance mindset and a desire to support the greater good.  When you’re inspired to inspire, you know that your work will encourage others to do the same.  

Some of the people that you inspire will take it to the leadership level themselves.  You have to look at this as part of your tree of impact.  Your effectiveness is not just about how much you do yourself but how much the people you inspire do.  Truthfully, the base of your tree can only do but a fraction of what its branches can.

Share the love of positive impact, watch the action increase, and experience the effectiveness of The Impactmaker Movement blast off!