You May Never Know the Impact You Have
July 2, 2007 by Lillie
A recent post – Remember to do something for others – at Acquire Wisdom and Live with Passion got me thinking. Sometimes it seems that we need to do something great to have an impact on the world. What little I can do seems so … little.
Yet, sometimes the smallest thing can make a huge difference. A few days ago I met with a friend who had a stroke more than a year ago. Since neither of us is able to get out much, it was the first time I’d seen her in person since her stroke. At one point in our conversation, tears ran down her face as she said, “You’ll never know how much it meant to me to be able to talk to you when I was in the hospital and rehab. No one else understood what I was going through.” All I did was chat on the phone and acknowledge I’d had similar experiences and feelings when I was in therapy. Such a little thing … but so important for my friend.
And sometimes, we can influence someone we don’t even know. When I was in the interior landscape business, I visited the offices of a new client, an insurance agency that occupied an entire floor of a class A office building. I had negotiated the contract with the purchasing agent and had never met the president of the company. When I came to the president’s office, I introduced myself and told her I was there to check on their plants. She said, “You don’t it, but you have been a big inspiration to me.” What? I’d never met the woman before, hadn’t even known her name before I entered her office. She went on to say that she had been a stay-at-home mother of a disabled child until her husband died several years earlier. She put her adult son in a residence for persons with disabilities and took over the company her husband had spent his lifetime building. She happened to attend a Chamber of Commerce seminar where I talked about starting and building a business in a time when I was often the only female and one of the youngest people at business events. I frequently spoke at business functions, and I didn’t even recall the specific occasion she mentioned and certainly didn’t remember seeing her in the audience. That program, this successful insurance woman told me, inspired her, and when she was discouraged and frustrated with business challenges, she would think to herself, “If she could do it, I can do it.”
A simple word of encouragement to a friend or a stranger can impact their lives in ways we never know.
Related Posts: Catalyst: God’s Tool
[tags]giving, helping, encouragement, making a difference[/tags]
Hi Lillie!
I am glad that my little post helped you to ponder about things that bring impact to people lives.
According to Mother Teresa, “It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters”.
You are doing great! So Keep it up!
Thanks for showing a great example. It really means a lot!
Best Wishes
Sam Chan
Thanks, Sam. Keep up posting inspiring, motivating, and thought-provoking quotes.
This is a lovely story, Lillie and a good reminder.
Thanks, Yvonne. I think about this whenever I start to think I’m not doing anything worthwhile.
What an awesome story! Yes, it is true. We never know when we might be making a difference. This is a very good reason to never quit trying …
Laura,
I was blessed to meet the woman and have her tell me that I inspired her. It made me realize there are probably lots of times we’ve made a difference and never knew it.
Hi, Lillie!
Just like ripples in a pond, we never know how far our influence can reach or the true magnitude of the effect it can have on the lives of others! Thanks for a truly inspiring post!
Jeanne
Ripples in a pond – a great analogy. Thanks, Jeanne.
So true, Lillie. I hope that my words are remembered as positively influencing people and not the other way. A harsh word stirs up anger, but a gentle answer turns away wrath (okay, I reversed Proverbs 15:1, but I mean the same thing). Thanks for the reminder how we can positively impact people even in small and unseen ways.
Matt,
Thanks for reminding us of the Proverb and the other side of the coin – we have a negative impact as well as a positive impact. You certainly make a positive impact in the blogging world.
This is amazing…I was just talking about this sort of thing with a close friend the other day. And today, he called me to tell me about how he’d been the ‘a-ha moment’ for someone that day and the person had told him so. It’s incredible, sometimes, how much something that seems insignificant at the time means to someone else. Always keep your eyes open for love, joy, and wonderment…there’s more of it out there than you think!
Michi,
It’s such a blessing when we have the opportunity to know we’ve had a positive impact.
Hey, this really hit home for me because I’ve been receiving emails from folks who have been influenced or assisted in some way through my blog.
My purpose was just to have a place to vent and rant and possibly make someone laugh—but to make someone think or to get them out of their depression?
Wow…it’s a mindblower.
Thanks for reminding me.
You keep on rockin’ sister.
Pfunk,
It’s wonderful that your blog is having a positive influence. Humor is a great way to help with all kinds of problems, including depression and medical conditions.
Responses to this post: