The Big Impact of Small Things: How what's easy for you might mean the world to someone else.

I have been reflecting this week on the fact that there is sometimes an interesting imbalance between the cost of doing something, and the impact that it has — a sort of interpersonal leverage that means that what might be totally inconsequential for me could change someone else's life in a way that is far bigger than it should logically be given the effort that it cost.

We tend to think of simply transferring value from one person to another, but I'm convinced that value doesn't work that way at all. For example:

1. It might not cost me much to send a book, idea, or recommendation to someone, but that idea might be exactly what they need right now to turn their life or career around.
2. It might not cost me much to give a small amount of money to someone on the street who, without my help, might struggle to eat that evening.
3. I might know someone who could make a huge difference for somebody else, and a quick email or phone call to introduce them could have a lasting impact for both.

What else might be easy and effortless for me to do, but have an outsized impact on someone else's life?

Value does not simply persist in the transfer. It can be lost, or it can multiplied a thousand times over.

So ask yourself: What is a small for me, but might be big for someone else?

Spend your day paying attention and noticing opportunities to leverage these small things with big impact. There are thousands of opportunities like this constantly, both at work and at home.

What first got me thinking about this was reading the book The Go Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. I took a couple of key insights from that book:

1. Living a life based on making a difference for others not only feels amazing and fulfilling, but is also a valid strategy for success - possibly even the only lasting one.
2. Because of your unique situation, position, and background, there are some differences that you can make that cost you very little, but that add tremendous value for others.

I believe that applying this situational leverage is the secret to having tremendous impact without having to work crazy hours or burn the candle on both ends. Too often we miss the effortless opportunities, and instead spend our time pushing big rocks up the hill with our bare hands, only to see them rolling back down again with little impact.

I now build my coaching and consulting business around these core ideas: find places, people, companies, and teams where, simply by doing and sharing what comes naturally and easily for me, I can make a huge and lasting difference for them.

That means that I don't feel like I'm working hard (it often doesn't feel like work at all), but I get to see amazing results in the lives of the people I work with. It's hard to describe how fun and rewarding that is. And it works far better than I expected: I get to have the time of my life while serving and meeting fascinating people and making a real difference for them.

I used to push big rocks up the hill for long hours every day with little effect. Now I know better.

I believe that living a life of meaning and contribution is at the heart of feeling fulfilled as a human being. Noticing where we can easily and effortlessly take these "small actions with big impact" is a great way to turn that up a notch and build a life that is truly wonderful.

So, look around you: what small thing can you do for someone else today that would be huge for them?

Who around you can you serve powerfully, with little effort, simply because you happen to know or have something that would help them?

When we said "work smart, not hard", I think this is what we were actually trying to get to.

This goes far beyond playing to our strengths: it's about playing with all the unique resources, connections, knowledge, background, and privilege that we have at our disposal, and sharing those in the places, and with the people, where they make the biggest difference.

Having a big impact doesn't have to be a big deal. Go out and have fun. Enjoy your life while serving others powerfully and authentically.

If you are curious to know what it might be like for us to coach together, schedule a quick connection call with me.