How to Make a Difference – Focus on these Three Details

There are many people that think that you need to do things on a large-scale in order to make a difference. This may be true to a certain extent, however there are very small things that you can do to get yourself noticed and/or to deliver the fulfilment that you desire out of your life. It is often said that the smallest details make all of the difference, and this is something that I firmly believe. Not everyone has access to a vast amount of resources to allow them to do notable things in life, thus I would like to show you three simple and most important of all; free, things that you should consider incorporating in order to make a substantial difference in your life as well as that of others.

Read in between the lines

I’m sure that you have heard and read this term an infinite number of times when dealing with contracts, terms and conditions and various legislative paperwork. It is a very true statement, simply because some people assume that everything is clear given that it is in writing. Regretfully, there are some people who choose not to scrutinise what is in front of them.

This is something that should always be done when signing on an agreement, especially when you will be providing something of value that is unique to yourself. I would like to talk about a different dimension with regard to reading in between the lines. With anything that you write or say, it should be addressed in such a way that shows that you are different, serious but most of all; pleasant. There is nothing worse than socialising or working with someone who is just like everyone else, or someone who is simply monotonous in his/her style. Provide something and anything that demonstrates that you are someone different and who can make a tangible and/or intangible difference with your style.

Whatever you do, do it with care

I know many people who are simply satisfied with walking into the office in the morning, waiting while twiddling their thumbs as the hours go by the day, only to leave the office not having done anything remarkable. Why would you even consider doing this to yourself? There are so many jobs and functions that people view as mundane and repetitive, but the beauty is in the execution. Take someone who is responsible for classifying documents and binders in an office. The individual without motivation and care will simply stack them on the shelves without any consideration for the resulting person who will need that specific material at any given time.

On the other hand, the person who cares will be so motivated that he/she will perform such tasks in a way that makes it so easy and efficient to find any specific document. The typical mindset would say that this professional will likely never earn recognition for the quality of his/her work. The motivated and exemplary mindset will show appreciation for such work for the following reasons: Can you imagine how much time may be saved through effective document organisation and classification for the people needing those documents? Do you realise how much more someone would be able to produce as a result of such a system? Anything that you do, even if you do not necessarily like it; should be done with care because not only will it benefit yourself spiritually and socially, but it will benefit the people around you.

If it is not there, introduce it

When I was still an employee building up my resources leading to the present day, I remember a time when written and oral conversations within and outside of the workplace had no particular ambiance nor impact apart from business, business and business. Everyone always asked the same questions, stated text book material jargon to sound impressive as well as lacked the ever-so-simple human touch. To some this may be acceptable and necessary, however for those wishing to differentiate themselves from the ordinary, you should never be ashamed of, nor be shy of showing who you are as a personality (in a positive fashion of course).

In everything that I do, I always ask ‘how are you?’ before anything else. I do this however not everyone asks this question to me. This doesn’t bother me since what asking this question does is bring a sigh of relief and relaxation to the environment as well as the individual(s) in front of me. Business is important, and time is very valuable; however why should it hurt you to have a genuine brief conversation that is unrelated to the issue()s at hand? What this does do is show who you are as a human and as a personality. Secondly, it develops positive considerations for a business or social agreement to be made.

Again, when I was still an employee; I had a supervisor who always used to tell me to be quiet and get straight to business when participating and conducting meetings. I couldn’t do this because diving straight into business is contrary to my personality. I genuinely care about the person with whom I am dealing, not just their financial resources. I chose not to listen to my supervisor and guess what happened? All of those clients (existing and potential) eventually wanted to dialogue solely with me for anything that they needed. This obviously drove my supervisor crazy but this is who I am, and if it brings positive value to the people around me, why should I change for one individual? If you find yourself in a similar situation, ask yourself why you should also change?

You have all heard the following expression ‘think outside of the box’. Do it, and you will discover a whole new world of opportunity laying in front of you to make a difference without needing any financial nor material resource to do so.