Do you want to make more of a difference in people’s lives? More and more, we are seeing how doing so is a journey, not a destination. In fact, John and I took a long look at our own journey so we can better understand how to more efficiently guide people on their journey to more meaning and significance. We are like scouts–it’s just that we are further on the journey than many of you. So, as a scout, I wanted to give you a head’s up on some things you can expect on your journey.
There are three main components of this journey.
1. You’ll Get More and More Clear as you Go Along
It’s normal to start off wanting to make a difference and being pretty unclear on what that really is. It may start off being very general. For example, you may know you want to help people or that you want to work with women or with teens. Maybe you’re thinking of a specific activity you’d like to engage in, like mentoring or speaking or writing. As you go further on the journey, the exact nature of the change you want to create will get more and more clear.
It can be frustrating having a lack of clarity, but don’t wait until it’s perfectly clear to get started because the clarity won’t come until you get into motion.
2. You’ll Need to Continue to Grow Personally
Personal development will be an essential component of this journey. We have recently began to describe the destination to which we are heading as “the highest version of ourselves for the highest good of others.” As we grow personally, we will have less of an unintentional negative impact on people and we will increase our capacity to have more of a positive impact. We will increasingly step into character qualities like boldness and compassion to be more of service to other people. And we will cultivate mindsets that move us forward.
3. You’ll Work to have More Competence and even Mastery
It really is a journey to get better and better at influencing people and bringing about conditions to facilitate change in people’s lives. You can learn from a lot of different sources (listen to last week’s The Impact Hour for a bunch of ideas). But there will be no substitute for learning by experience. Sure, you’ll make some mistakes along the way, but you’ll need to trust that people will be blessed by your efforts as you are learning along the way. Building competence and even becoming an expert is part of the journey.
Some Good News about the Journey
If you are determined, you will ultimately make a real difference in people’s lives. If you’re like us, though, it may take years to get into motion and trying things out. We tried the “do-it-yourself” model for a long time and it took us years to get clear on the difference we want to make. As soon as we started working with coaches, though, we started moving along much faster on the journey. In fact, it literally took us years before we even got started. So we honestly believe we can shave years off your journey. If you would like to talk about the possibilities, you can contact us at (916) 783-2622 or click here to learn about our Life Impact Academy seminars to get you going on your journey. Whether or not you choose to work with us, we’d love to hear about your journey to increased meaning and significance and to encourage you on that journey.
