Last week I spoke about the trap I can fall into comparing the impact I have in the world with billionaires, and in the past I’ve also spoken about an “inner mob boss” who lives within me and tells me I’m not doing enough: “I’m only as good as my last envelope”.
I live within a paradox where I want to feel at peace, and at the same time I want to believe my best is yet to come. But the chase for “What’s next” comes with a built-in assumption that “What’s here” isn’t good enough – and that is where the work continues to be for me.
In the past I’ve written about how I have redefined success for what’s important for me, not by someone else’s definition. That gives me great peace (that I often have to return to in order to remember and remind myself).
Today I want to apply that to the concept of making an impact. I want to feel good about the impact I make TODAY (“What’s here”), not the version I’m yet to do.
Sometimes our most important work isn’t about reaching for the edge, but about integrating where we are. By doing that, we can set the groundwork for whatever is to come. Whatever is next, I want to allow to show up, not force myself with “shoulds” and “supposed to’s”.
I’ve come up with these questions to help calibrate me:
What is the impact you make?
Who is impacted?
Where does this impact happen?
When does this impact happen?
How is this impact measured?
Why is this impact important to you?
I’m going to answer these questions in real time. I’m going to get very specific and use the Frolic 100 as the item I will speak of.
What is the impact you make? Every week, for over 7 years, I write a short article for 100 people where I share the best I’ve got. I share my journey, my lessons learned, the mistakes I’ve made, I tell my story, and sometimes I challenge myself in real time in front of 100 witnesses.
Who is impacted? There are 100 people who directly read what I share. They are a collection of people who were attracted to something i’ve put out in the world, and they also overcame a barrier I have created which is to only post for my private blog, and not on social media. They came to my website, and requested to be part of the Frolic 100. In return, I share the best I have. From there, it ripples out into the world in ways I cannot measure.
Where does this impact happen? It starts with my email list, and then gets posted on my website for posterity. That is only the part I control, after someone reads or watches what I’ve done, the impact scatters exponentially in every direction.
When does this impact happen? Every Wednesday morning my latest article is sent out, starting from January 2018.
How is this impact measured? The easiest way for me is to look at the very long list of past articles. The cumulative body of work is how I best measure what I’ve done. I also draw pleasure from the story I get to share about this unique email list of 100 people.
Why is this impact important to you? I started what would become the Frolic 100 from the depths of my imposter syndrome. I didn’t know if I had value to offer the world, and decided I would try by posting a short article once a week. So it began from a place of healing myself. It still serves that purpose to this day, where most articles come from the writing prompt of “What do I need to hear most right now?” including today, apparently. I get to demonstrate my own transformation again and again, and share it with 100 witnesses, who change in ways I cannot measure. The volume of articles is irrefutable proof that I do have value to the world, that I create impact in my own unique way. The volume of work has already been turned into a published book, and I have several others in various states of completion that pull from this material. That will all become part of the legacy I leave behind. The volume of this work also has become the foundation for the R&D I’m currently doing on using AI to help people (me) go deeper within themselves and become even more powerful. I am already sharing that work, and will continue to do so, directly and indirectly.
As I write this out I can see that my impact on the world is significant, and immeasurable.
I could do this exercise several more times in other places of my life that I make an impact.
I wonder now what will show up from this place of acceptance, and not attached to “shoulds”?
Not a single great story of mine came from “should”. They came from when inspiration, or an opportunity, or an invitation showed up, and I was ready to take action in that moment because I believed in myself.
What might change for you by taking a moment to reflect on one single place you make an impact in the world?
