What would it be like if you had a crystal ball that would allow you to look forward to see what kind of impact you have made on those you come in contact with on a daily basis or possibly even just an one time encounter? You do understand that regardless of your intent you make an impact on the lives of a countless number of people and situations each and every day? Your words, your decisions, your attitude, your perspective on life has a direct impact on the lives of others that you may or may not ever meet. I don't know if many people grasp the longitude of what they do and how it impacts lives way on down the yellow brick road of life.
That's important to understand, but couple that with the fact that your impact will occur regardless of whether it is a positive impact or unfortunately even a negative impact on someone you live with, work with, or spend any amount of time with today. I can sit and think of individuals that have had a direct impact on who I am and where I am today. Some made intentional efforts to influence me to be a better person and make a difference in the lives of others. In my educational career I always link three very special people to my life and why I became a teacher. Andy Taylor, Glen Kanipe, and Gail Rice each played a pivotal role in my opportunity to work as a volunteer wrestling coach and to the next step of going back to school and becoming what is right now a 25 year veteran educator still impacting the lives of those I have an opportunity to work with each day. Where would I be right now if not for the positive influence each of them made on my life? Not sure maybe in education maybe not??
Well it doesn't stop there, I had a high school wrestling coach that instilled a love of this sport and the discipline it taught me that has served me well over the course of my life. Coach Tony Rigdon taught me to never give up even when things looked too tough to face, Coach Rigdon instilled that mentality into my life through pushing me to what I thought was my limit and then encouraging me to give just a little bit more. Thank you Coach Rigdon, I haven’t gotten the opportunity to tell him in years, but I want to make sure he knows that his influence on my life changed my life!
But what if it doesn’t even begin there? What if there was a friend of my older brother that I used to nag and tenaciously bother when I was about nine or ten years old? What if that older friend told this little, scrawny kid that really had little to no skills or stature that fit the football team or basketball team that he knew of a sport that would suit him just right. Reese Conway did just that for me. For the four or five years leading up to my high school career Reese told me that I would make a good wrestler and that size didn’t matter in wrestling. Reese taking the time to encourage me and share with me his love for a sport that I had not even seen before, other than Southeastern Championship Professional Wrestling on TV, led me to pursue wrestling when I got in high school. Thank you Reese Conway.
You see all of those people made a difference in my life, but if Reese hadn’t planted that seed some forty plus years ago I might have never entered the field of education and I sure wouldn’t have ever coached the sport that I feel mirrors life’s struggles in so many ways for over thirty years instilling the message of never quit and never give up! What is important for you to understand as you read this blog today is this. You will make an impact on someone be it one person, ten people, or ten thousand people, you will make a difference in the world you live. The question you have got to ask yourself is “What kind of impact will I make?”
If you could glare into that crystal ball what would you see up to this point in your life? Would your impact be one that has encouraged others, or maybe could it be because you looked for a “yes” answer when everyone else was saying “no”? Has your life provided an example of persistence and perseverance lined with grit and resiliency? Have you helped someone with no plans or desire of getting anything in return? Or is your life filled with self-satisfaction, negativity, and gloom for the future? Have you had opportunities to make a difference, but you were just too busy to sacrifice the time it would take to be that positive influence in someone else's life? You need to really stop here and reflect on what kind of investment you are making into the lives of others.
Guess what? If you didn’t like the image you are seeing in that crystal ball it isn’t too late. You may have one life that you are supposed to impact and that opportunity may be getting ready to present itself to you as you are reading this page. You may think you aren’t skilled enough or that you have nothing to offer, but you do. It may be as simple as encouraging that skinny, aggravating kid that he can be something in life. It may be a colleague at work that needs your help or a word of encouragement, or it may be a life that you can save with your friendship or offer to help. The bottom line is that the future you will see in your crystal ball is created by you. Your words and actions will make an impact that you may never know took place, but always remember this, you will make an impact. Will it be a positive one?
If you have never heard of the Butterfly Effect I encourage you to either click on the link provided below or copy and paste it into your browser. What the heck if you have watched it and it has been awhile since you watched it I would encourage you to watch it again. The Butterfly Effect is a principle that expands on the thought behind today’s FTM. Check it out and have a great week!
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-mozilla-001&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla&p=the+butterfly+effect+andy+andrews+video#id=1&vid=bfa0cc9e57f3b7ef283769e846f94d14&action=click
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