Will You Make a Difference Today?

A friend’s young daughter had an accident last weekend and doctors had to reattach the tip of her index finger. Fortunately, it looks like it will turn out well.

I was reflecting that the doctor must have gone home with a sense of satisfaction. He had done something that day that made a big difference in one little girl’s life. In his line of work, he probably has a lot of days like that.

Do you ever have days like that? Can you go home at the end of the day with that sense of fulfillment that comes from knowing you have made a real impact on someone’s life?

I do get a call or an email occasionally in which someone tells me that my coaching or my class made a big difference to them, and I treasure every single one. Last year, I taught a presentations class in Shanghai and at the end of it urged the participants to join a Toastmasters club if they were interested in continuing to work on their skills. One of the students went even further – he started a club, and judging from the occasional notes I get from him, it is making a huge impact on him personally.

Later today I will deliver a speech on presentation principles to a group of aspiring entrepreneurs. Maybe one or two will pick up an idea that gives them just that slight edge in their pitch to a venture capitalist. I hope I make a difference.

Will you make a difference today?