The message I am about to share has been on my heart a lot recently I normally share tips and feedback on how to be successful in business, but this is something different. Don’t get me wrong, I want you all to be successful, but there is one big thing that is missing when we only focus on success, which is impact.

Success and effect differ significantly in fundamental ways. I have had a lot of success throughout the years. I’m not bragging or boasting about this; rather, I’m just sharing that I’m mostly to blame for my triumphs. I put in the time and effort necessary to support my family and ensure their future. I put forth a lot of effort since I was aware of what it would take to succeed. Despite achieving this feat, I didn’t feel completely satisfied. Why was it lonely at the top of this mountain I had just climbed with all this success?

It was lonely at the top because I had not focused on elevating people with me. I didn’t bring anybody to the top with me to celebrate; I left them in the dust. Why I was successful but having trouble leading and getting others to follow? As I was focused solely on my personal success, I was not focused on the success of others at the same time. Impact, to me, is defined as having a significant imprint that you leave on another person’s life. Impact means that you touch somebody and serve them at the heart level. Impact means that you bypass your own needs and focus on the needs of others first. Impact is contagious and inspires others to follow you and aspire to be better. When others know that you 100% honestly and truly care about them, this creates magic in business and life.

Consider the purpose and intended result of every action you take today as you go about your business. Are you behaving out of a desire to succeed or a desire to make a difference? Success is simple; it’s simple to concentrate on yourself and what you can do to influence events. It is challenging to set one’s own needs aside in order to prioritize those of others, yet this is the only way to intentionally make a difference.

Next week I will share a little more about what happened to me when I decided to be impactful instead of successful.

P.S. Here is a link to a blog I wrote for Overdrive that shares more about my decision to be impactful and leave an intentional legacy. Read the post here: Leave Your Legacy