Make It Count

Make It Count
Intentional Connection & Making Your Biggest Impact Yet

This past week, a former customer and someone who I had become friends with over the years died suddenly of a heart attached. He was in his mid-40’s and left behind a wonderful, loving family, along with a beautiful teenage daughter. My heart sank when I learned the news, and my thoughts went directly to his daughter and how she is dealing with this sudden, unwanted, and traumatic grief.

As I read the tributes to him and his life on social media, I found myself pondering the one life we have and how we need to make it count — each and every day. And my friend did this! He lived life to the fullest, loved openly and powerfully, and not only touched, but impacted those around him. The tributes from his coworkers, teammates, bosses, employees, and friends speak to the type of person he really was — he made each day count!

Do you? Think about that for just a minute — do you really make each day count or are you so absorbed in your daily activities that you're just waiting for the day to end so you can sit back, relax and binge watch your favorite Netflix show? I get it! Some days you just need to put the world behind you — especially now, given all the additional stress that each of us, and our friends, coworkers, and families are experiencing. 

 But here’s the thing — you have the power to make someone's life better (and yours better in the process, too). You’re here, you’re breathing, and you have unique power to impact those around you in a way that only you can. You have the power to make it count, but do you?

For whatever reason, as I write this column, I feel like I’m preaching, and I know that will run some of you off — you’ll scroll to the next page and keep going. Though it’s not my goal to stand on my box and preach, it is my goal to help you realize that you, yes YOU — in whatever job you have, role you play, or status in life, you have the ability to make it count! So, if you’re about to stop reading, indulge me for a couple of more minutes, because I can help you make it count.

See here’s the thing — most of us, including me, underestimate our ability to make it count and support those around us. Here’s how you do it:

Lead with Gratitude:  Each and every day, we all have things we should be grateful for, but we lose sight because business happens and the world happens to be in a crazy state right now. But if you look for it, you’ll find gratitude everywhere. When you do, say it out loud and see how it impacts your day. For more on this, you can read my full column on Lead with Gratitude on my blog — it’s a good one.

Build Meaningful Connections:  This is something that takes time but can have a profound impact on you, as well as the other person. We all need more meaningful connections, not just connections for the sake of having them. What’s more important — the number of connections you have on LinkedIn, or the relationship you have with those connections? Relationships matter, and they lead to conversations that create action and lead to amazing impact. The next time someone reaches out to you and asks for your help, guidance, support or more, answer the call, support them, and build a meaningful relationship with them. I guarantee it will pay more dividends in the long run than you can imagine.     

Stop Being Busy:  This one actually gets me fired up, but I’m guilty of this in so many ways. We create the state of busyness in our lives by occupying our time with busy work or letting things distract us from focusing on and completing a task. When was the last time you told someone “I’m too busy right now”? Were you actually busy, or could you have responded differently? Could you have answered the phone, email, or text, or did you choose to prioritize other busyness? What amazing opportunity just passed by you, or what awesome gift did you miss, because you were too busy?

Help One Person Every Day:  As simple as this sounds, it’s one of the most challenging things for people to do. Though I truly believe it’s in our human nature to help people, we get distracted with our own lives and forget about the amazing gift we can offer others by simply being present with them. For more on this, you can read my full column HOPE on my blog.

All of this is about intentional living, which is a way of thinking about your life that’s purposeful and deliberate. You are making conscious choices and decisions to ensure that what you do each day enables you to focus on what’s really important. 

Living intentionally is not easy, but think about the impact this will have on your business, your employees, your colleagues, your friends, and your family. John Maxwell said it best, “Intentional living is about living your best story,” — go make it count!

And to my friend — fly high buddy! The life you lived, the impact you made, and the legacy you leave behind will last forever. Thank you for being part of my story.