One interesting thing about humans is that we tend to overestimate the impact of others while at the same time underestimating the impact we make. I have heard people say things such as, “I am just a parent.” Oh really now? Have parents ever made a difference in the world? I think we can all agree they have. They make a difference every day!

Just this morning, Margie and I went out for breakfast. It is something we like to do on the weekend because during the week I am always at work. Our server, an occupation that never gets enough credit, was super friendly. The food was great too, but her service really made the meal pleasant. We have certainly had experiences on the opposite end of the spectrum. This not only took away the pleasure of our dining experience, but, in my opinion, even takes away from the enjoyment of the food. It had our day off to a joyous start. She made a difference.

I was a bartender for 23 years. Whenever I trained a new bartender, or even when I was a trainer for the United States Postal Service, I always reminded the people I was training what an impact they made. I would tell them, “You might only interact with these people for 60 seconds. Make it the best 60 seconds of their day.” Whether you are ordering a drink, or buying a book of stamps, people remember good service. They are likely to give their business to someone who provides that good service. Not to mention, that is how we should treat each other. Can you imagine if you received friendly and amazing service everywhere you went? How would you feel at the end of the day? How about if you received grumpy and poor service everywhere? How would that make you feel? It does make an impact.

This not only applies to interaction with others. Think of what an impact picking up one piece of trash makes. You may be tempted to think it doesn’t make much of a difference. Now, imagine if every person on this planet picked up one piece of trash a day. That is 8 billion pieces of trash we would clean up by each of us only picking up one piece. That would make an impact. How about the opposite? If all of us thought, “I am only dropping one wrapper on the ground. What difference could that make?” If everyone on earth took the same course of action, that would be 8 billion additional pieces of trash laying around. Each action we take makes a huge difference. YOU make a huge difference. Know it. Act like it.