What is Your Impact?

I recently was in the middle of a painful yet healing rolfing session. To distract my mind from the instinct to tense and resist the pressure I asked my practitioner a question. “Tell me about the most interesting client you have ever had.” Without a second’s hesitation, he said, “That would be Chuck. He is the smartest man I know.” (Side note…I found it interesting that smart and interesting felt synonymous to him.) I prodded him to explain. He described ‘Chuck’ as a wealthy Jewish man who got his kicks out of seeing how many people he could surprise and make happy. Unexpectedly happy. My ears were now highly tuned in and I barely noticed the 3 tons of pressure he was putting on my sacrotuberous ligament.

 Apparently, Chuck likes to spray hundred dollar bills to unsuspecting people that he comes across. He gets a large kick out of it and says, “It’s such a deal and so cheap to get happiness.” After telling me of some of the outcomes of Chuck’s escapades he then asked me who my most interesting client was. I was very wrapped up in the dreaminess of what Chuck was getting to do and had to pull myself back into my world. But it didn’t take long for a face and name to pop up on my screen.

So I told the story of my friend J.C. I have always known he is very intelligent but now I know he is smart in another way. Thanks to my rolfer, I now know J.C. intuitively knows the ‘Chuck Principle.’ But you really want to meet my friend J.C. From the beginning he has freely given to me time, knowledge, help, wisdom, services, and now friendship. When I first met him I really assumed I was hiring him for some genetics research (for which he is a genius.) But he kept just not charging me. I kept thinking that soon we will get to the part where I pay, or where I give back. Well, it’s a year later and it hasn’t happened yet. Oh, he says I can buy him a drink someday but I think really that’s another way he’s just giving to me yet again…easing my discomfort at always being the receiver.

Here’s what J.C. and Chuck know and why they are rare (and yes interesting) geniuses. Wherever they go, whoever they come across, they make the OTHER person better. And in doing that, they get a priceless return on their investment. They just keep giving and getting richer and richer and richer. What a fun way to live!

We are all wealthy enough to be Chucks and J.C.s in some way. We may not have an endless supply of hundred dollar bills lying around but we have something equally valuable we can give and blow another person away. In the end, J.C. and Chuck are the bandits pulling a heist. They are getting away with the proverbial jackpot.

 If we have the means to make another human being better and we do it, we have scored the biggest bank. How do we make another human being better? Well, I’m sure ideas will come if we’re looking. But for starters, it’s seeing them and affirming them as valuable. It’s seeing something broken and just fixing it because we can. The list to accomplish this is absolutely endless and as diverse as the human beings on this planet. This is what J.C. and Chuck do. Impact… What’s yours?