Focus on the Ripples not the Waves

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Published by Rachelle Disbennett-Lee
Tuesday, July 30, 2002
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Waves make a big impact as they crash on the shore, but the impact is short lived as the water recedes back into the ocean. Ripples on the other hand go on for miles and one can never be sure how far the ripple will travel or what influence it will have.

I was once told that coaches are ripple makers because we never know how far a reach we will have. People, who I had never met, have come up to me and told me how I have impacted their lives through someone else. I believe we all have this power. We never know how far the ripples of our actions will travel.

Each day we have the opportunity to make ripples. It can be as simple as offering a smile to a stranger or help a friend in need. A small act of kindness creates ripples that can extend far and wide.

Coaching

Everyday we have the opportunity to create ripples that will spread out in directions we cannot imagine. Ripples seem simple, so simple we do not understand the impact they can have. Ripples can change the lives of people we have never or will never meet. Ripples are powerful because they have the potential to affect the lives of so many.

In the movie, "Pay it Forward," the concept was to create a ripple effect that had the potential to change the lives of millions. It was really a very simple concept. One person did something for three people and instead of asking for anything in return, they simply asked that the person do a favor for three more people. As the ripple expands outward, the numbers grow exponentially larger. The ripple extends out way beyond the first person that caused it.

Each day challenge yourself to create one ripple. Do one favor for a stranger or help a coworker. What you do is not as important as doing it. Imagine if you simply did one thing everyday, you would cause 365 ripples. Imagine the impact.

What can you do to create a ripple today?

Daily Success Formula

Creating Ripples = Changing lives

Quotes

"The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." William Wordsworth

"One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade." Chinese Proverb

"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." Warren Buffett