2 Basic Ways To Have An Impact On Others

I met Maria Soccoro Jamias, a legend in the field of facilitating, training, and performance coaching.

And she prefers to be called Baby.

She’s a veteran, a master trainer, and has been in the field for more than 40 years.

She still hasn’t lost her humor, courage, and her warmth.  All bundled up in a compact package of articulate flair and lightning.

And so I asked her: How did you become successful at what you do?

“At the start of my career, it was about me.” She shared

“If I had participants coming up to me, telling me that I was so great, I took that as a job well done.”

Then, she shared that her first client, which was her start in the field, was her trial by fire.

” I learned a lot, and I liked it when people told me that I did a great job.  But as time went on, and I grew, things changed.”

“I realized that to be successful, It was not about me.  It was about them.”

“Now, it’s about impact.  It’s about what positive effect do I have on my participants, on my trainees.”

“It’s about what they learn, what they take away.  It’s no longer about me.  It’s about them.”

Teach what you know

Everybody has skills, talents, knowledge, and experience.  And somewhere out there, are people who are looking for what you already know.

I have a practice of constantly writing down on paper or taking notes whenever an idea came to me.  It’s also a habit of mine to look for the inter-connectedness between ideas, people, situations, and things.  Also, how all of these can be applied to help other people.

I’ve heard those habits and skills called many different things, but I prefer it be called creativity.

And just recently, I’ve had a group of people ask me to teach them how to become more creative, how to develop creativity, and how to encourage creative thinking.

And in the process of teaching them, I’ve helped them create the creative environment that they wanted, but it helped me get better at being creative as well.

To teach is to get better at what you are teaching.  To teach is to leave an impact on others as well.

Help others

Baby shares that people care about being helped, and that people, in one way or another, are seeking for help in specific areas of their life.

“Are they getting better?  What impact do I have on them? What do I have to do to help them get to where they want to go?”

To have an impact on other people, it’s about helping them, and serving their needs.

All great businesses are also built on this principle.  They are able to help other people by answering a need.

Whether it’s to quench thirst, to look good, to be healthy again.

Or to get unstuck, or achieve their dreams.

To make an impact is to help and serve people.

And Baby shares it’s what boosted her business as well.

“As you do good, and focus on helping others, you will begin to develop your brand, and people will take notice of that.  They will refer you, they will want to work with you.”

And so before we parted ways, I thanked her for her wisdom, and she gave me her mischievous smile.

“It’s about what impact we leave on this world, and how we have helped.”

Make an impact.

Teach what you know.

It’s not about you, it’s about them.

 

How have you made an impact on others? Kindly share in the comments below!