Small acts with a long reach
Recently I read an article about a couple from Cambridgeshire in the UK who won £108M on the national lottery and drew up a list of the 20 people that had helped them the most throughout their lives to turn into instant millionaires by way of a thank you.
It got me thinking – out of all the people who have helped me throughout my life, who would be in my top 20?
It turns out that it’s quite difficult to distill down to a mere 20 all those who’ve helped you in some way over the course of your lifetime.
Perhaps more interestingly I discovered that the actions of those who have helped the most were actually quite small and seemingly inconsequential but the effects have been long reaching.
For example, Mr Phillips, my maths teacher who, when I got 98% in an exam, told me never to be satisfied until I had achieved 100%. That comment has stuck with me all my life and has helped mould me into the person I am today helping me to keep trying. A small action with a long reach.
We won’t always know how far the consequences of our seemingly small actions will reach. Social media works like this. Commenting on a blog post, Liking a Facebook page and particularly tweeting via Twitter are prime examples of small acts with a long reach.
You read an article or watch a video that you find interesting or engaging so you take a second to click a “tweet” button and a fantastic journey begins.
One of your followers or a list follower may pick up on it and retweet it, this will go one for a few days. Your single simple click starts a chain reaction that could share that content with hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. The net results can be phenomenal.
- Total strangers will benefit from the shared content
- New friendships can be formed
- New business transactions may take place
So if you like something and think it might be helpful to others, share it. If you read an article that resonates or helps you in some way, take a few moments to make a quick comment by way of acknowledgment and thanks and see the magic unfold.
Small acts with a long reach.
Picture by Fizikal Rex