Want to change the world? Learn from the greatest of all time. This is a list of habits and traits carried by impact people and those who make the world a better place and positively affect everything they touch.
Nobody gets to the top without hard work. This is as true for greedy capitalists as it is for humanitarians. People who tend to influence the world the most aren’t afraid to dig in and get their hands dirty. People who make a difference work double-time, sacrificing their extra time and energy to put back into the communities and projects they care about. The take time out to help others who are struggling, and leave a positive impact by teaching everything they know to anyone who will listen. The more time and energy you give of yourself, the greater your impact will be.
The most impact people know what it takes to leave a positive footprint, and they are well acquainted with the fact that the person who has nothing also has nothing to give. They are self-starters and to an equal degree must care for themselves also. Good diet, good habits, and high personal hygiene follow positive people in every aspect of their daily lives. This doesn’t mean grooming themselves 24/7, but it does mean taking the time necessary to ensure that they have the energy and health to continue making their contributions and building positivity in a negative world.
Confronting the challenges that plague society isn’t a role to be accepted lightly. Positive people aren’t on some magical pedestal where nothing can affect them. They have to fight negative influences around every corner, become demons hide in the dark and strike directly at anyone trying to make a difference. A flat tire or a broken phone might deliver a hit to normal mortals, but impact people work to build a capacity in themselves to realize that things are going to happen, that hardships can and do befall us all. They keep moving forward to solve life’s problems without worrying about the trials and struggles behind them, and as a result, they don’t fear loss. Rather they embrace it as a part of life.
Ever met that person whom you feel like you can trust with any secret? Those are your positive people. They stick to agreements made and they say what they mean. They speak the truth, even when it hurts to do so. Integrity is a virtue they champion, and they seek clarity in their daily dealings so as not to mislead anyone, even by accident. Such care is taken in their communication that they might seem a bit slow to speak or respond. This builds trust in the people around them, and gives them the fuel needed to exert their positive influence widely.
Impact people learn as much as they can, and instead of hording knowledge they share it openly. Ideas that cost them hours or months to realize are given away on a whim if they suspect it will help another. They seek, when invited, to educate others not only on how to solve their problems, but how to live a better life and grow mentally and spiritually so that the good faith can be extended. Through education, positivity spreads like a plague. They seem to exude the secrets of a happy life to anyone around them, sometimes even without speaking. Their actions serve to educate as much as their words, and they continue to educate themselves through books and experimentation as part of their daily life.
Positive people walk the walk. While anyone can toss some motivational posters up on social media, it takes a dedicated and determined mind to actually live it every moment of every day. They spread good tidings and helpful actions to strangers and friends alike. Their light shines on everyone around them. It’s not a requirement that they are being watched or filmed for them to carry out good deeds, in fact some of them seek to do their best work when nobody is looking, like sneaking a couple dollars into a tip jar when the clerk turns the other direction.
Positive impact comes from positive reception to alternative ideas and outright criticism. Instead of getting angry or upset in the face of a personal attack, people who change the world listen. They try to push emotional response to the side and distill out what can be learned, even from the worst encounters. They actively claim critique on their ideas and actions, constantly searching for a way to do things even better, and make a bigger and more positive impact as they continue their journey.
Quite simply, the more they have, the more they give. Positive impact doesn’t start or stop at a certain threshold. A person with nothing can still hold the door for a total stranger or help them manage a heavy burden. With wealth comes funding, and positive people seek not only to give to the needy, but to show them how to acquire wealth on their own. By amassing legions of friends, they can bind together in groups to provide emotional and physical support to people who simply need someone to talk to, or help on a project. They connect others with people they know who can provide other benefits. They are always on the lookout for someone who needs that little lift, and are happy to oblige.
Purpose-driven people know that the end goal isn’t the true goal, but only a compass heading. Where the path leads is never certain, and that is fine. The real goal is in the footsteps, not the destination. Each opportunity or decision made is a goal unto itself. Impact people realize this and focus on what’s immediately before them rather than concentrating on the end. Most hope never to reach then end, because what would you do after that?
Perhaps one of the most iconic traits of any successful person, including those who succeed in making the world better, is that they are so unquestionably stubborn that they will never give up on their mission, no matter the costs or risks involved. It takes dedication to succeed, and that dedication means trying over and over and over, accepting every failure, and continuing on with the next try. Impact people make this a daily habit, tackling every emergency or opportunity as it comes, and they never give up their desire to help others.
If you really want to make a difference, practicing these ten golden keys can help you along the way. To be truly effective, they must be practiced and repeated daily, hourly, or even every minute. They should become second nature. That’s how the greatest of all time do it, and if you want to succeed in making a positive difference in the world, it’s how you should do it as well.
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