How Small Actions Can Make a Huge Difference

Back when I first joined the Army it hit me how small actions can make a difference.

Small actions can make a huge difference for good or for evil.

See, we did not have the privilege of using any high-tech gadgets to help us find our way through the wilderness.

All we had at our disposal was a paper map and a compass.

Initially, I struggled with this skill.

Soldiers would say ‘you can’t spell lost without an LT (Lieutenant).’

I would have lived up to that saying if it was not for a wise commander who required me to teach the skill.

In preparing for my class, I became an expert at this skill.

An interesting thing with using a compass is that if you are even a few degrees off when you take your reading, you may end up many kilometers from your objective. 

A small incorrect action can get your soldiers lost or worst killed.

Keep reading to figure out just how important small actions can be!

One step gets you going

It has been said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

How true is that?

You will never get a job that you don’t apply for. 

Or, get a date with the person of your dreams if you don’t ask them.

One little step can make or break you on your quest to live a life filled with joy.

If you want to change the world you must start with yourself.

What one thing can you do today that will make you more productive tomorrow morning?

If that one thing happened to you, would it change your life?

Do that one thing.

Sometimes we make these long detailed lists of all of the things that we need to do to succeed and it becomes easy to be discouraged.

Only one thing is needed.

Do one thing.

Take a step out your door for a morning run.

Once you take that first step, just take the second and so on, until you are done.

That one step can restore health and happiness.

It all begins with one step.

Two friends can give you courage

Choose your friends wisely.

When I was a youth fresh out of high school, I became friends with a couple of guys who were determined to be the next Godfather and run a mafia-style business.

That one action of choosing friends like that could have doomed me to a lifetime in and out of prison.

Instead, I chose a couple of different friends who were making the choices needed to succeed at school and in a future career.

Those two friends kept me on a moral path that even as we have gone our separate ways still impacts my life over 20 years later.

Be deliberate about who you call a friend.

Go out and choose two friends.

Three pounds of seed can change a village

There is a story where some of the first settlers in America came across a seed, only about three pounds worth.

That seed was used by the settlers to keep them fed.

It produced not only a crop but more seeds.

Over time they had all of the seeds they needed.

Later when they discovered what tribe had hidden the seed they were able to replace it with a great abundance.

We can learn from that concept that we may not have much today but we can use what we do have to plant seeds for the future!

A little thought today becomes a great idea tomorrow.

Start small.

Building on your success is more realistic than sitting around hoping for the opportunity of a lifetime.

That little success might just be the thing that gets you noticed and your opportunity will come to you.

Four legs hold up a chair

A little bit of stability goes a long way.

Try this.

Go ahead.

Break off one leg of your kitchen chair and then sit.

It’s just one little leg.

Are you able to really enjoy your dinner when you must keep shifting to keep yourself from falling over?

When my daughter was three she had incredible logic.

She knew if you plant grass seed you get grass.

If you plant flower seeds you get flowers.

Logically, if you plant bird seed you get birds… Now, clearly that doesn’t work that way.

However, she wanted to find out so we let her plant some bird seeds.

Initially, she would dig up the seed every few minutes and was broken-hearted when nothing had happened.

We taught her to let the seed have some stability and nurture the soil.

Then it would grow.

She was amazed a few weeks later when a sunflower from the bird seed blossomed.

It all started with some stability.

Five minutes can change a life

One of my mentors said you should never be less than five minutes early.

Give yourself that little buffer and you will typically be on time.

I cannot count how often that advice has served me when I would have missed critical appointments in my life.

Being late for appointments is a major form of disrespect.

We must choose to be on time.

Take five minutes to talk with someone who needs a friend. 

Most of us can actually spare those few minutes even if it does not feel that way.

But five minutes of focused attention can help someone feel like they are important and valuable. 

While it cost you nothing it can deeply impact them.

Five minutes can change a life.

Take five minutes one step further

Where are you today?

When I teach men and women how to set goals I have them start with what they want their legend to be when this life is over.

Carefully they create a picture in words or pictures of what they want their life to look like physically, socially, spiritually, and socially.

When they are done I encourage them to do the same exercise but imagine that they are on their way to that ultimate dream, where are they at on the journey in just five years, then they do it again at one year, six months, and three months.

The ultimate destination is what matters most but the other markers serve to let them know if they are on the right road or not.

I tell them about my journey across the country.

If there were no road signs I might have ended up missing Oklahoma or maybe only gotten to Montana thinking that I had made it.

Little things can be the markers that let us know if we are on the right path or not.

Take small actions today an see where that leads you.