Our world seems to give a great deal of praise and attention to those who impact the masses.  Whether it is through a great speech, inspiring an organization to do great things, or leading a large movement to have a measurable impact, it is the large numbers that get the attention and are assigned the greatest value.

The reality of our lives is that most of us don’t fall into that category.  Most of us will move through life in our small, little corner of the world and try to contribute some positive impact in our own way.

As we continue on our own personal journey to build and strengthen our character, I want to offer a word of encouragement around an important fact that we should not forget:  The greatest opportunity we have to make a positive impact in this world is one on one with an individual.

There is a certain physical and emotional distance we can experience in groups.  We can passively go with the flow in groups and remain detached.  We can keep things hidden in groups and our character is not as visible to others.

However, there is no detachment when we are one on one.  There is no “flow” we can passively go with when we are one on one.   When we are one on one, there is no hiding behind others, our effort is transparent to the other person, and over time, we reveal nothing but the authenticity of our character.

As we intentionally build and strengthen our character with thoughts, decisions, and actions based on principles like commitment, loyalty, and honesty, we are placing a premium on our one on one relationships because there is no hiding our character over time in a one on one relationship.

When we place a premium on our one on one relationships, we can ensure we give our best effort where it matters most.

We will forget the great speeches.  The great moments with teams or organizations will be confined to a highlight reel that is rarely shown. 

However, we will never forget the look in someone’s eyes when the “light was turned on,” when the motivation to rise above the present challenge was ignited, and when the individual stepped back into the ring even when they were scared, exhausted, and quitting seemed understandable.

Those great moments happen one on one.

Truth be told, the great movements we read about in history books, in today’s news, or the strong family that remains intact over time, all began with a one on one connection that inspired an individual to impact another individual in a meaningful way and then a larger movement was created.

As we focus on building strong one on one relationships, we will continue to build and strengthen our character and Character Creates Opportunity® for us to have a positive impact in this world.