What's Your Impact?

There are a lot of ways that we have an impact, but they tend to fall into a bit of a matrix - is the impact large or small, and is it positive or negative. Let's face it, sometimes a person can inadvertently be making a negative impact. Other times, they are making little impact at all. But when we make an impact that's positive and large, life gets better for everyone around us. Allison recently had the honour of judging the Avenue Magazine Calgary Top 40 Under 40; and she was awed by the impact. As a previous winner of the Top 40 Under 40, she not only appreciated the momentous effort that was given by the participants, but deeply appreciated how each of them have affected Calgary. The judging criteria was specifically focused on achievements - achievements that impact our community, our quality of life, our health, the economy, and the environment. What's especially interesting is that the competition wasn't focused on the impacts made by the individual over many decades, these are "Under 40" and they're still getting warmed up. They're the "next generation" of leaders and contributors and it begs the question, "How do we view or judge the next generation in our families?" All of us judge and assess and recognize people who are making an impact, and those that aren't. Taking time to acknowledge and celebrate the impacts that our next generation make is worth it. It encourages them, it respects them, and most importantly, it inspires them to continue. Whether your "next generation" is competing for the Top 40 Under 40, or is making impacts in their own, quiet ways, take the time to honour the impact of what they're doing and encourage them to do more. The world needs it. Congratulations to this year's Top 40 Under 40.