We live in a time when simply being good isn’t enough. To truly stand out and create meaningful change, you have to make an impact. Good intentions and kind actions are important, but the real difference lies in taking intentional steps that positively influence others and improve your community.
Being good is a solid foundation, but impact requires action—using your skills, your voice, and your energy to move the needle. In this post, we’ll explore why being good is only the beginning and share how you can step beyond it to make a lasting, meaningful impact.
Good Is Passive. Impact is Intentional
You can be good and still:
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Stay silent when it matters
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Be kind, but do not take action
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Have skills, but keep them to yourself
Goodness without action is like a light hidden under a basket—it has potential, but no reach.
Making an impact means showing up. It means using your voice, your time, and your influence to create change. That could be in one person’s life or across an entire community.
According to Harvard Business Review, even small, consistent actions can create powerful ripple effects. Impact starts with intention.
Small Actions. Big Ripples
You don’t need a nonprofit or a big platform to make an impact.
Impact can look like:
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Mentoring someone who’s just starting out
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Speaking up in a difficult conversation
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Volunteering your skills for a cause you believe in
Waiting for the “perfect” moment holds people back. But real progress comes when you take the next right step.
From Potential to Purpose
Everyone has potential. But not everyone activates it.
Making an impact means harnessing what’s inside you—your talent, your values, your story—and directing it toward something meaningful. As Brené Brown puts it, turning values into behavior is how we begin to live with intention.
You stop asking, “Am I doing enough?”
And start asking, “Who am I helping?”
A study from the Greater Good Science Center shows that people find meaning when they contribute to something larger than themselves. That’s the shift—from potential to purpose—and a key way to make an impact.
Good Is the Baseline. Impact Is the Legacy.
Yes—be kind. Be good. Be honest. The world needs more of that.
But don’t stop there.
Stretch a little further. Show up. Use what you have to make something better for someone else.
Because being good is safe.
Making an impact? That’s what leaves a legacy.
📚 Read Next:
How to Lead with Purpose in Everyday Life
Practical ways to align your daily actions with what matters most—and lead with heart, wherever you are.
Charlie Perkins is a Rochester, MN, author, musician, photographer, and videographer. The Chicago-bred Perkins attended Northwestern University, concentrating on Radio, TV Broadcasting, and Interpersonal Communications. He spent 29 years at Harris Bank in Chicago and taught “Principles of Corporate Television” at Columbia College in the same city. He has also spent 17 years as Unit Manager of Media Support Services for the Mayo Clinic. In a previous life, he covered the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan’s championship run, ’96-‘98 as a freelance photographer.
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