“It’s easy to make a buck.  It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.”

–     Tom Brokaw

And nowhere is it written that the two are mutually exclusive.  The magic happens when we connect the two.

The Heston Group launched in July with the mission to make a difference.  The Daily Difference blog debuts today, in hopes of reminding us all that it’s not always the big swings of the axe that matter when it comes to chopping down the tree.  Sometimes, it’s a little chop — just so, and in just the right place — that topples the Redwood.

Tell your friends.  Forward this post.  Invite them to subscribe.  Let’s see how much of a difference we can make if we all set out to make a difference.

“I don’t give a darn what other people think, whaddya think about that?”

–     Lyric from Montgomery Gentry’s song, “What Do Ya Think About That?”

Sure we care.  But do we care too much and too often?

Sometimes I wonder.  If we care what others think to the point that we’re not ourselves, then who are we really kidding?

Influence is a powerful thing.  Don’t give it to people who don’t deserve it.

Make a difference today.

“Hold the light right there!  Don’t move it!”

–     Dick Heston, my father (1933-2002)

John Caparulo, one of my favorite comedians, says that “learning to fix things” meant “holding the light for his dad and feeling stupid.”

Conversely, my father had a way of making you feel smart when you held the light.  Unless you moved it.

That’s how I learned to change my own oil.  That’s how I learned to do routine fix-it work on three tractors and two combines.  That’s how I learned to weld.  That’s how I learned “the right way to work a wrench.”

Granted, the old cars and equipment were easier to fix.  There was room to hold the light.  If push came to shove, I suppose I could, in fact, change the oil on either of our cars today, but there is no place to hold the light.  They build them so that it’s so difficult to do things yourself that you’re willing to pay someone else to do them.

Life (and work) today is built so that there doesn’t seem to be enough room to hold the light.  It’s too easy to fumble around in the dark, or to get distracted by all the other things you “feel’ while you’re fumbling.

Focus, though, gives us the patience to find room for the light, and the ability to hold it, right there, and to not move it.

I used to feel pretty dumb if I moved the light.  Let’s just say that Dad had a way with words and gestures that facilitated that outcome.  I still feel pretty dumb when I “move the light” because, even though I’m not getting my hands dirty on the farm, the principle still holds true.  Hold the light right there, and don’t move it!

If we can see what we need to do – and only what we need to do – it tends to get done.

“You look like I could use a drink.”

     –      Lyric from Jason D. Williams‘ song of the same title…

Oh, we think we know, but we don’t.  We go in to that conversation just “knowing” how the other person is going to react or what they’re going to say or how they’re going to interpret our message.

Problem is, until we know, we don’t know.  So, it can be too easy to get lazy and just anticipate the outcome.  In other words, since we “know,” we don’t prepare.

Of course we need to understand the other party’s perspective, as best we can.  But, even if “she’s lookin’ at you like you should be lookin’ for someplace else to stay,” it’s dangerous to assume.

Ever.

That said, communication is the responsibility of the sender, so if there are gaps in your message, or if there are subtleties that leave too much open to interpretation, take time to refine the message before you roll it out.  And when you do, go forward with ears at the ready and the knowledge that you don’t really know what’s going to happen next, until you do.

Make a difference today!