Emmanuel Mushosho's Blog

In life, we all want to make an impact. It may be making people’s lives better around us or bringing innovation to a field in the business world. Regardless of the endeavour, the question always remains – how can I make a monumental impact?  I am no guru, but I do have an idea for a framework that can help make this possible – an acronym for the word “impact”.

Idea

Mission

Plan

Action 

Compounding

Thrive

I will break it down in its application for personal life, though the core of the idea can be applied to business as well. Again, this is something I am developing and trying out, and you may pick up anything you may find useful. So here we go…

IMPACT

Idea

Everything ever created started with an idea. I have always found it fascinating the ability that humans have to create. The power of imagination. We see it all around us with music, art, technology and much more. The key is being able to visualise something that doesn’t exist and turn it into reality. That is how impact starts. To help explain the framework, I am going to introduce John Doe, an 18-year-old who just graduated from high school. John loves sports, and while watching a Manchester United game, an idea came to his mind – “When I grow up, I want to be involved in sports. I may not have the ability to be a player, but I want to be involved in this area.”  

Mission

John’s idea was simple – he wants to be involved in sports. Great idea but no substance. This is where the mission comes in. Jimmy Johnson once said, “The difference between the ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”  To make an impact, we need to be able to turn our ideas into missions; we need to be willing to put in extra effort to think of what we can do in relation to that idea. The key, I believe, is to:

1. Identify our strengths and weaknesses.
2. Identify your interests
3. Find the common ground

Once you do this, you can take your idea and make it a long-term vision which becomes your personal mission. Let’s go back to John; we can recall that he does not have the technical ability to become a professional sports player, so he must look at what he can do. John always had a knack for art since he was a child, and over time he has also developed an interest in storytelling and cooking. John goes back to the drawing board – how can I integrate sport, art, storytelling and cooking? So, the brainstorm begins; these were some of his points :

• Sports nutrition?
• Sports media?
• Sports athletes cook and talk show? 
• Nutrition blueprint to healthy eating for young athletes?
• Using art and storytelling to create opportunities for athletes of lesser background?
• Recognizing fallen athletes or comeback stories?
• Raising the profile of different countries with sport?
• Mental health in sport?
• Each athlete you have a landmark art piece like a drawing?

In blurting his random thoughts on paper, John got to reiterate his values and discover potential areas of impact he is interested in. After doing this, he looked over his brainstorm and thought about the keywords again – sport, art, storytelling, and cooking. John noticed that these things have one thing in common – human connection and interaction. Then it clicked: “I can join one of my brainstorm points, mental health, with human connection!”  John discovered his mission:

To fight the pandemic of mental health by using sport, art, storytelling and cooking to promote the best medicine – human connection.

Idea and Mission

If we are to look closely at the word “IMPACT”, we can split it into two segments. “IM” and “PACT”. “IM” is the same as “I’M”, which is the same as “I AM”. The Idea and Mission represent identity; it doesn’t change. This is your compass to ensure that you are always heading in the right direction. I cannot underestimate the importance of this; Stephen Covey illustrates it best in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I will paraphrase the example he gave:

“Imagine you want to arrive at a specific location in central Chicago. A street map of the city would be a great help to you in reaching your destination. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through a printing error, the map labelled ‘Chicago’ was actually a map of Detroit. You would get lost. If you have the right map of Chicago, then diligence becomes important when you encounter frustrating obstacles along the way; then attitude can make a real difference. But the first and most important requirement is the accuracy of the map.”

PACT (Plan, Action, Compounding, Thrive)

“IM” represents identity, and it does not change. On the other hand, “PACT” is the agreement to stick with the mission to completion; it is a continuous revolving cycle.

Plan

Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

After having identified your mission, you must plan on how you will achieve it. Your brainstorming points from earlier may be useful. The key for planning is to work backwards from the ideal final vision. Life happens, so plans do change, but at least you will be taking strides to make your mission a reality. The reason “PACT” is a revolving cycle is because trying to make a monumental impact is not a quick process. Depending on your mission, it could take weeks to years, or even your lifetime, to fully realize or get close to your vision. But we must remember the words of Martin Luther – “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

Planning in stages, I believe, is one of the best ways to navigate the uncertainty of life. This is why “IM” is so important; your destination should always remain the same even if the route you take changes. Let’s go back to John.

John looks at his mission and comes up with an ideal realisation of it: I will have a show where the top athletes in the world come to cook with me while they talk about their journey and the importance of mental health. After which I create an art piece to represent them and the important points of discussion they brought up.

Now John works backwards; to achieve this, he needs to:

1. Build a reputation of being someone who promotes human connection as a solution to mental health problems.
2. Have a presence in the cooking industry.
3. Produce quality art.
4. Work on his storytelling and hosting skills.
5. Get involved with sports teams.

John now sets his first milestone plan: “I will apply to a liberal arts college to work on my skills, and start a YouTube channel for my cook show and practice hosting with friends and family as guests.”

Action

I don’t have much to say here as it is self-explanatory. Inaction gets nothing done. We are all aware of the knowing-doing gap – when we know what to do but don’t do it. If we want anything meaningful, we need to act; otherwise, we will waste our lives. This is easier said than done; I am aware and guilty of inaction, but we must try. I believe having something exciting to strive for, your mission, makes it easier to act. But even then, motivation can only last so long; we need discipline.

“Whenever you start—give it your best. The opportunities are there to be anything you want to be. But wanting to be someone isn’t enough; dreaming about it isn’t enough; thinking about it isn’t enough. You’ve got to study for it, work for it, fight for it with all your heart and soul, because nobody is going to hand it to you”. ~ General Colin Powell

Compounding and Thriving

All the elements of “PACT” work very closely with each other because the truth is you are always planning. We have our mission, then we have milestones and small plans to achieve them. The question then comes: when do I make new plans? This is where compounding and thriving come into play.

Compounding is the accumulation of prior work and marginal improvements that will result in exponential growth. This growth is what we call thriving. It’s the biblical concept of sowing and reaping; if you don’t plant the apple seeds, how do you expect the tree to grow? If you want to see improvement in an area but do nothing to achieve it, what do you expect to happen? Once you have a milestone to aim for, you make smaller plans and improvements as you go to achieve it. When accomplished, you move to the next milestone. Let’s look at John again.

John just finished high school, so that’s why his first milestone is to apply to a liberal arts college and start a YouTube channel for his cooking show.  He will work on the YouTube channel and grow it. When he starts doing well(thriving), he will start thinking of a new plan. He may choose to transition to sports players for local teams in his area or high school, college or even intramural teams; with each success, he looks to attract bigger athletes as he continues to master his craft. While doing this on the side, he is at college learning skills in art and design from his degree; he could choose to start an Instagram or online portfolio to get his work out there. John is looking to become the best artist he can be so that the art pieces after each video get better each time. John may look to join clubs that interest him, such as a mental health awareness club, and he may also talk to professors who have done similar work or have skills he hopes to have one day. In this way, he not only improves his skills but also grows his network.

You see from this how seamless “PACT” is as a self-revolving cycle you don’t even realise it happening. The key to compounding and thriving is you must be proactive; you cannot be satisfied with success, otherwise you will stagnate. Celebrate progress but don’t get comfortable in your accomplishments; you always have to look to be better.

Enjoying the Journey

There are many possibilities in life that we don’t even know. The “IMPACT” journey really is about carving your own path and letting God take the lead. If you look at what we discussed about John, he is doing what he loves, yet it is meaningful and sets him up for a unique life. In chasing his mission, John is building connections and creating a portfolio that is different to the norm. If, straight out of college, he does not have the following to do his cooking show full time, he still would have boosted his chances of people wanting to hire him at their companies. He has a unique skillset that opens many doors. What John can do is chase his mission and do so with excellence; you truly never know what will happen. No matter what the outcome, I am confident John will live a fulfilled life that gives glory to God. And the best part is he is enjoying the journey!