Impact ≠ Intention

Impact ≠ Effort

The irony is that we spend most of our time on things that don't matter. The things that have the biggest impact are fairly small in terms of time investment.

Taking 30 seconds to ask that girl out unlocks the possibility of marrying her.

Calling a friend to seek a new job takes ten minutes, and unlocks a new career path.

Prototyping an idea takes a weekend, and creates a nascent company.

Impact ≠ Intention

Impact is not the same as intention.  If I were to wake up every morning and affirm that I'll be a world-famous author, or a world-class boxer, that doesn't make it reality.  No matter how many wishes I make, without any action behind them, my desires are unlikely to become reality.

Impact = Intention x Effort

Impact is closer to intention times effort.  An hour a day of writing will make you a writer.  An hour a day of sparring will make you a black belt.  

Being slapped by a man swinging a board would hurt.  But not as bad if he had a dagger.  The dagger is more powerful, because with the exact same effort, it strikes at a single point, with intense focus.

This child will swing a bat at a ball. If he is lucky, or skilled, he will make contact with it.  The one point on the bat will smash against the ball, and the focused energy will make it rebound.

But a small child is relatively weak.  

If he grows into a person with the skills and strength of a Major League Baseball player, he will smash the ball over the walls.  

Intention combined with effort isn't a guarantee of success.  But it is the closest thing we have to a sure formula.