What is your inflection point?
The point that changed everything.
Mine came about 15 years ago, in a musty community hall in Folcroft, Pennsylvania.
My family had come to town that evening for my grandfather’s retirement party. After 40 years of serving the town’s medical needs, he was leaving the practice he’d built behind.
I knew what my grandfather did for a living. I remember going by his office from time to time, helping set up EKG’s for his patients.
But none of that could have prepared me for what I was about to experience.
The room where the party was held was packed with people I’d never met. I then watched in awe as person after person spoke of how much of an impact my grandfather had on their lives.
I was floored.
Coming into that party, I was an average teenager. I wore a backwards baseball hat, sought a good time at every opportunity and found the idea of growing up to be soul-crushing.
But by the end of the night, my entire life had changed.
I saw the impact my grandfather had on his community and felt inspired.
In that moment, I found my purpose. That purpose was to positively impact the lives of others, just as my grandfather had done.
That purpose has driven all of the major decisions I’ve made in my life and career. The college degrees I’ve pursued, the jobs I’ve worked, the places I’ve lived — all have been within the framework of profoundly impacting the lives of others.
Yet, it’s almost odd that this is the moment I circle as my inflection point. After all, I experienced the horrors of 9/11 firsthand, moved halfway across the country and made a daring career switch — all by the age of 25.
Those events changed the trajectory of my life, no doubt. But they were almost too direct.
There was no getting around the changes those events brought about. Whether by God’s will or my own, the status quo no longer existed. I had to come to terms with my new reality.
I felt small in those moments. And I felt powerless.
On the other hand, my grandfather’s retirement party didn’t have to change my life. I didn’t find myself facing the abyss, the point of no return. I could have gone on living my life as I had before, and no one would have batted an eye.
But that didn’t happen. I saw the the emotions my grandfather’s life’s work evoked in his community and decided to devote my life to helping mine.
I still felt small in this moment. But this time, I felt powerful.
I knew I had the power to live into my newfound purpose. But I had to do my part to make it reality.
There was clear buy-in required. And I was all in.
I believe this buy-in is key when it comes to our inflection points. After all, the most impactful moments in our life are not those that change us. They’re the ones that inspire us to change ourselves for the better.
So, when searching for your infection point, don’t focus on the changes you’ve endured. Search instead for your earliest moments of inspiration.
The smallest moments might be more impactful than you think.