Last Friday,* I attended the Baden Street Gala and silent auction. This annual fundraiser celebrates the amazing work done through Baden Street Settlement and recognizes individuals who are making a difference in the community.

When Rodney Allen Young, Senior Relationship Manager and AALDP Coordinator, of the United Way, got up to receive the Trent J. Jackson Community Impact Award, he was inspiring and eloquent. What surprised me about his acceptance was that he talked about how much he wants to make a difference in the world. As someone whose work has focused on African American Leadership Development for the past 16 years, I see him as already making a huge difference through his mentoring and guidance, and his encouragement of so many to be their best selves.

We are often our own harshest critics.

I believe  most people aspire to make a difference in the world. While we may not have the wherewithal to become a Mother Teresa, a Bill Gates, an Oprah Winfrey, or a Stephen Hawking, the ripple effects of kindness, generosity, compassion, understanding, volunteering and “going above and beyond” in one’s job can have more impact than we might ever imagine. I recall so many gestures of kindness that probably meant little to the individuals who performed them, but that were pure nuggets of gold to me.

So as you pursue the goal of making a difference in the world, don’t forget to scatter the path with nuggets of gold, because it’s as much about the journey, as about achieving the final destination.

Into whose life will you drop your nuggets of gold this week?

*Originally published in the October 24 issue of Beyond the Nest’s free weekly newsletter.