The Ripple Effect

How seemingly small actions can lead to miracles.

We all know about the law of cause and effect. Well here is a true story outlining a sequence of events all arising from a book I read and an email I sent nearly five years ago.

It starts in late 2002 when I read a wonderful book, ‘Unconditional Success’ by the UK based author Nick Williams. It was the right book for me at the right time and I wanted to let the author know how much his words inspired me. Nick Williams’ email was listed at the back of the book and I got the idea to drop him a brief thank you email. Of course I talked myself out of it for a few days, thinking it would probably not be read or I wouldn’t hear anything back. But in a moment of courage I sent it.

I was surprised that a response came back later that day. Nick expressed his gratitude in taking time to write to him. I was delighted to have received a personal email from a published author and I saved his reply (in fact I still have it.)

Time moves on and two years later I was planning to run a seminar with a colleague and we were thinking about getting a speaker to deliver the keynote address. Remembering the exchange of emails with Nick Williams, I sent him an email asking if he would be available to deliver a talk at our seminar. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Again the response came within 24 hours. Not only did Nick Williams agree to speak at the event, he was actually planning to visit Ireland anyway (coincidence!) and he even remembered my email from a few years earlier!

The High Performance Executive Seminar took place in January 2005. So the spur of the moment email to let an author know how much I admired his work, led to me sharing the stage with him at a conference.

But the story doesn’t stop there. In fact it builds up pace and splinters in different directions.

I stayed in touch with Nick. He was a great source of support when I was writing my book Graduate to Success. He also agreed to write the foreword for my book which was a great honour. Not only has Nick become a good friend, but so too has his partner Helen.

And the story doesn’t stop there.

The ripple effect of seemingly small decisions continues to spread outwards. I will let Marian, one of the attendees at the High Performance Executive Seminar in January 2005 take it from here.

Marian writes:

"Shortly after the seminar I was working with a group as part of a course I was involved in delivering. Nick Williams’ talk at the seminar James was involved in running, focussed on the topic of inspiration. I did a session with the group I was facilitating on this topic, asking them to think about who or what inspires them now or inspired them in the past.

The following month, one of the trainees approached me to say that she had started to think of who had inspired her and she thought about the teacher she had in junior school. She remembered that the teacher had such a positive impact on her that she was sure, in hindsight, that it had set her up to have a positive experience of school and learning over the years. She particularly remembered how during the day (probably for ‘quiet’ time), the teacher would take out her ‘magic’ blanket and wave it and when she did, everyone was to put their head down on their hands, close their eyes, and let their imagination run free. Whatever they imagined could, she said, be real for that time. After a while she would wave it again and it was back to the rest of the day’s work.

In remembering all of this and realising now, as an adult, how powerful and important this daily dream time had been to her, she decided to write to the teacher to tell her that she remembered her and her magic blanket and the positive impact it had had on her life.

She wrote the letter and went to post it. As it dropped out of her hand, she hesitated and thought that it was silly to write. Would the teacher even remember her after all this time? If it was a phone call, she said, she would have put the receiver down at that point, before there was any answer. The letter, however, was on its way.

A few days later she received a letter back from the teacher in question thanking her for her fabulous letter. She said that she had been getting weary and tired of late with teaching and the way it was all going. She said that the magic blanket had been in the attic for some time and that she had been thinking of quitting, giving it all up.

The timing of the letter was incredible. She said that she was inspired by her past pupil’s words and that she had gone up to the attic and retrieved the blanket and was going to bring it in to school again on Monday. As a result a whole new generation of children will have the benefit of the magic blanket and ‘dream time."

So…..

The ripple effect of course continues. In truth it will never end. Yes there is a sequence of events from me writing an email because I was inspired by a book, to a new generation of children having the opportunity to be inspired themselves. But the sequence of events of course started before I read the book and continues to spread outwards.

Perhaps on reading this article you will be inspired into taking an action. You never know what chain of events, even miraculous events, you will instigate.

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