You’re Not Invisible — You’re Influential.

My name's Mark, and you're listening to Head Straight. Hello, you lot, and welcome back to this very first episode of season five. Today, we're gonna be taking a look at a question that a lot of people ask. Am I really making a difference? Now you probably know those days where you just feel small.

Like you're doing your thing. Showing up, getting through it, and honestly, it doesn't feel like you're leaving any kind of a mark at all. You're not saving the world. You're not changing anyone's life. You're basically just existing.

And when people say things like you matter or everyone makes a difference, It sounds great on a poster, but in real life, well, it's hard to believe, especially if you're not the loud one or the confident one or the person people naturally gather around. So let's start there with that quiet doubt. Because most people think impact is this huge dramatic thing. Like, unless you're rescuing someone from a burning building or giving a TED talk, you don't count. But here's the truth that you've probably never been told.

Most of the impact you make is so small and so ordinary, you forget it even happened. But other people don't. So think about this. Have you ever walked into a room and just felt someone else's mood instantly? It didn't need words and it didn't need drama.

You just felt it. Well, that's impact. And guess what? You're doing that too even if you don't realize it. Your presence shifts things.

Your tone shifts things. Your energy shifts things. Your tiny decisions, like whether you roll your eyes or smile at someone or stay calm when a friend spirals, all of that land somewhere. Not because you're special in some cheesy way, but because humans constantly react to other humans even when nothing big is happening. And if you're thinking, yeah, but not me.

I'm barely noticeable. Here's something important. The people who think that they don't make a difference often make the biggest difference exactly because they're not trying to prove anything. So this episode, this whole start to season five, is about seeing what's already true. You're having an impact every day in small ways, in quiet corners, in moments you forget but other people remember.

And once you can see that, you can start shaping it gently, deliberately, without becoming some bossy caricature of leadership. But first, we've got to break the myth that only big things count. So let's get into it. So here's the thing that no one tells you when you're growing up. Impact isn't loud.

It's not dramatic, and it definitely doesn't look like the stuff that you see online, all those I turned my life around montages or look how inspirational I am videos. Most Real Impact is tiny. It's quiet. It's the stuff that nobody claps for. And weirdly, that's why people miss it.

We're fed this idea that for something to matter, it has to be big and noticeable. Like, you have to be the leader of a group or the confident one or the person organizing everything or the one that everyone quotes in their speeches when they say, I wouldn't be who I am today without them. But honestly, most of the biggest turning points in someone's life comes from tiny moments with ordinary people. A look that makes someone feel safe. A moment where you didn't snap back even though you could have.

A comment you made that someone still thinks about months later. You might forget it, but they don't. Impact looks like that. You may think that you're just being normal, but to someone else, what you did was the thing that stopped their day spiraling, or the reason that they felt a bit braver, or the moment that they realized that they weren't alone. And because it wasn't loud or dramatic, you'll never know about it.

That's why so many people go through life believing that they don't matter. Not because they're not making a difference, but because they're not tracking the difference they made. You're already leaving a fingerprint on people's lives you just haven't been paying attention to the marks. And when you start noticing them even the tiny ones something shifts. You stop feeling invisible.

You stop underestimating yourself. And you start realizing you've had influence all along, just in a human sized way, not in a movie sized way. So let's make this real. Let's talk about how you start noticing the impact you already have, the stuff you dismiss, the stuff you forget, the stuff you never even give yourself credit for. Because until you see it, you can't shape it.

Now most people don't think that they make a difference because they're waiting for proof that looks impressive. The big reaction, clear feedback, someone literally saying, you changed my life. But real life doesn't work like that. Most of the time, the evidence is subtle. And because it's subtle, your brain ignores it.

So this is where the impact log comes in. Not as some productivity thing, not as a gratitude journal, just a way of catching the moment your brain automatically throws away. Here's what I mean. Think back over the last few days. Not the big stuff, the ordinary moments.

Maybe you stayed calm when someone else was tense. Maybe you checked in on someone instead of scrolling past. Maybe you didn't join in when people were tearing someone down. Maybe you made a joke that lightened the mood. Or maybe you listened instead of fixing.

At the time, it probably felt like nothing. But that's exactly the point. The impact log is just you writing down those moments, not to hype yourself up, but just to make the invisible visible. And here's the important part. You don't write down what you intended.

You write down what might have landed. So instead of, I was just being polite, it becomes, I noticed the room felt calmer after I spoke. Instead of, oh, I didn't do that much, it becomes someone seemed relieved when I stayed. You're not guessing. You're observing.

Because impact isn't about control. It's about effect. And when you start logging these moments, something uncomfortable can happen at first. You might feel awkward. You might feel like you're being arrogant.

You might think, who do I think I am? But that's just conditioning. You've been taught that noticing your impact equals ego. But ignoring your impact doesn't make you humble. It just makes you unaware.

And unaware people still influence others. They just do it accidentally. So here's the challenge for this part of the episode. For the next week, write down three moments where you might have shifted something even slightly. Not because you're special, but because you're human, and humans affect other humans whether they're paying attention or not.

Once you start seeing that, you'll stop feeling invisible, and that's when you're ready to shape how you show up. So let me tell you about micro actions and how influence actually works. So if impact isn't big and dramatic, how does it actually happen? And this is where people normally overcomplicate things. They think influence comes from confidence or charisma or having the right words.

Most of the time, it doesn't. Most influence comes from micro actions. Tiny, almost forgettable behaviors that take seconds, not effort. Things like how you enter a room, whether you pause before you speak, how you react when someone else is stressed, what your face does when someone's talking. Ten second stuff, sometimes less.

But here's the catch. Because these moments are small, you don't treat them as important. And because you don't treat them as important, you don't realize how much they shape people's experience around you. Think about the last time you were already a bit on edge and someone snapped at you, rolled their eyes, or spoke with a sharp tone. They probably didn't mean much by it, but it landed.

Now think about the opposite. Someone stayed steady. They didn't rush you. They didn't escalate. They gave you space to breathe.

That didn't feel dramatic either, but it changed the whole moment. Now that is a micro action. And here's the bit that matters. You don't need to be confident to use them. You don't need to be popular.

You don't need authority. You just need awareness. Because once you realize that your default reactions are shaping the room, you suddenly have a choice. You can ask yourself, what does this moment need from me? Pressure or steadiness?

And even that pause is impact. So this isn't about performing or managing people. It's about understanding that your nervous system talks to other nervous systems constantly. When you slow down, others often follow. When you stay grounded, others feel safer.

When you don't add fuel, things settle. Not because you're in charge, but because humans sync with each other more than they realize. So if you've ever thought I'm not influential, you're probably just underestimating how powerful calm, consistency, and presence actually are. Which brings us to the last piece of this episode, the one that ties it all together. Not what you do, but how you show up whilst you're doing it.

And this is the part that people don't talk much about because it's subtle, and it's uncomfortable, and you can't fake it. Your presence. Not your personality, not your confidence, not how funny or interesting you are. Just what it feels like to be around you. Every time you enter a space, something changes.

Sometimes the energy lifts. Sometimes it tightens. Sometimes things calm down. Sometimes people brace themselves a bit. Not because you're doing anything wrong, but because your presence is contagious.

And the way to understand that is using something called the presence audit. Now the presence audit isn't about judging yourself. It's not about fixing your vibe or becoming better. It's just about noticing patterns. Ask yourself gently.

When I'm stressed, what do I spread? When I'm calm, what shifts around me? Do people relax when I arrive, or do they tense up? What am I bringing into this moment? Now again, this isn't about blame.

It's awareness. Because once you see your patterns, you get choice. You can decide. Okay. I don't need to say anything here.

I just need to stay steady. And that steadiness does more than most speeches ever could. And this is what real impact looks like. Not control, not dominance, not being the loudest, just showing up in a way that makes the space a little safer, a little clearer, a little calmer. Now if you take nothing else from this episode, take this.

You don't have to do more to matter. You just have to notice how you already do. Okay. Let me set you a challenge for this week. Yes.

I brought the challenges back. This week, notice three moments when your presence changed something, even slightly. Write them down. No hype. No judgement.

Just evidence. Because once you can see your impact, you can start using it on purpose without becoming bossy, controlling, or someone you don't recognize. So let me tell you what we're gonna do in the next episode. We're gonna be taking this one step further. Because if your presence already shapes situations, how do you lead without pushing, forcing, or taking over?

So are you up for it? Of course, you are.