Chapter 13

Dear Diary: The Ripple Effect of Greatness

11/26/25

Kobe Bryant once said, “I think the definition of greatness is to inspire the people next to you.”
 
The first time I heard that, I felt it in my entire body. Greatness is not a height you reach. It is a way you live. It is the way you choose to show up, and the way you leave people stronger than you found them.
 
I believe his words at my core because they are about legacy in the most human sense. Not the kind of legacy that is measured in trophies or titles. The kind that is measured in people. Greatness that does not end when one person leaves the room. Greatness that keeps moving because it sparked something in someone else.
 
That is how you create something that lasts. You inspire the person next to you, and they inspire the person next to them, and suddenly your story is living in places you will never even see.
 
Lately I have been thinking about what that kind of greatness looks like in real life. Most of the time, it looks like a moment of courage that steadies another person. It looks like encouragement that finds someone right before they quit. It sounds like “I believe in you” spoken so sincerely that it changes what a person thinks is possible. It is quiet and contagious, and it spreads heart to heart like a candle being lit until the whole room is brighter.
 
This is what I want for The Admin Effect. I want us to be a company where greatness multiplies through people. I want us to lead in a way that inspires the people next to us, not because we are chasing some shiny definition of success, but because we are building something that is meant to outlive any one of us. We are not just working side by side. We are doing life together. We are holding space for the good and the hard. We are celebrating wins without rushing past them. We are making room for the heavy days without pretending they are not real.
 
People first leadership is where that kind of greatness grows.
 
When someone feels seen, they rise. When someone feels safe, they take chances. When someone feels believed in, they become brave enough to believe in themselves. And then they turn around and do the same for someone else. That is the ripple effect I want us to be known for.
 
So today, I am grateful for that reminder. Greatness is not about being the hero of the story. It is about helping the people next to you remember that they can be heroes in theirs. If we can keep doing that, in the small moments and the ordinary days, we will create something that truly lasts.
 
Until next time,
Katelyn