Kaira from RealYouIncorporated wrote recently about Eleanor Roosevelt and made the same observation. It was after she left the White House as First Lady and after her husband's death, that she became a delegate to the UN and championed the causes of human rights. "When all is said and done, she received 35 honorary degrees in her lifetime, compared to 31 for her husband."

And even in popular culture, the celebrity around Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's "do gooding" on an international scale makes as many headlines as their expanding family.

So, in this might be two lessons. One is that you don't have to have a current "position" to make an impact in profound ways. So, what are you waiting for?

The second is that you can strive to achieve something in your career and life, only to find that the largest impact was after your goal was achieved. Once you get on the map, you can decide where your journey takes you from there!

P.S. This is true of individuals and corporations. How many meaningful foundations are created by successful companies? Why didn't they start with the foundation first? See an example of purposeful "giving back" at Creative Outlet Labs.