It is my birthday weekend so with more accuracy than is normal I can say I have been making first impressions for exactly 68 years and 2 days. Most of them are absolutely way beyond my control and because I have never been famous the first impression I create has almost never been recorded. There will be H.R records of interviews where my first impression has been recorded. Groups of friends will have anecdotal   memories of  first, second and third impressions. My point being that first impressions are largely out of my control. On occasions I may set out to make a favourable  first  impression but without feedback how would I ever know if I had achieved ‘favourable’. I think I am a bit of a ‘slow burn’ for most people. I try to be friendly, kind and effective with an open mind. I am loyal until I am not. I am not too invested in creating a ‘first impression’ because I genuinely believe that is  largely beyond  my control. However a ‘lasting impression’ has far more heft and gravitas. Something that is built up over time by doing my best to be a decent human being.