make one's mark

Idioms  

1. Achieve distinction, as in Terry soon made his mark as an organist. This expression transfers a written or printed symbol to a strong impression. [Mid-1800s] Also see make a name for oneself.

---

Example Sentences

X is also the traditional signature of an illiterate, so it is both precise and general: anyone can use it to make one’s mark.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019

"It tends to feed this notion of infamy seeking - and a desire to make one's mark in history," he says.

From BBC • Oct. 2, 2015

But it is sometimes a little difficult to make one’s mark, isn’t it?

From The Greater Power by Dunton, W. Herbert

There I shall have a position and an object; and one may be of some use, and make one's mark in a new country.

From Tom Brown at Oxford by Hughes, Thomas