Have you ever considered who you influence daily? What about those who control you? Do you realize how powerful you are in terms of influencing others?
Because of the influence of individuals throughout your life, you have become who you are. If you’re unhappy with your life's direction, modify the factors influencing you.
If you’re content with your life, lean into those who have an impact on you and build on it. You also have the option of seeking out new influences.
This is my definition of “influence power.”
The potential to control others and yourself.
Identifying the Influence of Others
Ask yourself the following questions to discover who you are, who you’ve become, and where you’re going:
Who do you influence in your life?
Who is it that is influencing you?
What methods do you use to influence others?
What methods are people using to control you?
The answers to these four questions reveal information about your past, present, and future. With your journal in hand, spend some time thinking about them.
The Human Factor
People are always involved in the type of impact we’re talking about.
Consider how you influence people and how they influence you. Every influence on your and their lives stems from some influence.
Influence Channels
“Choose your external influences carefully." "Everything you see, hear, read, smell, touch, feel, or say impacts your multi-dimensional brain.” — Brian Tracy.
Influence can be exerted in a variety of ways. Direct touch and connection with other individuals can both affect and be influenced. Authors of books and articles, films and television, and all types of advertisements — including audio, video, print, and even billboards — can all directly influence.
“Influence is when you are not the one speaking, but your words fill the room; when you are not present, but your presence is felt throughout the room.” — Temitope Ibrahim
Influence in the Real World
Influence today reaches in ways that were unimaginable only a few decades ago. While celebrities and politicians have affected millions of people for years, today’s social media allows ordinary people to have even more power, as evidenced when something goes viral.
Consider your Facebook and LinkedIn connections, to name just two of the numerous social media networks. When you post something, it can impact individuals you’ve never met, just as their posts have the potential to influence you. This impact can affect thousands or millions of people’s attitudes and actions.
Your Influence’s Radius
The concept of 6 degrees of separation" is familiar to most people today. According to the theory, everyone on the earth is only six people or fewer social ties away from everyone else.
With thousands of LinkedIn connections, I’m only one degree away from connecting with a million individuals and increasing my potential reach to millions by extending to my 2nd-degree contacts! This holds true for any social media network.
“Never underestimate your ability to influence others.” Laurie Buchanan
The majority of us grossly underestimate our own and others’ influence. The level of influence you can have on the internet is nearly limitless. It’s another question if it’s persuasive or not.
Do you convince?
We all want to be loved and recognized, especially by our peers: The sensation of belonging is so alluring and compelling that we surrender and do whatever it takes to fit in and be accepted by them. This could be disastrous if one is not sensitive enough to distinguish between good and bad influences.
As a result, countless lives and futures have been shortened, damaged, and endangered. However, it may be highly beneficial when it motivates one to strive for something better, not be complacent, and not stay in one’s comfort zone.
What effect has this article had on you? Was it convincing enough to pique your interest in the power you hold and how you are influenced by someone else? I’d be thrilled to hear from you!
I’ll leave you with a few last bits of wisdom to reflect on.
“Just as much as the past, the future has an impact on the present.” Friedrich Nietzsche
Chris Packham, LAADC, M-RAS, CCDS, CS
