What I am learning about Influence.

In the words of Steve Jobs;

“Here is to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Lately, I have been reading more, watching more news and enjoying my part in playing politics. One of the first posts I shared on one of my social media handles as regarding politics was that no matter how insignificant you think you are, you have influence.

My best video on influence currently is by Craig Groeschel of Life Church at the Global Leadership Summit. He says, YOU HAVE INFLUENCE! https://youtu.be/1M1R9pPeiMU

Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development or the behavior of someone or something. It is crucial to note that whether you are aware of it or not, you have influence. As a student, an aspiring comedian, a producer or a food blogger, you have influence.

Many might ask, how do I know I have influence? Coughs…back up.

Why do you say I have influence?

Here’s the job description for someone who has influence;

1. Must be a human of any age. Preferably…Any age.
2. Must believe in something about something. Preferably…anything.
3. Must not back down.
   If you have the above, Voila! You have influence.

As a person preaching this message of influence, I took my ability to be an influence as nothing. Instead of standing out, I tried to stay within the shadows and keep my viewpoint to myself and just camouflage that influence because I wanted the approval of people. For this approval, I exchanged my vibrant self for pretense. I dimmed my light thinking it would make others comfortable.

On the long run, this did not work. Then I decided that I would stop trying to cover up the parts of me that had the ability to influence. I discovered that by shining my light, I gave others the permission to shine theirs.

Here is a list of the things you must not stop;

1. Don’t stop following the news if you love to.
2. Don’t stop shooting that video because the last one you did didn’t receive any engagements.
3. Don’t stop writing that blog post because on your last post, you didn’t have as much views as the movies say that bloggers have.
4. Don’t stop going to church, or wake up late to attend church because a friend says that’s cool.
5. Don’t stop yourself from starting that business because family dictated that you wouldn’t be able to cope with it.
6. Don’t stop calling that friend that gives you good vibes because someone said something about them.

This is my bit on influence. Please do share your thoughts and feedback on this by sending me an email at lamongstt@gmail.com. I really look forward to your feedback.

Shout out to Upsplash. These pictures were a great fit and was gotten from the site.