Maybe you don’t think it’s possible, but whether you realize it or not, we all have an influence on the world. Influence is your ability to affect change in the world around you and the truth is that you affect change whether or not you’re even trying.
You are already exerting influence. You do make a difference. What kind of difference do you make? What kind of influence do you have? Is it positive? Or something else?
Do you encourage your friends to skip practice or do you encourage them to practice harder? Do you stand idly by while someone gets teased or do you step in and say something? Do you speak poorly of others when you don’t place very high at the show or do you demonstrate a positive attitude?
Even when you’re not directly interacting with someone, you can still influence them. Your behaviors and attitudes are often observed by younger exhibitors, younger players, and younger students. What kind of influence do you have with them?
No matter what you do, or don’t do, you are influencing the world around you. What happens to your team when you skip practice? You get out of sync and you hold your hard-working teammates back. However, when you encourage your teammates to practice harder, everyone gets better and the team moves forward in a positive direction.
Each scenario plays out the same way. Your actions hold influence. Every choice you make influences the world.
If you could change the world around you, what would you do? How can you use your influence to affect the change you want to see? Remember, change starts small and it starts at home.
Now, go change the world!
Marlene Eick is a storyteller and coach. As co-owner of Herdmark Media, she helps businesses in agriculture tell their story. As a leadership and career coach, she helps people discover the stories within themselves.