Have you ever thought of yourself as a person of influence? What does it take?

Do you need to be in a leadership role to have influence? Everyone has influence. We all have an impact at home, in our job, as volunteers, in everything we do.

Often, we don’t realize the impact we have on others.

Twenty-five years ago when I was a manager of a non-profit, I coached a young man who was starting a business. He was a talented designer and wanted to start a business making images that could be attached to the spokes of a wheelchair. You see he was in a wheelchair himself and he played a lot of basketball.

He thought it would be cool for the players and their fans if the spinning wheels were more eye-catching. I coached him as he set up his business and he seemed destined for success.

Five years ago, I was about to give a presentation. Before we started, I went around the room and introduced myself. When I put my hand out to a man in a wheelchair, he gave me an enormous smile and said, “I know you.”

It had been 25 years and I have to admit I did not recognize him at first. But I soon realized he was the man who started a business making images that could be attached to the spokes of a wheelchair so many years ago. His business had been a success, and like many of us, he had moved on to new adventures.

“You have no idea how much difference you made in my life,” he said. “I will never forget what you did for me.” We hugged and I thanked him for his kind words. Later in the presentation, he told the group about the influence I had on his life. He explained his life situation and how much my help meant to him at the time. Several people in the room had tears in their eyes.

In his book "Becoming a Person of Influence", John Maxwell says, “If your desire is to be successful or to make a positive impact on your world, you need to become a person of influence.” Without influence, there is no success.

But as John Maxwell explains, influence is a curious thing. Even though we all have an impact on nearly everyone around us, our level of influence is not the same with everyone. To see this principle in action, he says, “Try ordering around your best friend’s dog.”

How can you determine your level of influence and help it grow?

Begin by paying attention to how people respond, listen to them, and build a relationship. Your level of influence grows as you develop supportive and engaged relationships. Influence doesn’t happen all at once. It grows in stages.

Here are the four stages of influence and their impact as explained in John’s book:

1. Modeling: People are first influenced by what they see. If people perceive that you’re positive and trustworthy, they will see you as an influencer in their lives.
Motivating: You become a motivational influencer when you encourage people and communicate with them on an emotional level.

2. Motivating: You become a motivational influencer when you encourage people and communicate with them on an emotional level.

3. Mentoring: This involves pouring your life into other people to help them reach their potential. Mentoring is powerful. The life of a person being influenced in this way can change before your eyes.

4. Multiplying: This is the highest level of influence you can have on another person’s life. When you influence a person in this way, you help them become a positive influencer and they continue the cycle with others. The impact is multiplied.

We all have people that have influenced us and made a big difference in our lives. It’s easy to overlook the impact we have on others. Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Madonna, Tiger Woods, John Grisham, and Arnold Schwarzenegger--throughout history many people have influenced others.

Think of the impact your teachers, grandparents and parents have had on your life. All these people have one thing in common: every one of them was and is a person of influence.

When you interact with people, whether they are family, friends or co-workers, don’t overlook the impact you can have on their life.

Call to action:
1. Make a list of people in your life that you influence.
2. What can you do to model, motivate, mentor or multiply that influence?

The best is yet to come. It starts with you.

Your friends,
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