Tag: influence

THE MEASURE OF A MAN (OR WOMAN)

I believe if Plato were alive today, he would have included both genders in this quote. I also believe his name would not have been Plato, but we shall move on. One of the reasons that he used the masculine in this quote is that women did not have as much power as they do now. Although, it is my humble opinion we could benefit with more women in powerful positions. I am sure most of you reading this would agree.

One of the things that I would advocate is using this quote for some self-reflection. How do you use your power? You might be thinking to yourself, “Neil, I do not really have any power.” This could not be further from the truth. Each one of us has a great deal of power that we let atrophy to a great deal. If we are parents, we have a great ability to inspire and lead our children by example. If we are in a relationship, we have the power to help nurture and grow with our partner. We have the power to make them feel valued and appreciated, or worthless and taken for granted. We actually have this power over almost everyone we meet. When your retail experience is taking longer than expected, do you berate and belittle the person behind the counter or do you thank them for their efforts despite the frustrating circumstances? Even if the service is poor, which does seem to be happening with a greater frequency, we never know the story behind what is going on. Perhaps they are dealing with a mental health issue. Maybe they were never properly taught how to deal with others?

When you smile at a stranger you are using your power. The same is true if you glare at them. When you support your hard-working spouse, that is using your power. When you work hard for your family, that is using your power. When you complain, sit around not doing much, that is also using your power. One is for the greater good, the other – not so much. If you have a skill, whether that is baking, inspiring others or even being a good listener, what do you do with that skill? That is how you are using your power!

Spend a few minutes today thinking about the powers you have. That could be the power to inspire. The power to help. The power to encourage. The power to positively influence. What ways can you start to use more of these powers? Are there ways you are failing to use your power? Worse, are there ways in which, unknowingly, you are negatively using your power? If we are honest, I think there are ways in which we can all use our power a little more and a little better. I would love to hear what you think.

HOW TO BE COOL ðŸ˜Ž

It seems these days everyone is looking to be cool. They might not phrase it that way. Perhaps they want more ‘influence‘. There are different terms for it, but people want to be significant and stand out. Above is the ticket to doing so.

You may dismiss these behaviors as insignificant or not very impressive. Let me assure you they are so rare they will impress anyone you use them on.

Here is a little challenge. As impressive as these are on their own, the more you do, the cooler you will be. Perhaps print a copy off and see how many you can check off in a day. See if you can manage to do the whole list.

Which behavior on this list do you think makes somebody cool? Let us know in the comments below.

THE RENT YOU PAY ðŸ’¶

This quote really makes you think. We take for granted the space we occupy here on earth. We actually are just renting it. In time we will pass on and leave that space for someone else. This is not just in reference to our house or apartment. No, it is our career, the space we occupy in the hearts of our friends and family. There is the role we play in the community. If we stop and ponder, we need to pay for that rent. That payment, as Muhammad Ali so eloquently put it, is the service we give to others.

It has been my experience that the greater amount of service we provide for others, the greater the demand for our presence. We become more valuable and significant by serving others. This may seem counter-intuitive, but if you think about it I am sure you will find it to be true. If you wish to become more important, if you wish to command a greater amount of influence, if you want a larger social circle, all you have to do is be of greater service to your fellow humans.

How about you? What do you do to pay your rent here on earth? How to you serve others?

NOBODY IS USELESS IN THIS WORLD ðŸŒŽ

Old Charlie brings up a really good point here. Everyone wants to be useful. One of the six basic needs is a feeling of significance. A quick and easy way to be useful is to do something to help out someone else. It improves the lives of both you and the person you are helping. It is a two for one! What a better way to improve your life, someone else’s life and feel useful. If one out of every ten people decided to do this, that would be roughly one billion people doing something to help lighten the burden of another! That would positively affect the lives of two billion people! Can you imagine how powerful that would be?

If you want your life to have a greater level of importance, it does not take more likes on social media. You do not have to be a greater ‘influencer’. It is far more simple than that. If you want to be important in the world, find as many ways as you can to serve others. The more lives you touch and help, the more important you will become. Not to mention, you will make the world a better place for us all.

ARE YOU GOING TO AFFECT OR INFECT? ðŸ‘€

As we sit here looking at another work week about to begin, we have some very important decisions to make. One of the most important is the energy that we are going to bring to it! I like the picture above because it reminds us of the power and influence we have with others. It is rather ironic that people will work so hard to set up their influence online to become a famous ‘influencer’, yet they forget the influence they already have.

Whether you are looking for your next million followers, or have no idea what an online influencer is, this post is for you. The energy we bring to the world and to the day has an impact on others. Not only the people we come in contact with, but often far more than that. If you berate the young lady at the coffee shop for putting too much ice in your drink, it may not seem to bother her, but it is one bit of negative energy she probably did not need. What if that same young lady has a date set up with the person she loves after work? Do you think that negative emotion could impact that date as well? If she is unable to enjoy her date, do you not think that will also affect the person she is on a date with? It is like throwing a pebble into the ocean, the ripples with continue to spread out.

Let us look at this from the opposite angle. What if you can radically positively impact someone’s day? Maybe the stranger you let go ahead of you in the grocery line just learned their child has a serious illness? What if the smile you shared with a stranger helps someone who is struggling with depression? Think of how adding joy to someone’s day can make a difference? It can help them have a more positive emotional state. The things this can impact are many. When we are in a positive emotional state, our immune system functions better. We are more likely to take advantage of opportunities.

You might find this a little dramatic. “Neil, you really expect me to believe that my energy can ruin someone’s date or help them against getting sick?” Yes, it actually can! With this knowledge, we should be excited to positively impact as many people as we can. Just like our negative example, this will impact far more than just the lucky souls we are sharing our positivity with! This week, let us make an effort to inspire and not to infect.

GOOGLE TAUGHT ME A VALUABLE LESSON ðŸ“±

Every so often, I search myself on Google. This is not some exercise in vanity, or to serve my ego. As an author, I like to make sure that the information and links are correct. Go ahead and Google “Neil Panosian” yourself. You will discover many new and fun ways to connect with this author.

In doing so last night, I learned something that taught me 2 very important things. They came one right after another. I learned that an interview that I had done was picked up by a local Fox News affiliate in New York. That means I was able to reach and hopefully inspire people in a new region. I was keenly unaware this even happened.

That is where the second lesson came to mind. This one was even more important. It made me realize the parallel between this interview and life in general. All too often, we feel we are not having the impact, or doing as much good, as we would like to. Much like this interview, the good we do can often travel farther than we ever realize.

Unfortunately, there is no Google to see how much we have impacted the lives of others. What this story does remind us of, is that we may never know how far our influence may reach. Let’s make sure it is a good one and know that we make more of a difference than we can ever know.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW I GAVE THAT WAS PICKED UP IN THIS GREAT STORY IN NEW YORK

CONTRADICTION OF INFLUENCE 

If you read this post even semi regularly or know me personally, you know how much I enjoy our local state fair. Last year I saw the classic country western singer Kenny Rogers. There were a lot of families there. He sings such classic songs as ‘Islands in the stream’ and ‘Love’s got a hold on me’. Last night I saw the rock band Halestorm perform. Not so many families there as there songs include such titles as ‘Love bites and so do I’ and ‘I get off on you getting off on me’. So other than the fact that my musical interests are quite varied what are we to get out of this story?

Here is the thing. I assume most of you would rather take your families to the first show as one would assume that the influences would be better. Well at Kenny Rogers show he addressed the folks sitting right in front of the stage and said “Was that you singing because in all my years of singing that is the worst singing I have ever heard”. At first I wondered if he was trying some new humor or if he had just starting losing his mind. As the show went on, however, he continued to mock the singing ability of those present. He did all of this while making several mistakes on his own songs. I could not help but asking myself if Mr. Kenny Rogers was aware those were the people who paid the highest ticket prices and thus were the most eager to see him. I left with a little bit of dismay and a lot less respect for the singer.

Fast forward to last night and the Halestorm show. After a few hard rocking songs mentioned in the first paragraph the singer of the band, Lzzy Hale, stopped the show to tell everyone how much it meant to their band and the opening act that all of us attended. She mentioned several other entertainment options we could have explored and thanked us for choosing to come to the show. A theme she repeated several times throughout their performance. She also sat down and the piano and did a song to both thank her parents for their support of her musical career and to encourage other young ladies not to give up if people tell them they can’t do something. I left the show a new fan of the band and with a lot more respect for their singer. Not only for their great performance, but for their show of gratitude.

My point it is this, song lyrics are one thing, but seeing the difference in the attitudes of the performers I would much rather take my family to the second show. What we learn from what we are exposed to has a lot to do with how we are raised and what to look for. I encourage you all to look deeper into the people behind the performance.