As we transition through the SAGE
Leadership model our next field of study is Influence. Influence is an action! Influence is created by the daily actions we
show and do in our everyday life. Let’s
talk about ways in which we can create an influence on others.
Have you ever noticed how easily people with a
positive attitude can influence you? Very
quickly you realize the people who are optimistic or pessimistic, whether their
cup is half full or half empty.
Influence is not power, it is more a sharing of wisdom or knowledge. The SAGE Leadership model is about recognizing
the wisdom within ourselves. As we grow
to be a leader it is by our actions and not necessarily by our words that we
develop Influence. It is not having
power over others but rather having discipline over our thoughts, words and
actions.
Three of my “Ten Daily Actions to
Live By” are directly associated with Influence, the first is:
“I choose to
have a great attitude. I am a happy
person
and I will have a positive attitude toward others.”
I designed this Action to create a
discipline of self; enabling you to influence others and share yourself within
the community of people you impact daily.
My second Action states:
“I know
where I want my life to go.
I have
chosen my path to follow daily.”
True leaders lead themselves first
before they ever try to influence others.
Do you have a plan for your life?
Have you created goals? Have you created a discipline to follow the path
you have chosen? I authored this quote
and it has helped me;
“Goals are
like having your headlights on,
because you know where you are going”
My last Daily Action impacted by Influence
is choice; how we choose to live our life with others:
“I will
greet every day with a forgiving spirit.
I will forgive myself and others.”
As we are able to forgive ourselves
and others our influence grows and the people we impact daily expands. Why is it so hard to forgive? The main reason is pride, it gets in our
way. Whether we recognize our pride or
not, others see it and it lessens our influence. When we forgive openly we begin to create a
deeper relationship with our self and others.
As we grow stronger in our faith we
influence our self, enabling us to be stronger in all of our relationships. Why? Because,
when God is our center, we develop greater clarity or understanding of self. He then helps us visualize ways in which we
need to grow in our relationships with others.
The first action we must take is to
Influence our own life and then our impact will multiply, infinitely influencing
others.
Gary
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