The topic of “influence” is mysterious to many people. It’s described by some as a “cool factor” or “confidence”, other people think it’s purely about money “whoever has the gold, makes the rules”.
I’ve heard people talking about influence as a sort of “trickery of words and body-language”, almost like Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for”.
I don’t believe any of that holds much weight in the longterm. There’s plenty of “cool people” who have little influence. There are lots of rich people who’s only ability to influence is their ability to pay people – which often results in them losing their money.
I’ve also seen people try on the body-language and wordplay techniques only to end up looking quite strange.
For me, I see influence created predominantly in four ways…
Thought Leadership - The ability to see the future and share your vision with others.
Quality Connections - The ability to get in contact with the right people or resources quickly.
Consistent Track Record – The ability to achieve a result over and over again.
Expert knowledge – The ability to give rare insights resulting from extensive study or observations.
These four types of influence have their basis in the real world. They don’t rely on the magical or the mysterious and they aren’t something you need to be born with.
It’s possible to develop these four areas of your life. You can develop a vision for the future, you can earn the right contacts over time, you can focus on delivering consistent results and you can become more learned in your field.
The payoff for being genuinely influential is high. Money, recognition and exciting experiences move towards influential people. Influential people spend more time filtering opportunities than they do chasing them.
If you cultivate yourself in these four ways, you will enjoy new levels of influence and the spoils that ride along.
Note: Think of the people you consider to be highly influential, do they posses these attributes.
