Stop Hating on Influence
The topic of being an influencer. I was at a party this summer and people were actually jokingly, but somewhat serious, giving me a hard time about being a quote unquote influencer, which pretty quickly got the topic away from me and on to everyone discussing what this idea of being an influencer means.
And I didn’t even really chime in in that situation, just made a mental note to make an episode about it later on.
But you see this on social media to people talking about the idea of being an influencer. Debating.
Whether it’s a positive, or negative thing, anywhere in between.
And, to me, I think that regardless of what we think about the definition, we need to stop hating on the idea of influence.
Your Own Hero’s Journey
This is such a fun topic because it’s tied to the entire theme of my book. I could do an entire episode, even a full podcast about going on your hero’s journey.
Essentially, in any good story, there’s a hero who needs or wants something.
They set out to achieve it, face struggles, and often need a guide to help them along the way.
Ultimately, they either succeed or fail, but in some way, they learn and return with newfound wisdom.
The hero’s journey is a great metaphor for life. The reason I’m writing my book is to help you go on your own hero’s journey.
A Hero Needs Influence
So, what does this have to do with influence?
It’s funny—“influencer” has gotten a bad rep.
People tend to picture someone with hundreds of thousands or millions of followers, posting about their lunch, their booty, or their biceps. But ironically, those people might have a huge following, but very little influence. Influence itself has become a misunderstood concept, and we need to reclaim it.
On the flip side, you could have just 100 followers and still wield tremendous influence over them. Possibly even changing the trajectory of their entire life.
That’s why being an influencer is pretty damn cool. Whether you’re leading a team at work, teaching a group of kids, or mentoring a few close friends, your ability to impact others is what makes you an influencer.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say we should all strive to be influencers in some way.
How Do You Influence?
It’s a bit meta.
But basically, choose a topic.
Then go on your own hero’s journey, while sharing what you learn along the way.
Decide what you want to work toward, seek guidance, learn from the ups and downs, and then come back to help other people who are just getting started themselves.
That’s a real influencer.
This Is Real Influence.
I get why the term “influencer” can be cringe-worthy, or annoying. It’s become an overused buzzword.
On one hand, it could be jealousy that makes people resent the term.
On the other hand, even influencers with millions of followers sometimes hate the label.
Well, language evolves, and terms start to take on random meanings.
But the reality is this: if you’ve impacted anyone else’s life, you are an influencer.
And I think most of us would find real joy in influencing others positively.
When I think of influence, I’m reminded of classic books like Robert Cialdini’s Influence and Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power. We could go into those another day, but to keep things simple for now, let’s focus on this core idea: you have valuable stories to tell.
You likely have many experiences that shape your overall life narrative. The story you tell yourself and the story you tell others is incredibly worthwhile.
But it requires conscious effort.
You have to build and increase your influence by paying attention to your experiences. Actively seek out ways to connect those experiences to helping others.
And it doesn’t need to be many people. (It can be) but influence isn’t about the number of followers, it’s about the impact.
And that’s something worth striving for.
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