Tag Archive | influence

THE POWER OF INFLUENCE IN RELATIONSHIPS By Silas & Victoria

Dec9

One interesting fact many people are negligent to take cognizance of is that as a couple you come from different places and are fed with different things, hence, the need for compatibility. That is, the environments in which both individuals were incubated are not the same therefore you won’t likely think and act exactly the same way. We are social Humans and the need for connecting with people is immeasurable consequential. That is why we get to certain points in our lives where we think we need a partner to live through life with, which is why God gave Adam Eve. God knows the importance of relationships.

So if we know the importance of relationships, do we actually know their effects on our lives? Do we know how certain relationships we enter into influence us? The influence of a life partner on another cannot be quantified. That is why you must have the right partner that will influence you positively and that is why you must be that partner also.

Genesis 3 introduces us to how the devil tempted Eve with the “forbidden” fruit and how just by taking it she, Adam also took it. This happened because of the amount of sway she had on Adam because he is her husband, her partner. The scriptures say, “…So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened…” (Genesis 3:6-7).

So we can infer that vice-versa, as a couple or when you enter into a relationship with someone you have so much sway over them. This should not sound unfamiliar to us because we know what sway or influence we have on our platonic friends and vice-versa.

Influence is like a perfume, it can be felt and quantified to a certain extent.  It, therefore, takes several days to months for the long-term relationship goals of one partner to have an impact on the goals of the other. Or for the influence of the other to be felt on another. A relationship may not be considered a close one unless two people have had an influence on each other for a relatively long period of time.

But one of the vital questions to ask is this, “Who influences whom and to what effect?”

Truth is, relationships are empowered by influence. In the assessment of relationship quality, each partner should be able to look into the face of his/her spouse and say, “You have truly influenced me in a good way.”

Your partner must have or should influence you in different areas of your life positively. Though at the start of the relationship there may be many glitches because you are still trying to get what works for you. But as time goes on you start getting yourselves because of the amount of influence you have on yourselves.

At least your partner should have an influence on:

  • How You Think: your mindset should have changed to a certain degree just because you have been walking with your partner for some time.
  • Your relationship with God and Prayer life: Your partner should be someone that challenges and spurs you to want to know God better, talk to God and have quality time with God.
  • Priority: Your priority in life will also change by your association with that of your partner.
  • Your Passion and Interest: Your passion and interest should have been altered over time. Because one of the astounding opportunities relationships offer you is the ability to be willing to even sometimes go out of your comfort zone to learn about the other person’s passions and be involved in their interests.
  • Likes and dislikes: Your likes and dislikes also get altered. You get to like or even dislike certain things you do not prior to being together with that person.
  • Social engagements: Lol 😂… that you are an introvert or extrovert will sometimes not matter because of your partner.
  • Habits: Certain habits must change because our partners are most times like sandpapers God brings our way to furnish us.

So make sure you are that kind of partner that influences your partner positively, that way you become all that God has called you to be.

Influencing People Through Our Careers By Boluwatife Adebayo

Nov18

Influence is one of the major features of humans because everyone on earth is a product of one influence or the other. It might be subconscious or even conscious but we are all influenced by someone that has affected the way we live our lives. Some of us submit ourselves to mentors and the mentor gains a great influence in our lives.

Also, influence can be expressed in different manners and ways. Influence can be from the church, school, environment, experience etc. Anybody can influence us as far as we allow ourselves to be influenced and we like the results the person has.

This means trying to shape and direct our lives in the person’s path and applying the principle that got them where they are. Our desires or career choice can also be influenced.

Influence can come from the desire to pursue a career or a certain course. This means influencing other people’s decisions through your career. 

For example, I was greatly influenced by Gani Fawehinmi, a lawyer and human rights activist. Though I was very young at the time of his death, reading his story stirred something in me that planted the desire to study law.

Apart from my personal interests, reading his story served as a means for me to develop more interest and passion for law.

This is what we call influence. He was able to influence my decision through his career by demonstrating a great aura of leadership and excellence.

HOW CAN WE INFLUENCE OTHERS THROUGH OUR CAREERS OR PLATFORM?

This is a simple-complex question because influencing people through our careers comes with a lot of sacrifices and discipline.

As I’ve said earlier, we can influence other people’s decisions through our careers by demonstrating a great level of leadership. But being able to demonstrate (you can replace this with Demonstrating) this level of leadership skills doesn’t happen in a day. It comes with years of practice, commitment, dedication and consistency. This is the fundamental principle of influencing other people through our careers. Building a career is one of the most difficult things to do because it will bring you to the spotlight and any mistakes or flaws can bring you down.

For us to influence lives through our careers, we need to set a foundation of commitment, consistency, discipline, focus, dedication and excellence. Doing this will serve as the propelling force for us to demonstrate remarkable leadership skills that will stir up others passion.

But setting this foundation is one of the most difficult things to do because it doesn’t happen in the “twinkle of an eye”. It comes with being deliberate about the life we live.

Therefore MEN, do we want to influence people through our careers and platform??

Then let’s start to build a foundation of focus, dedication, discipline, commitment and consistency. Doing so will produce results that will affect other people’s decisions.

IMPACTFUL MEN By Silas Bamigbola 

Oct14

On Monday I was explaining to my students the impacts of ICT in the world today, I would go on to mention and elucidate what the advantages and disadvantages of ICT are, and one of the students lifted her hands to ask, “Mr Silas, what’s the difference between Impact and advantage, are they not the same?” It was a remarkable question considering her age. And to answer her question I started blowing the board with my hand and I told her that these blows have impacts on the board but such impacts can have advantages or disadvantages. It just depends.

That also applies to influence, we have so many things influencing us around. Both the positive and negative. In fact, with the advent of different social networks, we have many public figures and celebrities who have sway over the lives of people and influence people effortlessly. Even though our influence may not be as enormous as Christiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi or even Pastor Adeboye, We all influence the lives of people. 

To influence is the ability to affect the character, behaviour, and development of another person. So you see that whether we know or don’t know and like it or not we are agents of influence wherever we find ourselves.

But I believe for us to influence lives positively and make our world a better place to live, we must first be transformed. If we won’t continue polluting the world like others we must learn how to not do it like the pattern of the world. We must trust God to teach us how to renew our minds or how we think so that we influence the lives of people we come in contact with the right way and according to God’s will.

Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

If you will pour into people, you must be poured into also. And the thing with the minds of men is that it’s garbage in, ‘refined’ garbage out. What you fill yourself with is what shapes your perception about how life should be lived and thereby by living that way, you show people templates both the wrong and right ones to follow. People are watching you. So be thoroughly brewed so that you are a solution to problems in our world today and not be the problem.

How can we influence people, how can we be impactful men in our world today? It’s not something that’s forced because Influence is like perfume but you get many results by being intentional.

Few Ways You Can influence Lives

  1. Be Authentic.

Allow God to reveal who you truly are, what He called you to be and be that. Don’t try to be a copycat, copycats don’t influence lives.

  1. Choose The People You Want to Influence.

Know your people. God has called you to certain people, like there are people tied up to your destiny. Even though we were told in the scriptures that we should love and serve everyone, we must be intentional about choosing the right people to influence. 

  1. Genuinely Care For People.

you can’t influence lives you don’t love and care for. Love the people God has called you to influence genuinely. Doing so makes you effortlessly pour into them.

  1. Teach People.

Be intentional about pouring into people’s lives. Use your mouth and life to teach how to live the kind of lives God has called them to live. From conversations, you can influence lives.

Many of the influences and impacts men have are polluting our world, if you will influence the lives of people please do it the right way. That’s why I will beg you that you don’t join in polluting our world with the type of influence you have on it.

Our influence should be about Jesus, people should see by the way we live that we have been with Jesus and we look like Him.

How are you using your influence?

MEN OF INFLUENCE By Adebayo Boluwatife

Oct5

Influence according to the English Dictionary can be defined as the power to affect, control or manipulate something or someone; the ability to change the development of fluctuating things such as to conduct, thoughts or decisions. 

Moreso it can be defined as the capacity to affect the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or the effect itself.

With the definition above, I guess we would have gotten a glimpse of what influence means. We need to know that as men we subconsciously influence other people, might be people around us or far from us. 

As a father, we influence our children, as a pastor we influence our church members and as a manager of a company we influence our employees etc. This influence comes naturally, it’s not forced, it’s like perfume. People will just see something they admire in your life and decide to follow the same path. 

With the state of our contemporary world, we have different types of men out there influencing people in many ways. Some influence people positively while some influence people negatively. 

Note that people can be influenced in many ways, through music, videos and many more. As men, we need to take up the responsibility of influencing the lives around us positively and making a change that cannot be forgotten.

 Personally, for me, I discovered that watching secular movies doesn’t contribute to my spiritual growth and even influences me in a way I do not want. I had to put a stop to them. I took such a decision because those movies are beginning to have a negative influence on me. The same thing should go with us also, we should be able to follow the right path that will lead us to be positively influenced. 

And it all starts with your personal influence, i.e. being influential. Your personal influence is the most significant capability you possess to create a world of success – both in your business, company and in your personal life.

It all starts with planting the seeds of influential behaviour and presence. In everything you do, you will always get the best results by starting at the beginning. The beginning, or a higher order of influence, is being influential.

How do you become influential? True influence goes much deeper than making eye contact, shaking hands in a certain way, or creating a stance of reciprocity. It doesn’t happen overnight, rather, it begins inside you, spiralling outward like sound waves or ripples in a pond that reaches beyond into rivers, lakes and oceans.

Influence is about impacting people. There’s a direct connection between your personal influence and the impact you have on all of your interactions. Being influential leads to having more influence. The more you influence people, the easier it is to get things done. Whether you’re going after the big sale, leading change in your company, or putting yourself in line for that promotion, your personal influence has a huge impact or determination on how successful you will be.

Influence requires you to do something, perform an action or say a word. Being influential only demands that you show up. You have a presence that none can deny; a presence that exists by honing your influence traits. 

As we all seek to influence our world and make changes in the lives of people, let us start with us influencing ourselves. It comes with a lot of determination, discipline and consistency.