I spend a good deal of time talking to myself. My conversations kind of range all over the place: telling myself what I need to do next, arguing about why I do this or that, complaining, scheming, yelling at other people and at myself, laughing and joking, trying to figure myself out, etc. You know the drill: you do it too.
My conversations take place in what I call my secret place. We all have a secret place deep inside us where we’re totally safe. Nobody gets in there to hear what we’re really saying and what we really think, what we’re seeing, dreaming or dreading. It’s our place to think out loud in total privacy.
As I spent some time planning for 2016 I had something of a minor revelation. As I often do at the beginning of each year I was thinking about what went well in the last year, what didn’t go so well, how I could improve and so on. Out of nowhere I was struck by a thought that, unlike a lot of other lightning-strike thoughts, hung around for a long time. I kept hashing and rehashing it in my secret place. The more I thought about it the more true I believe it to be.
Perhaps it’s a thought that could help you too.
What I really want, as a speaker and as a human being is influence. I want to know that what I’m saying, the words I use and the impact that I can generate based on my experience actually influences others.
Remember Abraham Maslow? He’s the guy that created the famous list of five basic human needs. They are, from bottom to top the need for food and water, the need for safety, the need for love and belonging, the need for esteem and lastly the need to self-actualize. It’s a pretty complete list of human needs.
I’d like you to consider the need for influence to be in that group too. Look, if I know anything it is that all of us, no matter your station in life, want to know deep down that you are effective and able to influence the events and people around you. If you don’t have that influence you can experience various and unpleasant levels of unhappiness.
The good news is that like a lot of other things there is way to increase your influence. It’s something you can learn to exercise with some impressive power.
How? Well, I’m going to blog about that this year. I’m going to share some things that work for me in the areas of leadership, personal power and sustained personal change, whether in our professional or personal lives. As it turns out, having a sense of mastery over your ability to influence others comes with some really great rewards. It’s worth the time to learn some simple things and start enjoying the benefits.
Kick that one around in your secret place, ok?
Bill Beausay is a member of Denver Speakers Bureau. He is enjoys to organizations about:
- Personal Power and Creating Miracles When You’re Done In, Fed Up, and Stressed Out
- Connecting Across the Generations
- “Let’s Hunt”: The Ultimate Sales/Motivation Talk
- The 10 Mantras of Highly Successful People
- The 5 Best Lessons from The Sender
- Secrets of the Locker Room Gurus
Learn more about Bill at www.old.denverspeakersbureau.com/bill-beausay.
