It is amazing how much power some people over over others. When one person who has influence does one thing, the people who they have influence over often follow suit.

We see this principle in action in pop culture, business, sports, family life and the church. When a pop star with influence starts a new genre of music, others follow. If a new genre of music were started by someone with little influence it wouldn’t take off, but start it by someone with a lot of influence and it becomes the next biggest thing.

The most influential people in the world tend to shape our culture and lifestyles. However, I believe that everyone is an influencer in some shape or form. I believe that everyone can and does influence at least one other person. They may not realize it, neither does the person they are influencing realize it, but I believe we all influence others in some way.

I had a friend who had a taste for alcohol. He had got himself into some situations earlier in his life and tried to limit the amount of alcohol he drank. He had grown up in a Christian environment that in which his parents did not drink any alcohol except the odd glass of wine. When he got in his thirties his parents had been through various tragedies and disappointments in their lives that led them to start to drink more. They got to a place where the odd glass of wine had turned into party central and now a get together without a vast consummation of alcohol was unheard of. My friend has always had a good relationship with his parents, he also looked up to them, but would have never said they were a significant influence on his life. However, the more his parents drank the more he started to drink, until he to had found himself in a place where he was drinking vast amounts of alcohol once again.

This isn’t a story about whether one should drink alcohol or not (I have my views on that and may reveal them at a later time), but this is a story about how the actions of one can and will effect another.

You  may not realize it, but people are watching you. It may be your kids, your spouse, your parents, your co-workers, your employees/er, your friends and even the guy at the gas station. We never know who is watching us, who we are influencing, but we can be sure that someone is watching us and we are influencing someone. Therefore, evaluate the things you are doing in your life, evaluate whether your actions are having an affect on someone else. If these actions are for the positive, keep doing them and intensify them, if they are negative try to to work at ways to change them.

Who are you influencing? Look at the people in your life, are there any people who have been affected by your actions? If so, you are influencing them!