The Art of Influence: A Different Approach to Having a Bigger Impact
And 5 Ways to be more influential
In some way shape or form, we all want to be influential. Whether our desired sphere of influence is merely our family and friends, or an entire market — to be able to influence is a valuable skill. But for as valuable as it is, it’s also highly misunderstood.
You see, our idea of influence is out of whack. We have too narrow a definition of what influence is, and of how it works. Because of that, we have no way to get better at becoming more influential. As a result, we often find ourselves at a loss as to how to improve our ability to influence.
My mission in this piece of writing is twofold:
- To correct the way that we think about influence, revealing a more nuanced and useful concept of it.
- To provide a few sensible and effective habits to help in becoming more influential.
How to Think Differently About Influence
Most of us operate with a much too narrow idea of what influence is, and how to exercise it. We tend to think of influence as the power to get others to think or act in the way we would like them to. This is only a small part of what real influence is. But because we have this narrow…
