Influence That Impacts

Yesterday was Friend Day at Richmond Community Church. Pastor Rick started a new series, “Influence That Impacts.” He had some interesting insights into how we are influenced by other people and how we influence them, as well. I took some notes during the sermon. Here are a few great points he made:

1.  “We become aware of what others’ influence makes us feel like, not how we make other people we influence feel.” This is so true. We all talk about how others make us feel, but we don’t often think about how what we do makes others feel.
2. “It’s not where people are in their lives, it’s what they think they aren’t that holds them back.” Many people are held back by fear, especially fear of failure. Moreover, a lot of people think they can’t positively influence someone else’s life because of what they think they’re lacking or because of a shortcoming. I’ve experienced this before. We all have our downfalls, but we can still have a good influence on other people.
3. “Your influence is determined by the choices you make.” If you’re going to have a positive influence on someone’s life, you need to make smart choices and set a good example.
4. “There are three types of people, generally speaking- Well Poisoners (those who discourage others from reaching their goals), Lawn Mowers (absorbed in themselves), and Life Enhancers (positively influence others).” This pretty much summarizes people’s personalities if you think about it. People are either going to bring you down or uplift you, or just not care at all and tend solely to their own self-advancement.

This is going to be a great message series, full of insights about how to reach, connect with, and influence others in your life.