As we start a new year it’s a good thing to take a few minutes to consider the people ahead and behind us in life. Those people who we look to for influence in our lives. But also those people who look to you for guidance. We call these groups people of influence and impact.
The influence group are those who really push you to be your best. They bring out the best in you. They drive you to do and be better in just about every way. These people, and even places, are influential for any number of reasons. Take some time, as you set those resolutions or goals for the year, to consider the influencers in your life.
Make sure to carve our time for these people. Spend time with them. Invest in these relationships. The people who push you to do and be better are the ones you need to be near on a regular basis. Find creative ways to sit at their feet to learn as much as you can. When you’re with those kind of people who draw out the best in you, make sure to sit and listen. Ask good questions to grow as much from these relationships as you possibly can.
But just as important is the group we’ll call your impact group. These are the people on whom you have an impact. While the influencers feed you, the impact group needs you to in a sense feed them.
Take time to think of the people in your circle who need the best from you. Who needs your A game for them to thrive?
When you’re setting goals and plans for the coming year make sure to leave time and space in your life for those people who feed off of your energy, passion and knowledge.
One of the best things we can do in life is to create a legacy around us. A legacy looks ahead and behind us. A healthy legacy gives thanks for the influencers that have brought us to where we are and to the impact group who look to us for leadership and direction in life. Both are critical for a healthy life of leadership.
As a pastor, I focus on something called discipleship. This is the idea of learning from and walking closer to the way of Jesus. We do this by using influencers and impacters. The way we learn and grow is by looking to those who’ve been there…done that. And it becomes scalable and repeatable when we bring others along for the ride. Discipleship has to be an ongoing movement or it simply dies after a generation or two.
Jesus took his lead from his Father. Then shared that with the men and women who we call disciples. What he learned from the Father, he passed on to his followers. We are to do the same thing. Learn from those who feed us knowledge and pass that along to those who will take the reigns after we’re off the scene.
So who are your influencers? And who are you here to impact? Lean into these relationships this year!
