Chapter eleven
INFLUENCING OTHERS WITH YOUR LIGHT
The major reason we carry light is for illumination, that’s why the light is most important where there is darkness. Our light also is to influence others who are going through dark moments in their lives. Every gift you have inside you is to influence some person some way that some other person won't. Because everyone is unique, we each differently carry possibilities that are uniquely us and that is also able to influence others in that unique way.
The only way people know your gifts and talent is useful is when you challenge and inspire them with it. You would have heard some person say “that person has a great talent, I’m always inspired by the way she sings or talks on radio” it’s same for any other gift. The reality of your light gifting is that it isn’t meant for you. It’s meant for others.
You may be aware you have some great gift but if others don’t feel the influence, you don’t have anything there. I’m not in any way demeaning your capacity. What I mean is that it just has to find a way out to the view of people even if you are criticized.
Of course, the fact that you are being criticized for your gifts is a sign that there is so much about it that has not reveal itself yet. Those critical mouths want to see that side. Those who think your work isn’t influencing them want you to influence them so they criticize you to cause you to put in more energy. Those who give up however because of criticism are the ones who give up too easily and don’t see that side that criticism stirs.
When I started my leadership center, I was criticized on all side. I didn’t have much money and as a result, I couldn’t put in everything I thought would be great for a leadership center. But I started anyway because I believed strongly in the possibilities that could happen with leadership center. I knew I was about to make a great influence. People hanged around criticizing me and how small I was starting. One person even asked if I would be able to pay the teachers I was going to employ. I’m glad that today more than one year after, I have ten staff working with me and I’ve not gone by one month without paying them. However the criticisms, the center has blossomed.
When you have a light that’s bound to influence people, it may not be the best state at the beginning so it allows for critical minds who think you should give it up. When the critics come, it is because there is better you can do and they want to be convinced by the extra you will do.
Now about influencing people, one could have positive or negative influence. Smokers influence others to become smokers like themselves, robbers influence people to become robbers. You too can influence people to be what and how you think.
It’s a thing of joy to have people who look up to you and think you are mentoring them just because they listen to you, read your books or watch your videos. It great when someone thinks you are amazing and want to be just like you. When you experience such situation, your light is actually blazing
I remember holding a bible meeting with a group of young people. During the meeting, a lady was in tears but she left the meeting in tears. A few days later, she came to me and said that what I had told them the other day had touched her and she was promising me to do just as I had told them to do. I was amazed that I had just influenced one person.
I’ve had people email me on how my books have helped influence them and I’m filled with joy that a light from me is evolving into others. This keeps me going.
Light supplies warmth. When your talent is used at influencing people positively, there’s a warm feeling that arrives to you who supplies the warmth and to those you are transmitting the warmth too. There’s this mesmerizing effect that you feel and this stimulating effect that tends to propel you into even delivering your talent better than you have always done while people are also stimulated to discover their talent and do well with it.
Our level of influence will depend very much on how much of your light is radiating to the world around us. The much farther it travels the more influential we become. The most influential persons on the surface of the earth are men and women whose influence level traverses beyond their country or continent to hundred of nations across the world from their immediate nation of residence and perhaps nationality.
Don’t be a carrier of negative light potential; you’d be influencing people negatively. Amazingly, negative charge travels faster than positive charge; negative traits tend to have faster influence than positive potentials so that before one is aware, that bad habit has being transferred. Good virtues take more time and would require perseverance to make much impact so you have to keep at doing well. What’s great about positive light potentials is that once it begins to make an impact, it just goes on and on.