Stephen M. Hannemann

Influence

Author: Stephen

We seldom think about influence. We see people who we deem “influential” but rarely think of influence in terms of ourselves. Allow me to add a bit of perspective. We are all persons of influence.

One morning many years ago, “Good Morning America” had invited an astronaut to preview a new book, a collection of photographs taken from outer space by American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. Every year they would gather in Switzerland and share experiences, information and photographs. The book, titled The Home Planet, showcased their collection of spectacular photographs. During the interview, the astronaut made a profound comment while one of his images of Earth filled my television screen. His statement went something like this; “As I took this photo, I was filled with the irrefutable knowledge that a supreme being created the planet before me. I could see it in its entirety from my vantage point in space. In that moment I knew I was viewing the home of the human family. And as human beings, we are all interconnected in such a way that anything we do will affect all of humanity in some way.” I sat awestruck by the power of his statement. Unfortunately, at nearly age 50, I did not have the maturity to do anything with it.

We have been given a grand opportunity with the gift of life. If you are a fairly normal human being, you don’t often enough think about this gift or the influence you have on your brothers and sisters. You may think you have no influence at all.

You are wrong.

I love watching my wife Yvonne. She blesses me more than she will ever know. I love introducing her to others because of their response to her. They delight in her and respond and mirror her gregarious spirit. She influences people without being aware of it. And they remember, without knowing their day is better for the experience.

As a writer and speaker, I have also become a fulltime observer. I observe the little things that influence others. I do this because my latest goal in life is to pick up the thread the astronaut spoke about nearly 20 years ago. My goal is to share what I observe and learn with my family – the family of humanity – and in some small way, make my family healthier and happier. Sometimes I observe unhappy people, negative and sarcastic, and I witness the atmosphere deteriorate around them. I refuse to let them have a negative effect on me. As I have learned from Yvonne, “Why waste your energy?” I’ve witnessed how prolonged exposure to negativity erodes a happy spirit and energy.

Yvonne and I live on an island and we often ride the ferry together. Once in a while we come across a ferry booth worker who is grumpy for one reason or another. That’s when I bet Yvonne I can make him or her smile. I have to be quick, because generally, there is a line behind us of people trying to get to work. I am pretty good at getting grumpy people to smile. And Yvonne will always take my bet and is always happy to lose.

I am very fortunate in that I recently received some feedback from someone who heard a brief talk I gave. It moved her to take action. She had contemplated an issue for some time and grieved that nothing was being done about it. A one or two minute portion of my talk stimulated her to take action. I can’t deny how gratifying it is when you learn you’ve had an influence in someone’s life. It is rare you get the feedback.

With certainty, I can tell you that you do influence others, and you will influence others in the future. Count on it. A simple smile, a cheerful greeting, a helping hand, opening a door, all just little things, but they make a difference. Bigger opportunities will come and they are continually in front of all of us. Let’s not fail to recognize them. They may come disguised as Commitment.

Remember, the most powerful influence of all is love. Love your self. Love your life. Love your family. And in loving others, you will be an influence.

Live well.

Stephen

© Stephen M. Hannemann – All rights reserved

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 10:03 pm and is filed under Motivation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.