By Gina Lovick, Renaissance Speakers Clearwater

“You don’t have to be a ‘person of influence’ to be influential.”

Our lives matter. This is indeed life-giving news to each of us. To some degree, we want to live lives of significance—lives that make a difference in the world around us. Living is the action of influencing life in the pursuit of happiness.

As a result, our world cares deeply about influence. We pay for it, fight for it, and study how to get more of it. Our world measures it, ranks it, and ascribes it to people for foolish reasons. But in our constant struggle to attain influence, we often miss out on one very important truth: We already have it! Each of us is already an influencer of others.

To live is to influence. Whenever and wherever our lives interact with others (at home, at work, on-line, or in our community), we have influence. We change lives. We affect people every single day with the words we say, the looks on our face, the actions we choose, and the decisions we make. Toastmasters is a way to extend the reach of your influence.

The interactions we have in this world offer both a great and challenging opportunity. They can be positive or negative. They can add value to the lives of others, or they can take value away. As Toastmasters we have an edge. We learn to forward our influence as an important agent for change. It can make our world a better place to be. There are no neutral humans in this world. We are all influencers at some level.

Every day, whether we interact with 5 people, 50 people, or 500, our lives matter and produce a ripple effect that extends far beyond us. Let’s model integrity, celebrate growth, encourage strength, and push for positive change.

Speak Out!