How to Become a Master Influencer

 LEARN HOW TO CHANGE HEARTS, MINDS AND BEHAVIORS
 
This week will be a steep mountain climb as we ascend together up one of the most difficult challenges faced by leaders everywhere — how to effectively influence human behavior.
 
While this is not an easy task, no matter who you are, or what you do, you likely will never learn a more valuable or important set of principles and skills.  John Maxwell says that leadership is simply influence, leaders rise and fall based on their ability to influence others.
 
“Who shall set a limit to the influence of a human being?” 
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

CHANGING BEHAVIOR
Do you wish you had more influence with the people in your life?  Do you want to motivate others to change?  Do you want to know how to cause yourself (and others) how to replace bad behavior with powerful new skills?  And, most of all, do you want to make things happen?
 
If so, you are at the right place, because this week you will be learning the common set of theories, and principles employed by high-powered influencers from all walks of life.  To tap into the power of influence to reach out to help others work smarter, grow faster, live healthier and even save lives, let us journey together down a very exciting path traveled everyday by extraordinary change agents.
 
First things first!  To change someone’s behavior, you must go back to the beginning so to speak.  The outward behavior you, or others, exhibit is actually a reflection of 5 preceding things.  In fact, the entire flowchart consists of 8 elements as follows:
 
Any effort to change someone’s behaviors (or habits, or consequences) will, at best be short-lived, and very likely not result in any change, unless you impact and change the preceding elements.  To change the direction, speed and/or effectiveness of the caboose, you need to change the engine. 
 
So, to change behaviors, first change the beliefs, so you can change the thoughts, so you can affect the will, so you can alter the emotions, so you can impact the spoken words, which will change the behavior, which will result in different consequences, which will lead toward the development of new habits.
 
Influence masters understand that people will attempt to change their behaviors if two key conditions are met:  1) They believe it will be worth it; and 2) If they believe they can do what is required.  These two keys boil down to a person asking —-
 
Am I able?           and           Am I motivated?
 
To change one or both of these views, most amateur influences rely on verbal persuasion, but talk rarely works on persistent and resistant problems.  Rather, you must help individuals experience for themselves the benefits of the new or changed behaviors.  Tomorrow we explore just how to create those experiences.
 
“Hard work pays off in the future.  Laziness pays off now!”  - Steven Wright

DAILY PRAYER 
Father, help us change ourselves first, by working on the inside before we move to the outside.  Our example of personal growth and positive change is a powerful influencer.  Give us courage to lead the way.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Become a master influencer by being a student of influence, practice what you learn, lead by your own example.
 
Grace and peace multiplied to you.