Using Your Circle of Influence to Create Success

Look closely at your surroundings and you'll see opportunities for success. Also look to your upbringing for clues to success. Much of what we are stems from what we were.

If however, you are not happy with your current level of success in life, you can make conscious decisions that will improve your future surroundings. This sounds intuitive, even obvious, but it's not. It's difficult, but possible, to break out of the past patterns that have and will shape our lives if we let them.

The first thing to do is to understand what it is you want. All too often we head off in a new direction without a clear plan of success. Think about the world around you; where are you and where would you rather be? Who is around you and do they contribute to your success? What do you do and what would you prefer to do? Perhaps Jiminy Cricket, of Disney fame, said it best "If you don't have a dream, how can you have a dreamcometrue?"

Since you are undergoing this process you are already thinking change. But you must also think influence. What changes in your behavior, meaning changes in your personality, will be lead you to future success? Be modest in your expectations of change. You can make a conscious change in who you are and where you are going, but you don't get the chance to completely start over.

So now that you have a list of changes you will make, just go out and make them, right? No, it's not as easy of a task as it sounds. Your changes need to be addressed one-by-one. Scientific data indicates that it takes about a month for your brain to learn and accept a new pattern. Further, it doesn't do well with multiple signals. You are after all "burning" a new pattern into your subconsciousness so that the new behavior can become an automatic part of you.

And while you are retraining your brain to accept new behavior patterns try to keep it supplied with positive input. In today's world we are constantly bombarded with negative feedback and bad news. TV news reports the muggings, not the little boy that saved his neighbor's dog. The talk around the water cooler at work centers on complaints about how things are instead of ways to make things better. To the extent possible avoid exposure to these kinds of events.

Look more closely at the people around you. Think about which of them is in your circle of influence. Do they improve your chances of getting to where you want to be? Be proactive in your choices. Seek out new people that are consistent with your success plans. Have you decided to become an environmental lawyer? Think about where your influence will benefit you there. Then other environmentalists and lawyers are most likely to best support your efforts.

Success in life is rarely automatic. You will need to direct your progress toward success, and your circle of influence will help you achieve that.