Dornan Jim - Becoming a person of influence: how to positively impact the lives of others

Copyright 1997 by Maxwell Motivation, Inc., a California Corporation

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, and distributed in Canada by Word Communications, Ltd., Richmond, British Columbia.

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Scripture quotations noted NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maxwell, John C., 1947
Becoming a person of influence : how to positively impact the lives of others / John Maxwell and Jim Dornan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-7852-8839-2 (repak)
ISBN 0-7852-7100-7 (hardcover)
1. Influence (Psychology) 2. SuccessPsychological aspects.
I. Dornan, Jim. II. Title.
BF774.M38 1997
158.2dc21

9723001
CIP

Printed in the United States of America

06 07 08 09 10 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To all those who have been people of influence in our lives,
and especially to Eric Dornan,
whose life, experiences, and attitude
have contributed more significantly
than anything else
to Jim and Nancys ability to positively influence people.

Contents

W hen the two of us met a few years ago, we sensed instantly that there was great chemistry between us, almost like that of brothers. We had so much in commondespite having very different backgrounds. Jim has spent the last thirty years in the business environment teaching people how to become successful. In the process, he built a worldwide business organization. On the other hand, John has spent the last twenty-eight years working in a nonprofit environment as a pastor, denominational executive, and motivational speaker. He is recognized as one of the top equippers in the United States in leadership and personal growth development.

What we have in common is an understanding of people and of the positive impact that one persons life can have on others. And it all boils down to one idea: influence. We know the power of influence, and we want to share it with you.

So please join us and continue reading. Were going to give you many of our insights, tell some entertaining and informative stories, and share dynamite principles that have the power to change your lifeand the lives of all the people you can influence.

T here are special people in our lives whose encouragement and assistance have made this book possible:

To Margaret Maxwell, whose positive support has made it possible for her husband to become a person of influence.

To Nancy Dornan, an incredible influencer to her husband, her family, and hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

To Mea Brink, for her ideas and assistance on this project.

To Stephanie Wetzel, for her proofing and editing.

To Linda Eggers, the greatest assistant any person could ever have.

To Charlie Wetzel, our writer, for his partnership on this book.

W hen you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you dream about being a famous actor or singer? How about president of the United States? Maybe you wanted to become an Olympic athlete or one of the wealthiest people in the world. We all have dreams and ambitions. Undoubtedly, youve accomplished some of yours. But no matter how successful you are now, you still have dreams and goals that are waiting to be fulfilled. And our desire is to help you realize the dreams, to help you realize your potential.

Lets start by doing a little experiment. Take a look at the following list of people. Its quite a diverse group, but they all have one thing in common. See if you can figure out what it is.

JOHN GRISHAM
GEORGE GALLUP
ROBERT E. LEE
DENNIS RODMAN
JAMES DOBSON
DAN RATHER
MADONNA
HIDEO NOMO
JERRY AND PATTY BEAUMONT
RICH DEVOS
MOTHER TERESA
BETH MEYERS
PABLO PICASSO
ADOLF HITLER
TIGER WOODS
ANTHONY BONACOURSI
ALANIS MORRISETTE
GLENN LEATHERWOOD
BILL CLINTON
JOHN WESLEY
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Influence doesnt come to us instantaneously. It grows by stages.

Have you figured it out? What do they have in common? It certainly isnt their professions. The names have been drawn from lists of writers and statesmen, sports figures and artists, evangelists and dictators, actors and business professionals. Both men and women are included. Some are single and others are married. They are of various ages. And many ethnic groups and nationalities are represented. Some of the people are famous, and you probably recognize their names. But you have undoubtedly never heard of others. So whats the key? What do they all have in common? The answer is that every one of them is a person of influence.

EVERYONE HAS INFLUENCE

We created this list almost at random, selecting well-known people as well as ones from our lives. You could just as easily do the same thing. We did it to make a point: Everyone is an influencer of other people. It doesnt matter who you are or what your occupation is. A politician, such as the president of the United States, has tremendous influence on hundreds of millions of people, not only in his own country but around the globe. And entertainers, such as Madonna and Arnold Schwarzenegger, often influence an entire generation of people in one or more cultures. A teacher, such as Glenn Leatherwood, who instructed John and hundreds of others boys in Sunday school, touches the lives of his own students and also indirectly influences all the people those boys grow up to influence.

But you dont have to be in a high-profile occupation to be a person of influence. In fact, if your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer. Everything you do at home, at church, in your job, or on the ball field has an impact on the lives of other people. American poet-philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said, Every man is a hero and an oracle to somebody, and to that person, whatever he says has an enhanced value.

If your desire is to be successful or to make a positive impact on your world, you need to become a person of influence. Without influence, there is no success. For example, if youre a salesperson wanting to sell more of your product, you need to be able to influence your customers. If youre a manager, your success depends on your ability to influence your employees. If youre a coach, you can build a winning team only by influencing your players. If youre a pastor, your ability to reach people and grow your church depends on your influence with your congregation. If you want to raise a strong, healthy family, you have to be able to influence your children positively. No matter what your goals are in life or what you want to accomplish, you can achieve them faster, you can be more effective, and the contribution you make can be longer lasting if you learn how to become a person of influence.

If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer.

An amusing story about the impact of influence comes from the administration of President Calvin Coolidge. An overnight guest at the White House was having breakfast with Coolidge one morning, and he wanted to make a good impression on the president. He noticed that Coolidge, having been served his coffee, took the coffee cup, poured some of its contents into a deep saucer, and leisurely added a little bit of sugar and cream. Not wanting to breach any rules of etiquette, the visitor followed the commander in chiefs lead, and he poured some of his coffee into his saucer and added sugar and cream. Then he waited for the presidents next move. He was horrified to see him place the saucer on the floor for the cat. No one reported what the visitor did next.