Surround Yourself With Positive Influences
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Surround Yourself With Positive Influences.
Having positive influences in your life can make all the difference in the world. Positive influences are usually people we look up to. People who inspire you to want more out of life for yourself. It could be Lebron James, Tiger Woods or Oprah Winfrey. Or it could be someone much closer to you like an aunt, uncle, brother or sister.
I had 2 positive influences in my life
that always pushed me to do better in my life. For me It was my uncle Gerald and my football coach Mr Rutledge. They were the positive influences that inspired me to want more out of my life, more out of myself. As a little boy my uncle Gerald was like a super hero to me. He was like Hercules with those huge muscles I thought he could pick up a house with no problem (I know funny right!). To me he represented someone big and strong and I wanted to be like him.
More than that though he took the time to come by and see me. He would pick me up and take me places with him and just give me words of encouragement. For a young kid growing up without a father that can be all it takes to turn a young man around in his life. I know there are many of you that can relate to this. He was one of the positive influences in my life to help me move in the direction of wanting more in my life. It’s just little things like that can make all the difference in the world in a kids life. Another person who was a big influence in my life was my high school football coach his name was Mr Rutledge. Now Mr Rutledge was the type of man that he was willing to help any young kid. To me he was more like a father figure.
When I moved to Columbus OH at the age of 14 I didn’t have a lot of friends at the time. When I was playing football and needed a pair of shoes because I couldn’t afford them Mr Rutledge would step up and take care of it. Or if I was having problems at home Mr Rutledge was always there for me. He would even come by my house if he needed to.
He saw the potential in me on the football field that I didn’t yet see in myself. He would always encourage me to work harder and I had the potential to play college football. Well I did work harder and because of it I was a 2 time all city, all district football player and made all state my senior year. All because he got me to believe in myself. Well sure enough because of his influence and ability to get me to want more out of my life I was able to go to college on a full scholarship. You see it was those positive influences in my life that had a direct effect on the type of man I became.
I know many people can relate to my story and several of you have similar stories of your own. As I have gotten older I still have people who inspire me and push me everyday to want more out of my life financially, spiritually and emotionally. People like Tracey Walker and David Wood and David Sharpe with the Empower Network, my pastor Kenny Moore.
It is those positive influences that drive you, motivate you in a direction that ultimately changed my life and put me on a path to want to create a better life for myself financially, spiritually and emotionally.
I highly encourage you to tap into those positive influences in your life. Follow there guidance because the one thing I know is that those people will not steer you wrong and want you to exceed abundantly in your life. Strive to become a better husband, wife, father , mother to your kids. Be a person that is a positive influence to others and it will come back to you 10 times.
The positive influences taught me one very important thing be a person that gives and the world will open up to you.