Who are you listening to or getting advice from? Your center of influence can very easily determine your success or failure. You’ve probably heard this old statement before, “take the salary or income of the top 5 people you associate with (i.e. your inner circle) and your income will be pretty close to the average.” 
As it turns out, we as small business owners and entrepreneurs have become all too complacent with those we allow into our inner circle. In other words, our center of influence needs to be validated periodically to make sure the advice given is congruent with our goals and objectives. If your center of influence is not helping you challenge yourself and guide you to greatness, then it’s time to make some changes.
I was listening to a daily morning wake up call held by the marketing community we are part of and was astonished and amazed at one of the examples of a person’s inner circle that was given by the host of the call. The host of this call was speaking about someone on his team who was starting to feel a little unsure about the deal or opportunity they were involved in. This team member expressed this issue and referenced an article or blog post that raised the concern. The host of the call suggested the team member forward the article so they could review and discuss together.
When the host received the article, it turned out it was not an article at all, but a string of comments taken from some forum website or post. After reading through the string of comments, the host was made aware of the comment that raised the concern. This comment basically said, “as far as I can tell this appears to be a scam.” The comment was made by someone named “Smokey the Bear”.
Hmmm? When did people with names like “Smokey the Bear” become authority figures online pertaining to small home businesses and worthy of listening to their opinions? Are you getting advice from “Smokey the Bear” and letting it drive your decisions?
Doing your due diligence and research on a company is one thing but allowing opinions to take you off course is absurd. Always evaluate and understand the source of information like this before making a decision. To put this into perspective, the company they were speaking of has been in business at least 10+ years with a good record in the industry (for reference sake, we are not affiliated with this company in any way).
The surprising part was just the mere fact that somehow this person let “Smokey the Bear” become part of their inner circle. This is a big mistake in your journey to success. Make sure your center of influence is qualified in the advice they are giving or opinions they offer. In other words, seek the opinions of those who have achieved success in the area or field you are looking for a breakthrough in.
Don’t ever let “Smokey the Bear’s” opinion put out your fire.
Image courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Leave A Comment