Circles of Influence

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I was listening to a podcast today, where they said if you have problems knowing what to write about, or you’ve hit a block, write about something that angers you.

This is easy. I could write about any number of things that we’ve all read in a newspaper, and get good and angry about that. 

But I can’t do anything about it. If there is an event that we read about in a newspaper, it is, by definition, out of my circle of influence.

My circle of influence is pretty small. I live inside of it, as does my wife. Everyone else can pretty much choose if they want to be influenced by me. 

By reading this, you’re becoming part of my circle of influence. You may choose to not be influenced by me, but you have to make that decision, you have to respond. So I’m influencing you.

The words on my screen are the extent of my circle of influence. I have thoughts, I jot them down on my computer, and hit publish. And you can then read them. 

So, if you are inside of my circle of influence, how is it even remotely helpful for me to get angry about something and share it with you? That’s wasting both of our time. 

I’d much rather use this opportunity to impart something of value to you.

So here’s a value-adding article for you: https://sivers.org/hsu (He makes a case that you should aim to be happy, smart, and useful. Not just one or two of those things.)

-Josh