We all have heard of influencers, people who have the uncanny knack of getting people to follow them.
They lead the pack and are highly sought after by marketers.
Gladwell expounds on this topic and shares profound knowledge on influencer’s and his or her role in making an idea viral in his book, The Tipping Point.
In The Tipping Point, this is what Malcolm Gladwell had to say
“There are exceptional people out there who are capable of starting epidemics. All you have to do is find them” (Goodreads).
They are out there, but the fact is the sheer number of the influenced outweigh the influencers.
It is so easy to jump on somebody else’s bandwagon because it is already moving.
But riding someone else’s momentum will never bring you to achieve what you set out to achieve. It may get you to a destination faster but not necessarily your destination, and definitely not on your own merits.
You must be the person capable of ” starting epidemics.”
Building your dream and legacy and becoming the architect of your dream’s means being an influencer not being the one influenced.
It means avoiding the herd mentality, the desire to follow.
“You must create your own herd and get others to join it” – Gladwell David & Goliath
“Successful people are really herd creators and herd movers.” Gladwell David & Goliath
It is more than worth it from time to time to stop and take inventory. Ask yourself the important questions.
- Am I riding the trend or am I setting the trend?
- Do I often find myself going with the flow?
- Do I often echo the sentiment of the majority?
- Do I wait for others to weigh in before I make up my mind?
- Do the perceptions and ideas of others drive me?
- Am I a follower or a leader?
- Am I a master builder or just a bricklayer?
If you find yourself answering the affirmative to any of these it is probably time to make changes.
It is time to explore who you really are apart from everyone else and stand up and be that person.
Don’t let others hold sway over you.
“Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push—in just the right place—it can be tipped” – Gladwell (Goodreads).
You are the master of your soul the captain of your sea.
As echoed in the lyrics of Believer by Imagine Dragons
When you are sick and tired of building the dreams of others, with the way things are, then you will be ready to be an influencer and ready to tip the world on its axis.
Lyrics to Believer by Imagine Dragons
First things first
I’ ma say all the words inside my head
I’m fired up and tired of the way that things have been, oh ooh
The way that things have been, oh ooh
Second thing second
Don’t you tell me what you think that I can be
I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea, oh ooh
The master of my sea, oh ooh
Works Cited
Goodreads. “The Tipping Point Quotes.” Web.
Gladwell Malcolm. David & Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.
London; England, The Penguin Group.
Inspiraelevation 