Today, there is information all around us as there is influence.
Rewind back to the 1990s, and you might’ve been influenced by The Spice Girls’ debut with “Tell me what you want” or swooning to Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones’s Diary, but these days the idea of influence has morphed and changed.
Today, it isn’t about making it big in Hollywood, debuting on MTV (remember those days?!), or even having a large social following (hello 2000’s) by being an influencer. With mental images of pouting lips, sunscreen, or a water bottle being promoted, it’s easy to feel disassociated with the word influence.
Today the issue with information is that there is too much of it, and sifting through what you need first, second, and third can lead you down several rabbit holes and choosing the wrong path or making choices not right for you for the stage you are in. Gone are the days when you pulled out the encyclopedia from your grandad’s old bookshelf from 5 years prior.
Amid all this information, influence and noise are where opportunities lie to find and discover your voice. The question I asked recently was, “are connections more important than finding your voice?”
It’s a question with duality, though, if you think about it because, on the one hand, you need connections for some feedback as you build your voice, and these are people and connections for whom you are the right choice for the stage at where you are today. As you morph and change, the voices of others will get louder as your path changes. Similarly, new people come into your life as you find your voice. So, going bigger isn’t always better, as cited in Forbes article on micro-influencers.
It’s concurrent, meaning one cannot happen without the other, and that is why waiting for everything to be perfect is a sign you are not giving the best chance to find your voice and gain visibility early in your journey to help you mould and shape your voice.
Not so much about letting others mould your voice, but more so letting the sculptor of time and experience do its trick on refining your messaging by starting at a place and pace that is right for where you are now.
This brings me to the topic of influence or, rather, micro influence.
As you find your voice and gain real-time feedback by actively working on putting yourself out there, micro influence can be best described as the ability to imprint. Every day we go about scrolling through our social media feeds, and there are people who stand out, who you stop and pay attention to, and give your time of day, and that is a micro influence.
So it comes down to the currency of influence, which in today’s world is attention.
I’ve posted on social media, ripped the bandaid off, and made myself visible despite being having every label under my belt.
Introvert, tick. English as a second language? Tick. Having an accent? Tick. Shy? Tick. Bullied? Tick. Cancer Survivor? Tick. Not having an offer? Tick. Not knowing everything? Tick.
Excuses will keep you right where you are. Imperfect action is the only thing that counts.
So choose to be visible.
Am I posting on social media every day? Nope.
I have children, a family, commitments, and a full life like everyone else, and I show up in some way or the other. Maybe not every week on exactly the same day. But I have given myself the permission to be perfectly okay with being imperfect.
Because building micro-influence takes time, building something takes time, and building something that is bigger than yourself takes time.
But slowly, like building a bridge, painting a work of art, crafting your words, or working on your videos, the tapestry of influence gets knitted together, and it takes time to build and craft it.
So don’t wait for one day, because one day will come regardless, but you miss out on the chance to make an impact and leave your imprint, help someone on their journey through your unique way.
Find your voice, be seen.
You may also want to read about The 3 ways to build confidence with visibility.