During her last show, Oprah Winfrey’s said, “Each one of you has a platform, your circle of influence.” I wondered how many people heard that and took it to heart.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, you can create change in the world. You can teach your children, influence your neighbors, reach readers through a blog or book, speak at your church or to organizations, produce a newsletter you email to your friends, affect the life of the person whom you sit next to on a train or bus. We all have a way to extend our reach and become change agents.
You don’t have to be Oprah reaching millions of viewers on a television talk show each day to have a circle of influence. What’s your circle of influence, and do you use it?
Maybe you’re wondering why you should want to use your circle of influence. After all, not everyone wants to be a change agent.
Here’s the thing. The world needs change agents right now. Although change is a constant, we are on the cusp of major change. Many people are talking about the year 2012 and the Mayan calendar and how consciousness will make a major change at that time. In fact, consciousness is simply changing all the time. It’s just speeding up a bit as time goes on and moving towards a culmination. The Kabbalists, or Jewish mystics, don’t see that time coming yet. All wisdom teachings and teachers agree that it’s time for humanity to raise it’s consciousness–to make a leap. And to do that we must all become change agents and help each and the plant through this transformational period.
How can you do that? Figure out what you know, what you love, what you feel passionate about. Figure out what you feel is your mission or purpose. Do you feel on some deep level that God has a plan for you? That you are “supposed” to be doing something? Maybe it’s simply to teach people how to compost, to save horses from being slaughtered, to assist people in learning to meditate, or bring God into the workplace. Whatever you feel passionate about is likely welded to your purpose. And this may be your path to becoming a change agent.
Follow it. And then use your circle of influence, no matter how small, to create change in the world.
