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Influence is powerful, and if used the right way, can make better lives for people. In today’s episode, we’ve got Devin Thorpe with us as he explains why influence is significant and how you could be a good influence on others. Tune in!
Welcome back. Today, we’re talking about influence again and how to be a good influence on others. Stick around for this one. Alright. So, I’ve got Devin Thorpe with me again. He’s demanded to bring into the conversation about influence and social influence. So, on the conversation, we’ve got several points that we talked private or we talked previously about you know, how to be that good influence. But I thought it would be good to kind of set the the foundation first of why. Because I feel so deeply that influence is important. I believe that it’s kind of my pursuit in life to gain more and more influence. But to use that, there’s also obviously a big responsibility to use that influence in a good good way. And I want to get your take on it. Why… You focus a lot of your life in your career around influence. So. why do you feel influence is so important? -In order to create good, influence is the tool. At least for people like you and me, right? That influence is our commodity, if you will. And so to use that and definitely we need to be mindful about using that for good. I guess everyone… Virtually everyone thinks they’re using influence for good who uses influence. I mean, even the Taliban, when they’re making videos and Isis, they think they’re doing good. I mean, I really think they do as tragic as that is. And they think they’re fighting for a good cause and so, I would acknowledge that without even you know, going to the extreme of weighing what the Taliban thinks that there are a lot of people who like disagree about what good is. Still I encourage people to be thoughtful about that. -Yeah. -To put their best selves forward. -Yeah. So, maybe in another video, we’ll cover what is good and what is bad. -Yeah. -I think anything that involves love and kindness? Anyway. -Yes. -Those are… Those are good words, right? -Good. -Murder, bad. -Yeah. Stealing or dishonesty, bad. -Yeah, yeah. -You know, I think about the life that I’m living and I want to make a difference. I want to make an impact, I want to leave a legacy and it all stems back to influence. I think, you know how many people have I been able to you know the impact or to touch their lives and whatnot. So… Alright, so we’ve got that down. If everyone watching this video has that same goal of growing influence and being able to influence others for good, what are some of the the key things that can help us do that? -Well, I think one of the things that’s important is kind of a integrity, right? And when I talk about integrity for an influencer, I think we need to focus on walking our talk, right? We need to focus on doing the things we tell others to do. Because if we’re not doing that, there are a couple of problems that will come up. First off and I question whether any of us can really know the impact of doing a thing, we’re not doing.
Right? So, telling people to do something that we’re not is risky business. -And we see that a lot actually. -Yeah. And then of course, there’s the fact that people will eventually figure out you’re not doing what you’re telling others to do, if you’re not. And so then you you run the list good risk of really losing your audience. -Yeah, I think that’s really important to talk about. Because that we see it a lot and if I were to make a… You know, a Fitness channel and I were to start making a video about how important it is to do push-ups every day or you know… And yet, I wasn’t doing that or something like that. How would I be able to position myself as that expert of that Authority? Another example is at a YouTube conference. There was a person’s… Like their credibility on the stage was diminished so much in my eyes when they were giving advice. Yeah, I’ve heard you know, somebody asked a question and they say well yeah, “I’ve heard this, so I think that you should do this, this and this.” You know. But he then clearly admitted, “Yeah, I haven’t even tried that.” And he’s showing that that’s important to me. So like, “Wait a minute.” If you just said, “I really don’t know.” -Yeah -So… -I remember hearing a woman give a training once on how to do a podcast. Because she had been studying how to do a podcast. And I was literally livid with the organizers of that event. With all the people in the world who do podcasts. That they had brought in and given 20 minutes of my time to a woman who had yet to record her first podcast. I literally was crawling out of my skin. I was so upset that they had wasted my time. And so, yes. That integrity of walking your talk is just an incredibly important. -One other example. And then we’ll move on to some positive examples. But a lot of people go through business school to learn how to operate business but they become employees of a business. Which maybe that’s their plan and their intention. But I always found it ironic that a lot of the professor’s teaching principles of entrepreneurship and about business are oftentimes not entrepreneurs are successful in business themselves. They’re not executives and yet they’re… So, it’s kind of a weird you know, but there are… There are people that are very successful that come in and they’ll teach a specific course. That’s the type of professor I would want. -Sure. -You know, somebody that’s been in the trenches versus an academic that hasn’t done it. -Yeah. -So, okay. So, you’re saying to really make an influence you’ve got to walk your talk. So if you’re teaching something, it’s important that you’re doing that yourself? -Yes. Absolutely. And then there’s a corollary. And it’s… It’s obviously highly related and… But not quite redundant to say we also have to be authentic and talk about our walk. -Does it include mistakes? -I hope it does because you know, you or your channel is highly polished. My channel is not. You know, it’s Awards on all kind of channel. And so, I hope that authenticity comes through and is valuable in a way that’s different in value from the polish that you have on your channel. But yeah. I think authenticity requires us to talk about what we do and create harmony in it. So, it’s a little different angle on this integrity is walking your talk. Authenticity in my mind is talking your walk. Something that comes to mind is LinkedIn. I’ve actually made videos and I’ve made training courses on LinkedIn. But it’s been on a very specific area where I’ve had great results in great success. But as we talked in a previous episode, I haven’t ever tried anything with LinkedIn video. And so, imagine, I could easily… Just because of the position I have with YouTube and in video, I could easily you know, on stage start talking about LinkedIn and have people listen and LinkedIn video specifically. But yet, that would be… I’d be inappropriate because I haven’t… I haven’t done it yet. In a lot of my episodes, I bring in experts like you… -Mm-hmm. -…that some of the things that I think my audience would like to hear but I’m not the expert on. -Right. -Now, I can bring in that. -Well, and a great example of authenticity in my mind would be to share on your YouTube channel your experiment including the data and everything you learned with LinkedIn video, right? So, as you’re beginning to test that and see what works what are the tricks and tweaks. And you can tell them all the things you try and your YouTube followers would eat that up. -Mm-hmm. Would you guys? Comment below if you like to document that as I’m doing these experiments. -I think that I think people would love that. And that but that’s a great example of authenticity, right? Where you’re not saying I know everything. I’m sharing with you what I learned. And so, yeah. I think that would be a great example.
-All right. So, we talked about integrity being that we do what we say. And the authenticity is even sharing our mistakes and and not you know painting facade that’s different than what’s real. Is there is there one that’s more important? Are actions are more important or words are more important? And obviously, they have to be in sync. What would you… Would you say? -Well, I think we have to… What what we do is more important than what we say. And… -Why is that? -And it’s a blurry line for influencers. Because what we do is talk. But still, I think we need to be focused on and be aware of the things that we’re doing so that we’re doing them with integrity and authenticity. So, that we’re leading lives that are above reproach. As much as possible. Everyone’s human but it’s Matt Lauer can tell you, “What what you do off camera is just as important and ultimately more important than what you do on camera.” -Yeah, I like that. So, I’ve got a… I’ve got an example or kind of a illustration in my mind of how real this is. So, I was filming with a client and this guy’s got great expertise, great experiences and he’s picked several topics that were going to film on their “How to style videos.” And in his points, he had prepared several points. But one of them really emphasized his expertise and the others were just kind of like, yeah that’s a good principle. I kind of… Like everyone knows that those things are important. But he didn’t have a really experience with it enough to go into depth. And so, as we started the video, I said, “You know, let’s… Let’s go back to the beginning on this video and let’s put really the focus right here on this point we have expertise.” And I asked him, “Do you have a story that you could share that not only could you teach and talk about the principles of that point but then really illustrated through a story?” And he did. He had a great story. And so, we restarted that video. We went back and kind of skipped over some of the other points that were good points. But that he didn’t really have a story to back up or have a lot of experience with. It made the video so much better. From you know, my perspective and filming it but putting myself in the shoes of all the people are going to be watching. And it’s like, “This video is now going to be really helpful sort for them.” Because it’s not just a regurgitation of things that he’s taught and kind of knows his right and good that he that they’re probably going to see in lots of other videos. But this is the unique piece of that topic that only he can share that’s really valuable. He went back and shared his experience and then it made it a lot more applicable. As like, “Ah, that makes a lot of sense.” And that and it really positioned him wel as an expert. And so, in terms of being able to influence, if I were to watch that video versus how we were almost going to film it, I would definitely be much more influenced or I am much more influenced because I I was able to get that story out of him. So that makes a lot of sense that the actions. And so, kind of my take away of you know, actions kind of speak louder than the words. If we can in our words talk about our actions. Maybe talk about stories. Include stories as where we’re teaching these principles. -Yeah. Absolutely. Stories are so powerful. And it’s much more difficult than people want to admit. Fundamentally, you know, telling a story about our own life experience is relatively easy. -Okay. -But when we’re creating a crowdfunding video for instance. There’s a lot of information that needs to be delivered. But to convey that in a… To give that a story arc so that people are compelled to listen to the whole thing. They want to know how it ends, right? That is very difficult. But it’s hugely powerful. If you can do that, right? So, yeah it’s that art of the story is super powerful. And you know, I try to do it in my writing for Forbes. And it’s really hard to actually create that arc of a story when I’m telling people you know, relating a news event or writing about a person. It’s remarkably difficult to create tension that draws people in to want to… You know, hear the end of what you’re telling them. But that is the goal on everything you do and say. -Definitely applies to video because even in the the beginning of the video, we try and put in a hook. That lets them know why they need to watch it, what they’re going to get at the end. Something like that. -Yeah. -Alright. So, I cheated and I looked at Devin’s notes. So one of your points are something that I certainly agree with it’s that you need to share a message that improves the lives of others. You know, that should be obvious but a lot of people that have helpful messages don’t realize how much of an impact that can make. So, maybe I’ll turn that around. Because I think everyone has an expertise in something. They’ve had experiences and by simply making a how-to video, that shares that experience that answers a question that somebody might have and people then watch that video. You’re helping them out. You’ve really in that moment, you’re you’ve positioned yourself as the hero to them. You’ve helped them. But I want to hear your perspective. -Yeah. Well, I… You’re right. No one’s creating videos I think with the intention of being bad. But I think there are some that don’t have the intention of being good. And there’s an opportunity for everyone to do that to some extent. Everyone has life experience that they can share everyone has value that they can add. And go beyond just entertaining. I think there’s a lot of stuff that’s on YouTube that’s purely entertaining. But like I think about your client and my friend. Our friend Paul Jenkins than you you helped him with his channel. And you know, the content he’s providing for parents to help them deal with the challenges of parenting. My gosh! It’s hugely helpful, right? I mean, the value there are potentially life saving, right? Because one of the most common ways for kids to die is suicide. And if he’s helping parents to parent better, he’s reducing that risk. Every time he… Someone watches one of those videos, so yeah. I mean, he’s he’s out there making a different, saving lives with that message. It’s a great example of you know, what I’m talking about. You know, that that share a message that improves other people’s lives. -See, growing up, when I thought about an influencer or a celebrity, my… I always looked to NBA players or definitely the actors and you know, Harrison Ford or something like that. And the ones that to this day that I admire the most are those who have taken that position of influence and actually used it to influence for good. Because when you’re when you’re a celebrity, people are looking to you, they admire you and whatever you say, they take that as advice. They take that as, “Ooh, I want to be like you so I got a…” And when I’ve seen a celebrity that shown respect, even if it’s just simple things. Like showing respect or showing kindness, showing appreciation for fans. You know, one of them my favorite celebrities that I follow is Will Smith. And I don’t know everything about him. But I’ve seen a lot of good come from him. I’ve seen a lot of good messages come from him. And that’s what I’m talking about is taking your position of influence or celebrity and using it to really do good. And so there’s kind of a mixture. It’s like I have a message to share, I’m definitely going to start creating these how-to videos. And if I happen to have a cute cat video that goes viral, then I’ll just take advantage of that in a good way to help get my message out to more people. -Sure. -Okay, your last point. I’m curious about. Because I don’t know what it means. So, what does be other minded? What does that mean? -Yeah, I think in this context, I’m thinking about this in a couple of different ways. But one is to be really focused on the audience, right? Instead of being focused on yourself, we focused on the audience. What do they want, what do they want to learn, how… What are the problems in their lives that we can help them solve. -That’s actually hard to do. -It is. Like, because you get on stage, you’re just thinking about… You’re thinking about what to say and whatnot. So, how do you do that? -Yeah, so it’s tricky and… Certainly, listening to your feedback is important. Especially from the viewers, right? The people who are you know, in our case with YouTube channels. You know, watching our content we need to be attuned to what people are telling us. We need to interact with people so that they feel safe giving us feedback too.
So, I try to make a point of interacting with people on all of my channels. So, that when they have feedback for me they feel comfortable providing it. But then being other minded, I think is also about trying to put ourselves not just in the shoes of our audience but in the shoes of people who are really differently situated to try as best we can. To understand the life experience of a goat herder in Kenya or a woman who is a midwife in a village in Nepal, right? Their human experience is very different than ours. But just as legitimate. And so having a… Trying to have a mindset where we are mindful of others and their legitimacy. In spite of their differences. -Yeah. I like that. I mean, there’s a lot that I have to learn in that regard as the first example you brought up was this is speaking. You know, speaking to an audience which is an area that I’m brand new to. I’ve only… And so there’s… Majority of the times that I’ve, I’ve taken the stage or walked to the front of the room, I’m just fully consumed with making sure I cover my points. And but it… There’s been other times where I’ve set that aside a little bit and I’ve been less polished. But I’ve just focused on the group and trying to you know, really think about them and what would help them the most and kind of gone complete different direction. And I have mixed feelings about that. Because it’s… I don’t… I don’t know if I would have been more helpful to be more organized. But it that’s kind of the goal that I have. What I… What I have experience is on YouTube. The videos that are the most… The word I was going to say was successful but I also believe influential or impactful. Are those that we really connect with just the one person who’s watching the episode. And if we make a video on how to blank, if I can really think about, “Okay, what is the person that just typed in that search question? What do they really need help with?” And just thinking about, “Okay.” From your perspective. So, if it is somebody that’s you know, if there’s a topic that’s really doing well in India or in Argentina or something like that, maybe I just bring that up because it’s somewhere that’s foreign to me. Trying to put myself in their their shoes and think, “Okay, what advice could I share from my experience that would really help them.” Because I’ve, you know, maybe I shouldn’t make a lot of videos about YouTube or video and my experience. I’ve had a lot of experience with it. And so a lot of my my thinking is at a different level than somebody that’s never picked up a camera before. And so, to kind of put myself in their shoes, it’s like, “Okay, if you push the power button like this…” -Yeah. No, you make a great point is that this approach helps us to remember… And I struggle with this too, right? I… This is something I have to work on constantly but to try to remember that your audience isn’t just made up of your loyal fans who get the preamble but also includes people who are completely new and are really just crying out for basic information. -Yeah, I brought to mind another channel on real estate investing. When we started making videos that really went back to the basics on what is the mortgage. You know, just videos like that. “What is equity?” Those videos have been some of the most popular and well-received so really makes a lot of sense. -Yeah. -Well then, I really appreciate you joining me in this episode. I felt that it was valuable and I hope you guys felt it was valuable. If you liked it, make sure you give it a thumbs-up. If you’ve watched this far in the episode, then you should probably subscribe so you’ll come back tomorrow we’ll see then.