I’m intending to write on the nature of power in this article. Specifically, the power of influence. How do you influence another human being? I am a life coach, and this inquiry has resulted from me trying to attract clients and attempting to influence people to transform their lives. In the past, my results were often futile and frustrating. I would labor for hours and years trying to get people to buy from me in previous businesses. I would try to get people to do what I wanted, but it seldom worked. At the end of it, I was broke, both financially and spiritually.

I no longer believed in myself. I felt like I had no power at all. I was hopeless. I knew that nothing I could do would ever work. Why did so many other people have so much more power than I did? Why couldn’t I attract clients? I couldn’t force them at gunpoint to do what I wanted.

So I embarked on a journey to get power. My own power. I knew I must have had some power somewhere inside, and I was determined to get to it. The way I cultivated my power was learning to trust myself bit by bit. Trusting the still voice inside me. The small voice. The voice that lies underneath the blasting fear and the reverberating voices from others. The still voice inside me always knew what was right. And when I trusted that voice, heeded that voice, and acted upon that voice, I always had limitless power. Whenever I was too afraid to heed it or thought I should do something different, I always lost my power.

Power is truth. Truth is power. The still voice inside was the voice of truth. The voice of power. That voice has never let me down. At times, holding onto that voice scared me to death, destroyed my plans and crumbled my reality. Many times over. I had to learn to let go of everything I thought my life was and every bit of who I was. At times I’ve felt like the craziest person in the world listening to my voice. That voice has taken me out of my past, out of the loser I thought I was and back to reclaim my power.

That voice has gone against some important people in my life and some strong influences. That voice went against the life path I had set out for myself in being an engineer. That voice caused me to marry a girl that otherwise I never would have given the chance. That voice caused me to believe in myself bit by bit, as much as I could implement without being overwhelmed.

That voice is what has caused me to become a successful life coach today. That voice is the voice of influence. Not only does it influence me, but just the act alone of following the voice is the very thing that influences others. It influences others indirectly by witnessing my actions. And the voice influences them directly by the actions it urges me to take to contribute to those around me.

I would’ve stayed being an engineer. I didn’t need or want all this extra work. I didn’t want to overcome the massive fear I felt with sales, business and my own confidence. I could’ve earned all the money I needed as an engineer. But I had to follow the voice. I do what I do because I’m following the voice.

And right now the voice is teaching me about influence. And influencing others comes by embracing the voice you have. Think of Paul Potts who got up to sing on Britain’s Got Talent. He was just heeding the voice inside him, literally. Think of the influence he’s had on the world and the inspiration he’s caused in others inadvertently just by following his voice.

Why is the voice the source of all influence? Because the voice is truth. Truth is power. And power is love. All these things are synonymous. And love is the ultimate influence there is. With force or hate, you can only twist someone else’s arm against his will. With love, they rush to do whatever you inspire them and they carry it to others. Force requires guns, armies, money, media and propaganda. Love requires nothing. Just more love.

With penetrating love, you powerfully influence people and inspire them to do what you want. And what you want if you come from a place of love is for them to be happy and to do what they love and to inspire them to do so. That’s all the voice really says. The voice just tells us how to love and serve humanity. The voice continues to call us to do so. And that’s what influence is.

So if you want to be a successful life coach or successful in sales or influencing others, then just remember to follow the voice and to follow the infinite love inside you.