13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. -Acts 4:13-14

In 2009, I got the privilege to go to the Catalyst West Coast Conference. Erwin McManus spoke at several of the sessions I attended and he spoke about a concept he called the 3 spaces of influence.He was talking about how so often, we as Christians want to evangelize to the world, but we only stay in the 1st Space of Influence.

If we’re really going to make an impact for the Kingdom we need to be earning the right to influence people in the second and third spaces of influence as well as raising people up who earn that influence as well. Here are the 3 spaces defined:

1st Space – Minimal Influence. We earn the right to speak to Christians that come to our churches or our immediate circle of influence. Usually we end up influencing only Christians, and not very many of them. We all start in this space with everyone, but if we’ll live our lives for God and do what He puts in our hearts, we’ll be able to move onto the other two spaces of influence.

2nd Space – Earned Influence - You get to influence people in this space because of what you’ve done in the world. Maybe you’ve built a large church, wrote an interesting book, started a business that was a big success, etc. Because of what you’ve done, people respect you and are willing to listen to you.

3rd Space – World Influence - These are people that because of who they are and what they’ve done, they have a platform to influence the world. An example would be Michael Jordan. If Michael Jordan was speaking at a convention in your city, you would go just to hear him. You wouldn’t care what he was speaking on, he’s Michael Jordan, because of what he’s done, he’s earned influence & the right to speak into your life. Christian examples: Billy Graham, Rick Warren, John Maxwell, Mother Theresa, John Wooden.

The questions I’ve been asking myself, and that I’ll ask you is:

What are you doing with your life that is earning or will earn you influence in the 2nd and 3rd space?

Do people outside of the Christian bubble take note of what God has and is doing in your life?

Everyday, we should ask ourselves, what am I doing with my life that will enable me to expand the Kingdom of God? That will help me spread the Word? That will gain me influence with the world?

Ask God those questions, and He’ll put something in your heart, that if you’ll do it, He’ll open up doors for you to influence people in the 2nd and 3rd spaces!

Thoughts?

I finally got around to reading this classic  by Dale Carnegie! Theodore Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

I believe that. Because I believe that, I want to do everything I can to become better at connecting with people. I believe that anyone can learn to be charismatic. I believe anyone can learn  to win friends and influence people. I also believe we all need to develop our people skills as often and as much as we can.

For anyone who is looking to become better with connecting with people, this is hands down a must read!

Buy this Book Here: How To Win Friends and Influence People

Some Highlights:

• 15 percent of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering—to personality and the ability to lead people.

• Dr. Johnson said: “God himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days.” Why should you and I?

• Sigmund Freud said that everything you and I do springs from two motives: the sex urge and the desire to be great.

• If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are. That determines your character. That is the most significant thing about you.I shall pass this way but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

• Emerson said: “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.”

• “If there is any one secret of success,” said Henry Ford, “it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”

• You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

• Jim Farley discovered early in life that the average person is more interested in his or her own name than in all the other names on earth put together.

• Whenever Roosevelt expected a visitor, he sat up late the night before, reading up on the subject in which he knew his guest was particularly interested.

• William James said: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”There is an old saying: “Give a dog a bad name and you may as well hang him.” But give him a good name—and see what happens!

When I was 18 years old, one of my mentors, Pastor Larry Bettencourt, handed me a CD with a leadership lesson on it. The lesson was called “Standing Tall” by John C. Maxwell. I never heard of him and I definitely never listened to a leadership CD before that time.

I put the CD in my CD players and within 5 minutes I was hooked! I didn’t know the lesson came with notes, so I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down everything John was saying. I rewound the lessons a few dozen times.

After listening to the lesson, I called Pastor Larry and said, “I want more of this! Give me everything you got!” Over the course of that next year, I’d literally take a lesson home each night and listen to it before bed. I would take some of Maxwell’s leadership DVD curriculum home and go through it over a weekend. I devoured everything I could!

John Maxwell has been a catalyst to so many changes in my life. So much of who I am and what I do is a result of John’s teachings.

To this day, I read everything he writes and still listen to his monthly leadership lessons. Without a doubt, he has been one of the most influential people in my life.

I love John because he was a pastor for 25 years and through his leadership training, he has positioned himself to be influential not only in the church world, but in the government world, education world, business world, etc. He uses the influence God gave him to make a difference for God. That’s definitely a dream and passion of my heart. I’m grateful for John paving the way!

Tonight I get to hear John speak in person for the first time ever. It’s always been a dream of mine to hear him live and get the opportunity to meet him! I’m hoping he’ll be doing a book signing after service so I get the chance to meet him. If I do, you’ll hear about it, trust me! I’m so fired up!

Who has had a huge impact on your life from a distance that you’ve never met or heard live before?