Energy and Influence. One is your choice. The other is not.

Have you ever stopped to think about how you, as a leader, parent, partner, and friend influence the world around you?

Have you ever taken the time to consider the impact you have on those you meet every day?

Whether you realize it or not, you make a difference in this world.

You make a difference whether you intend to or not.

You make a difference whether you want to or not.

The reality is this, making a difference is not your choice. The only choice you have is the type of difference you will make.

The moment you open your eyes you interact with the world around you. The moment you hop on a video call or take up space in a meeting room, you are making an impact. You are positively or negatively influencing those around you.

Every word you choose to say has an impact. The tone you use when you say those words has an impact. The nonverbal expressions you choose to express have an impact. The attitude you choose to convey has an impact.

You are either a bright light or a shadow of darkness. Which you choose to be is up to you. How you choose to influence the world around you is up to you.

Whether or not you will influence the world around you is quite honestly not your choice.

Therefore, why not make the conscious choice to influence the world with positive and constructive energy? Why not make the conscious choice to approach life in a manner that will lead toward constructing a better world around us? Choose to be a ray of light as opposed a cloud of rain.

This does not mean that we should not discuss, debate, and disagree. Passionate debates and strong disagreements are what is sometimes needed to bring to the surface great ideas and solutions to difficult problems. If we all looked at life and the world the same, it would be a pretty boring place and not much progress would be made. However, heated conversations do not need to become personal and vengeful. Canceling people out because they don’t agree with a particular view is not going to lead to a better world. It only serves to create walls, sides, and transmits a wave of negative energy that only serves to tear people, businesses, and communities apart.

As leaders, if we choose to be a positive difference by respectfully disagreeing and collectively working to find a better way, we will find that we are not only happier, but we may also find the people around us will interact with us in a more positive manner.

It is then that we just might see that the world around us is actually a pretty awesome place filled with many incredible and diverse people bringing forward many opportunities to be embraced.

It is then that we may also realize that problems are challenges awaiting a solution that can only be solved by bringing divergent minds together.

It is then that we may find that the best solutions are created by bringing opposite energy forces together to serve a common good.

Choose the impact you make.

Choose the energy you emit.

Choose to make a positive difference in your life, the lives of those you lead, the lives of those you love, and the lives of those you knowingly or unknowingly touch every day.

It is then that you may find that your influence spans much farther than you ever realized. It is then that you find that those around you are running at a pace far beyond that which they've ever run before.

Randy Stepp is a Principal Renaissance Leadership Group. RLG is a business and franchise development company that drives growth though the combination of strategy, purpose, and passion. We help business owners realize their dreams of independence and freedom.

Visit Renaissance Leadership Group at www.renaissanceleadershipgroup.com to learn more about business development