This was a trip I was not looking forward to. The team I met with last week in Baltimore was 2nd best last year in terms of performance. They buy into the concept of which I am hired to get everyone on board with. The team I met with today was the polar opposite of that. They are frustrated, bitter and downright defiant. Like I said, I was not looking forward to this one.

Then something funny happened. As I waited for my delayed flight, I just about wrapped up my reading of “Chasing Daylight”. No sooner had they announced the delay to my pending date with “Team Doom”, I read these words:

“Influence can do what command can never do; it can win the hearts of people. You can pay people to do a job, but can’t pay hearts. External power has the limitation of bringing external change. Influence is the material of internal power. Again, influence is not about position or delegated authority or endless forms of power. Influence is born out of a person, who that person is, and translates to how it affects the heart of another person. Real influence has direct impact not only on how a person acts, but also on what he believes and what he is committed to.”

Almost as audible as the announcements of our delays, I could hear God say “Aaron, this is what you are doing in this position. You don’t have to be the next Tony Robbins. It’s not how I built or wired you. Trust me and my influence”.

I’m happy to report that the meeting went very well. The team responded in a way I had never imagined. Don’t get me wrong, this had NOTHING to do with me, or who I am. It’s the power of being used by the one that created me. I guess you could say I’m under his influence.

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