Today former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was released from federal prison. The build up to his release has been growing as I have seen and heard more conversations around what he will do now that he is out, and people’s opinions on the matter. For me I am anxious to see his path. I haven’t been where he is now, but I have been at a similar point multiple times in my career, life and spiritual journey. I am curious to see how much Grace a lost world will extend to this man.
While reading this article on the whole deal, I found one quote that grabbed my eye and my peaked my interest:
“Part of Vick’s problem was the company he kept”, Blank said, “and weeding out the bad influences and associating with people who have his best interests at heart will be a key to redemption and a possible return to the NFL.”
I mean, I think it would be incredible to see him put on a jersey and throw the ball again, but more than anything I am curious to see how he walks this path. After serving 19 months in federal prison will he walk out a new man or a hardened man?
I keep a list of ideas for blog posts in my moleskin and I have had a title at the top of the list for over a year now. The title of this blog. “The Power of Influence”. As I walk down this path of spiritual growth and formation I feel like I am just now truly getting a small picture of the power of influence. I am not sure if the statement was true about Vick, but the message is clear. What kind of company do we keep? What kind of influence does our community have on our lives? What kind of influence do we have on theirs? There were a few categories of influence that came to mind and I would like to list my thoughts around them below.
What type of influence am I letting into/around my business?
Am I surrounding myself with forward thinkers? Surrounding it with friends, colleagues and professionals that perform and push me to perform? People who will call me on things? Am I looking at what others in my industry are doing in an objective manner? Am I putting myself up against better, stronger opponents than myself just to learn from the potential loss? Am I continuing my education around my passion? Am I pushing the limits of my abilities? Are the people I follow across my social media community providing me with insight or distraction? Am I trying to force my business to be something it’s not based on who I let influence it’s direction?
Am I allowing my business to sit stagnant or am I purposefully shaping it’s direction with the influence I allow it? There is a reason why businesses have a Board of Directors.
What type of influence do I allow to penetrate my spiritual growth/relationship with God?
Do my friends know my struggles? Do they ignore them when the temptation is right in front of us? Are we encouraging others to grow? Is anyone praying for my path? Am I surrounding myself with people who are catalytic or just apathetic? Is anyone around me influencing my faith in a positive direction? Does anyone exist to challenge me in my faith and call me on my stupidity? Am I studying and pursuing my God?
Am I allowing myself to grow or have I surrounded myself with the perfect group to move nowhere with and sit still?
What type of influence do those around me have on my marriage?
Do the people around me joke about Divorce? Do others show me examples of honoring their wife and children? Am I surrounding myself with men who will help me be a better husband and dad and call me when I suck? Do the people around me know my family? Do they care? Would they be there in a crisis?
Do I take my role as protector of my family for real or am I just putting it out there to get attacked?
I am not pretending to know the answers to these things. I think the answer could change by the hour. There is a reason that they are listed as questions. I feel like as business owners, employees, believers, fathers, husbands, sons, mothers, wives, daughters, contractors, volunteers, sinners, etc we should be conscience about who and what we let in. We should be purposeful about the kind of influence we are pouring over others. We should at least be aware of it’s presence and impact.
I hope that this doesn’t come from left field. If anything it may help you get to know me a little more. If you follow me for long you will realize that for me the lines between business, family and my personal relationship with God blur. I have lived a life with masks on the wall for years and I am being intentional about being one person. One man. A man who first and foremost loves Christ, a sinner who has been forgiven and redeemed. A father who feels overwhelmed with joy that he has the son and wife that he been blessed with. A designer who is a little overly conscience of all the wrong typeface choices in the world. A developer who obsesses over clean code, business processes and validation in the creation of game changing apps and a business owner who wants to serve the kingdom with his work.
