Do you ever stop and wonder why it is you do what you do, or conduct yourself in public in a certain way? Without realizing it at the time, most of us were influenced during our youth to do certain things, and do them in a certain way. Dr. Ivan Misner is the founder of Business Networking International. With over 200,000 members worldwide, BNI is the world’s largest business networking and business referral organization. Isner tells a story from a high school freshman history class that he wholeheartedly believes greatly influenced him and set him on a course to be the influential speaker, writer and business leader that he is today. He ran for student council multiple times during Middle School, failing dismally each time. Then, his 9th grade history class, taught by Mr. Romero was appointed the task of selecting the freshman student council representative. After no one responded to Mr. Romero’s appeal for a volunteer, he appointed Ivan Misner, over the protests of his classmates who had voted against him for the last 3 years. Young Ivan was humiliated, but responding to Mr. Romero’s confidence, he determined to work hard and prove he had made a wise choice. He did such a great job that at year-end he was re-elected to serve as sophomore representative, and his senior, he was elected as the student body president. He is convinced that most of us have been similarly impacted by some positive experience, or sometimes discouraged and defeated early in life by a negative one.

Reading his story and reflecting on it, I remembered a time when as a 12 year old, my Sunday school teacher, Joe Simpson, had a conversation with my Dad, which I am certain had a lifelong impact on me. Mr. Simpson told my Dad after church one Sunday that he enjoyed having me in his class because it seemed I always knew just the right thing to say, and seemed comfortable speaking with anyone, whether someone of my own age, or even with adults. There is no doubt that this compliment impacted the way I viewed myself when interacting with others. I can also remember other interactions that definitely had long-term effects, but were negative rather than positive. As I think back over my life I can think of many people who impacted me and helped to shape me into the person I am today, but it was those from my youth that had the largest impact.

Why do I do what I do? I guess you could fairly say I have a strong desire to positively impact my community and others with whom I come into contact. I helped found The Journey Ministries (thejourneyministries.com) because I want to influence men to be the kind of men God calls us to be. I write this article each week, hoping that over time it will afford me the opportunity to influence those who take the time to read my weekly rant. It seems only fair that I should “fess up” about my motivation. In my work life, I am afforded the opportunity to hopefully have a positive influence on some of the young people of the community in which I live. As I reflect on it today, and think about the confidence I have to openly talk about these things, I remember that conversation Joe Simpson had with my Dad over 50 years ago.

Has this triggered any memories for you, perhaps causing you to think back over your life and remember some positive or negative words you may have had spoken to you? The experiences from our youth often have an impact the speaker never imagined. One thing I would encourage all of us to be cognizant of, and it sounds like grandfatherly advice. When speaking to our youth, mind your words. Have a wonderful week.