Hey I recently had the idea to keep a list of the top 5 people who influence me. I actually published a list of the top 5 who influenced me in 2013 on my facebook and other social media.

Why could this be of use to anybody?

Well think about it, your subconscious or unconscious mind makes up the vast majority of your thought patterns. Wouldn’t it make sense to know where a lot of the programming that you are subjecting it through stays at the forefront of your conscious mind, at least occassionally? This can be useful for several reasons.

a) You are doing an inventory of your thoughts by engaging in this process

b) You can figure out whether you want to replace one of the top influences in your life because it is no longer truly relevant or even detrimental to your personal development.

c) You will be able to engage with the people who influence you. This enables you to remodel the patterns of influence to a certain degree so they’ll fit your own goals better.

How To Create The List?

This is simple! Just think about a timeframe, for example 2013. Now think about all the books you have read, the people you have worked for, the people you have spent most time with, those who have bothered you the most, the ones who have impacted your life the most.

Once you have that down you can figure out which one of the people who you have discovered at the back of your subconscious mind has been the most significant. This takes some more thought. You’ll have to evaluate the results you got during the chosen timeframe. Think about why you did what you did. For example: Why did you take on a new job, why did you read a certain book, watch a certain movie, why did you vote a certain way. Things like that.

The result is going to be that eventually you will have a list of the top 5 influencers during the chosen timeframe. If you are anything like me you will now feel a lot more clear about yourself, your actions and why you have taken them. You can vary how many influencers you want to jot down, its on you how deep you want to take this.

Next?

Who should be your top 5 influencers for a future time period? You now have the skill to more consciously make use of them. Say you want to learn a new subject or penetrate a new market or do something you didn’t think was possible before. Replace one of your old influences who may be acting against your new choice with someone who will help you reach your goal.

I hope this technique is going to help you become more aware of what is going on in your life. I hope it will make you a better and stronger person. Let me know if it works! You can follow me on twitter @hannesandreas