July 3, 2025 • 11 mins
New Episode Alert! Join Ed Drozda, The Small Business Doctor, as we delve into how external influences can ignite your internal drive. Don't let influence lead you astray; harness it to propel your business forward. #Influence #Entrepreneurship
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Welcome to the Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:43):
Welcome to the water Trough, this is Ed Drozda, The
Small Business Doctor.
Influence and inspiration.
Two concepts that we encounterall the time.
Taking each one of themseparately, influence, and this
of course is my definition,influence is the effect that
external factors have upon us.
(01:04):
External factors such as people,things, material that we've
read, and so on and so forth.
To say it another way, influenceis a stimulus that gives rise to
action, or at least potentialaction.
Influence informs us of thingsthat we are not aware or perhaps
(01:25):
strengthens our belief orexpectation for things that we
already know.
And in so doing, it stimulatesus, it prompts us to take some
form of action.
Inspiration on the other hand,is internal.
Inspiration is our own desire todo something.
(01:50):
We are motivated to do somethingbecause we have an idea.
We are motivated to do somethingbecause we are curious to find
out what will happen.
We are eager to do somethingbecause we are looking for
something new, somethingexciting.
(02:11):
Influence can certainly lead toinspiration.
Those external factors canmotivate me to take action,
inspire me to go out and run amarathon, something I'd never
done before, or to create a newpodcast.
I could be inspired by someonewho had done the same and say,
(02:35):
gee, that really was a movingtopic.
I would like to do the samething that they're doing.
So influence and inspirationsort of go hand in hand.
It's fair to say if I'minfluenced by something, I'm
aware of, if not prompted to dosomething more than to be aware.
(02:56):
We can look at this from anotherangle as well.
We can look at it in terms ofmotivation.
Motivation comes in twoprinciple forms, extrinsic and
intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation is thatwhich is the result of external
factors and intrinsic motivationis that which comes from within
(03:18):
us.
So influence could be equatedwith extrinsic motivation and
inspiration can be related tointrinsic motivation.
We know intrinsic motivation ismore powerful, sustainable, and
on balance, the more importantof these two forms of
(03:42):
motivation.
That is because it depends uponour own ambition, our own desire
to achieve these things.
Intrinsic motivation resultsfrom within.
So what does this tell us aboutinspiration and influence?
Well, if we can agree thatintrinsic motivation is more
important, more powerful, thenwe might be inclined to look at
(04:05):
influence as being potentiallynefarious; something that could
lead us to do things that maybewe're not quite so comfortable
doing.
Let's face it, we've all beeninfluenced by one thing or
another.
In our current world, influencefrom external factors is
constantly in our face.
(04:25):
Some of it is extremelypowerful, and oftentimes it
leads us down paths we mostcertainly would not have gone
down without it.
So influence is, in my opinion,a slippery slope.
It's one of those things thatcan be for the better, but it
can also be used to createthings, to give rise to things
(04:48):
that are good for theinfluencer, but not so good for
the influencee.
Thankfully we have checks andbalances.
Despite the influence that wetake in, we do have the
opportunity and the choice toelect to follow it, to modify
it, or to ignore it completely,because influence by itself has
(05:12):
to lead to action in order to beeffective.
I can have heard something andacknowledged it, but if I choose
not to speak about it, if Ichoose not to share it, if I
choose not to act upon it in anyshape or form, then that
influence for all intent andpurpose not only has no value,
(05:35):
but it has no function.
At least with me and the peoplearound me.
That's a good thing.
Influence leads to action, but Ipromote the idea that action
does not occur unless I aminspired by that influence.
(05:58):
That influence has to inspire meto take action.
Once I've made the choice, thedecision, that the influence has
inspired me, that is when theinspiration itself kicks in and
leads to the possibility thataction will result.
(06:21):
If it seems like I'm givinginfluence a bad rap, I would
like to take a moment here tolet you know that that's not
really my intention.
Influence is important.
Influence is necessary in orderto get people thinking.
(06:42):
Influence is necessary in orderto introduce new ideas.
Influence is profoundlyimportant in all facets of life
because without influence, we'dbe left to create things with
only those things that we havein hand.
(07:03):
But influence has to be managedappropriately.
That's where the influence,inspiration, action interface
comes into play.
Influence is something that wetake in, again, much like
extrinsic motivation, thingsfrom the outside, things that
might sound really interesting,things that might sound totally
(07:25):
unacceptable to us, but whateverthey might seem like, these are
things coming in from externalplaces.
It is our ability to processthat information, to take that
influence and make the decisionwhether it is appropriate for us
(07:46):
or not.
When we are dealing withsomething that we consider to be
appropriate, even if it mightnot be appropriate to others, we
are led to a place ofinspiration.
And in this place, this is wherewe craft our own interpretation.
(08:07):
We craft our own mechanism.
We draw upon our own tools to beable to implement or to act upon
this influence.
This interface is critical.
It's this interface that allowsus to make the decision about
(08:28):
what we should and what weshould not go forward with.
That is the crux behind theinfluence inspiration
relationship.
The ability to discern thatwhich is appropriate for us or
for those around us, and thenwhether or not it is sufficient
(08:49):
to motivate us to take action,to inspire us to take action.
As with many things here at TheWater Trough, the things we're
talking about here go on all thetime.
You probably don't think aboutthem.
They're going on behind thescenes, but I think it's
important sometimes to open upthe conversation to look at how
(09:12):
things come to be.
I think that glimpse of what'sgoing on inside of us is really
critical in helping us tounderstand and to formulate
better plans of action in theway that we conduct our
business, our lives, and so onand so forth.
I hope that there were bits ofinformation that despite their
(09:34):
relative simplicity, it's notrocket science, despite their
relative simplicity inspired youto think a little deeper.
And if per chance I didinfluence you in any way, shape,
or form, I wanna remind you onceagain, first review, analyze
that influence and establish ifit's the appropriate thing for
(09:56):
you.
This is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor and here at The
Water Trough, as always I wantto wish you a healthy business.
Welcome to the Water Troughwhere we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
Ed Drozda (00:43):
Welcome to the water Trough, this is Ed Drozda, The
Small Business Doctor.
Influence and inspiration.
Two concepts that we encounterall the time.
Taking each one of themseparately, influence, and this
of course is my definition,influence is the effect that
external factors have upon us.
(01:04):
External factors such as people,things, material that we've
read, and so on and so forth.
To say it another way, influenceis a stimulus that gives rise to
action, or at least potentialaction.
Influence informs us of thingsthat we are not aware or perhaps
(01:25):
strengthens our belief orexpectation for things that we
already know.
And in so doing, it stimulatesus, it prompts us to take some
form of action.
Inspiration on the other hand,is internal.
Inspiration is our own desire todo something.
(01:50):
We are motivated to do somethingbecause we have an idea.
We are motivated to do somethingbecause we are curious to find
out what will happen.
We are eager to do somethingbecause we are looking for
something new, somethingexciting.
(02:11):
Influence can certainly lead toinspiration.
Those external factors canmotivate me to take action,
inspire me to go out and run amarathon, something I'd never
done before, or to create a newpodcast.
I could be inspired by someonewho had done the same and say,
(02:35):
gee, that really was a movingtopic.
I would like to do the samething that they're doing.
So influence and inspirationsort of go hand in hand.
It's fair to say if I'minfluenced by something, I'm
aware of, if not prompted to dosomething more than to be aware.
(02:56):
We can look at this from anotherangle as well.
We can look at it in terms ofmotivation.
Motivation comes in twoprinciple forms, extrinsic and
intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation is thatwhich is the result of external
factors and intrinsic motivationis that which comes from within
(03:18):
us.
So influence could be equatedwith extrinsic motivation and
inspiration can be related tointrinsic motivation.
We know intrinsic motivation ismore powerful, sustainable, and
on balance, the more importantof these two forms of
(03:42):
motivation.
That is because it depends uponour own ambition, our own desire
to achieve these things.
Intrinsic motivation resultsfrom within.
So what does this tell us aboutinspiration and influence?
Well, if we can agree thatintrinsic motivation is more
important, more powerful, thenwe might be inclined to look at
(04:05):
influence as being potentiallynefarious; something that could
lead us to do things that maybewe're not quite so comfortable
doing.
Let's face it, we've all beeninfluenced by one thing or
another.
In our current world, influencefrom external factors is
constantly in our face.
(04:25):
Some of it is extremelypowerful, and oftentimes it
leads us down paths we mostcertainly would not have gone
down without it.
So influence is, in my opinion,a slippery slope.
It's one of those things thatcan be for the better, but it
can also be used to createthings, to give rise to things
(04:48):
that are good for theinfluencer, but not so good for
the influencee.
Thankfully we have checks andbalances.
Despite the influence that wetake in, we do have the
opportunity and the choice toelect to follow it, to modify
it, or to ignore it completely,because influence by itself has
(05:12):
to lead to action in order to beeffective.
I can have heard something andacknowledged it, but if I choose
not to speak about it, if Ichoose not to share it, if I
choose not to act upon it in anyshape or form, then that
influence for all intent andpurpose not only has no value,
(05:35):
but it has no function.
At least with me and the peoplearound me.
That's a good thing.
Influence leads to action, but Ipromote the idea that action
does not occur unless I aminspired by that influence.
(05:58):
That influence has to inspire meto take action.
Once I've made the choice, thedecision, that the influence has
inspired me, that is when theinspiration itself kicks in and
leads to the possibility thataction will result.
(06:21):
If it seems like I'm givinginfluence a bad rap, I would
like to take a moment here tolet you know that that's not
really my intention.
Influence is important.
Influence is necessary in orderto get people thinking.
(06:42):
Influence is necessary in orderto introduce new ideas.
Influence is profoundlyimportant in all facets of life
because without influence, we'dbe left to create things with
only those things that we havein hand.
(07:03):
But influence has to be managedappropriately.
That's where the influence,inspiration, action interface
comes into play.
Influence is something that wetake in, again, much like
extrinsic motivation, thingsfrom the outside, things that
might sound really interesting,things that might sound totally
(07:25):
unacceptable to us, but whateverthey might seem like, these are
things coming in from externalplaces.
It is our ability to processthat information, to take that
influence and make the decisionwhether it is appropriate for us
(07:46):
or not.
When we are dealing withsomething that we consider to be
appropriate, even if it mightnot be appropriate to others, we
are led to a place ofinspiration.
And in this place, this is wherewe craft our own interpretation.
(08:07):
We craft our own mechanism.
We draw upon our own tools to beable to implement or to act upon
this influence.
This interface is critical.
It's this interface that allowsus to make the decision about
(08:28):
what we should and what weshould not go forward with.
That is the crux behind theinfluence inspiration
relationship.
The ability to discern thatwhich is appropriate for us or
for those around us, and thenwhether or not it is sufficient
(08:49):
to motivate us to take action,to inspire us to take action.
As with many things here at TheWater Trough, the things we're
talking about here go on all thetime.
You probably don't think aboutthem.
They're going on behind thescenes, but I think it's
important sometimes to open upthe conversation to look at how
(09:12):
things come to be.
I think that glimpse of what'sgoing on inside of us is really
critical in helping us tounderstand and to formulate
better plans of action in theway that we conduct our
business, our lives, and so onand so forth.
I hope that there were bits ofinformation that despite their
(09:34):
relative simplicity, it's notrocket science, despite their
relative simplicity inspired youto think a little deeper.
And if per chance I didinfluence you in any way, shape,
or form, I wanna remind you onceagain, first review, analyze
that influence and establish ifit's the appropriate thing for
(09:56):
you.
This is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor and here at The
Water Trough, as always I wantto wish you a healthy business.
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