This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.

If you’re Mike Fahim, the owner of Beachwood Café in LA, you know well the power that an influencer can hold.
 
Not just any influencer, but the mega-star influencer Harry Styles, who won Grammy’s biggest honor for Album of the Year this past weekend and who name-dropped the Beachwood Canyon café in his song “Falling.” 
 
As you might suspect, the little restaurant’s sales have done anything but fall since the song was released.
 
I caught this story in The New York Times a few days back, and it got me thinking about the impact of influencers—the names we all know well, and the names that are hardly mainstream. While few cafes will ever feel the Harry Styles effect—just as only so many authors or business owners will feel the effect that an endorsement from Oprah can deliver—there’s something essential to consider about influencers and the role they have in our respective lives. 
 
In PR and marketing, influencers are often associated with the people or organizations who can effect consumer decisions. But what about the influencers who effect the path of our lives?
 
Who are your influencers?
 
Was it a coach? A teacher? A boss or a client?  Perhaps it was someone who challenged you, believed in you, or helped you realize a truer version of yourself.  Or perhaps one of your influencers, like one of mine, was a guidance counselor who unintentionally altered your career path. These folks likely don’t have millions of followers on TikTok. But I’d argue that these are the people who had the greatest influence on who you are today.
 
When I think about some of my early influencers, I think back to a business networking group that I joined when I first moved to the Washington DC area as a young and very green business owner. I didn’t yet have a network of my own and thought this might be a good place to start. 
 
Turns out it was more than a good place to start, and resulted in a bit of a Beechwood Café type experience for me. Over a few years in that group, I learned from local small business owners who were doing well by doing good. I was influenced by this group of business owners who prioritized people and relationships. I saw week over week how true these business leaders were to their word, and how committed they were to each other’s success. 
 
While I didn’t know it then, I saw with time that those influencers had a significant impact on me as a business owner. They were some of the first to believe in me and to give my small business a chance at success.
 
It’s easy to get caught up in what celebrity influencers are saying or doing, what sneakers they’re wearing, or coffee they’re drinking. But in my experience, the best kind of influencers can do so much more than inform your consumer choices. They inform who you can become.
 
Bottom line:  If you’re just starting out in your career or celebrating decades in your field, looking forward will always matter. Reflecting back to thank those who influenced you along the way matters just as much.

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