Don’t trust me on this. Don’t believe anything I am about to say. Think about it and draw your own conclusion.
If you value your freedom, and you’re troubled by what is going on in the world right now, note carefully the implications of what I am sharing here.
Before I share the five vital questions for today, you need to gauge my trustworthiness. How seriously should you take what follows?
My Agenda
To assess this you have to decide what my agenda is, because that may affect the words I choose to use, and the arguments I present.
So, let me tell you my agenda, put it out there, then go do your research, think about it and arrive at a probability of how much you can rely on what I am saying here.
In simple terms, my agenda is that I wish to encourage everyone to grow their independence of mind and heart. In the process, I hope to draw attention to the critical need to do this so that even more people will become free thinkers and emotionally independent.
My subsidiary agenda is to earn some money from coaching and mentoring people with integrity and good heart, who want to do well in their lives, and leave the world a better place. I don’t need very much to pay the bills, but this activity supplies a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction – seeing people truly thrive at work and in life.
If I can do this and continue writing, thinking, living freely and wandering in the woods and the hills, I’ll be happy.
The reason for sharing my agenda, for you to believe or disbelieve as you see fit, is that I know an awful lot about power and influence, and I want you to realise just how important it is to get a clear idea of what an influencer’s agenda is before you make your own decisions.
This is especially important when the consequences of your decision could be major. And/or, the consequences for the influencer are great.
Ethical Influence
Another reason for telling you this is that one of my core beliefs is that ethical influence needs to be delivered in a balanced and honest way. The best influencers make it their business to be open about their agenda.
They do this because they know that the very best outcomes arrive when people are able to make informed decisions. When this happens, their influence is most likely to last in the long-term (see The Ethics of Influence).
Sadly, few people are like that, which leaves a large gap in your decision-making processes. And that gap needs to be filled if you are to make decision that is good for you in the long term.
Right now, in this world of ours, pandemics, conspiracy theories and global tensions abound. The powerful have come out to influence us all, and the consequences have multiplied. Which means we all need to be on top form, rooting out the agendas, so that we can make great decisions.
A Quick Example
With so much intense influence being attempted, there are plenty of case studies to explore. Here is one I took a cursory look at, not to take sides of express my opinion, just to explore the agenda implications.
“YouTube have taken down my video, they’ve censored me. This proves they don’t like what we are doing here, sharing the truth friends.” Such was the excited rhetoric of one Brian Rose, founder of London Real.
What’s his agenda?
Freedom of speech of course. He doesn’t like what’s happening at the moment, the way powerful corporations are influencing the masses for their own gain. Okay Brian, I hear you. Let’s dig a little deeper.
The quote above hailed the start of his fundraising campaign, for the war on our freedom, to build his Freedom Platform. Brilliant. He raised over a million in 10 days or so. Nice work move Brian.
What else is he doing?
He makes his living selling his entrepreneurs academy. I’m sure great value for those who implement his teaching. He is also selling many other entrepreneurs deals.
A recent deal was, in my opinion, the sleaziest and most outrageous influencing video of all time. Pulling every emotional heartstring they could while providing zero substantive evidence to support the $2,500 price tag. Naturally, dramatically reduced but “only if you act right now, for the sake of your family.”
Excuse me, who do you think I am?
My personal decision on this example is that Brian is coining it in under the guise of freedom fighting. And, I’m also wondering how many of his videos were really removed by YouTube, or by himself? He has used a well-proven tactic of influence to increase his visibility and in time, his revenue stream.
What is fascinating, is that from what I’ve seen, he is also very carefully not actually agreeing with any of the mavericks he is providing freedom of speech to.
The Consequences
Right now, in this world, vigilance is required. On far too many topics, opinion is being presented as fact, and rare indeed are we presented with a balanced review of the facts that are material to the decision or influence they are attempting.
Thus, we all need to be vigilant, especially around the decisions that could affect us the most. Challenging the opinions presented as facts of scientists, politicians, pundits, civil servants, employers, union representatives and even those in our personal networks and social circles.
The Five Critical Questions
So, here are five critical questions you can keep in your back pocket ready to apply, at least privately, when you are faced with a major influence attempt:
- How do I know this is true?
- What is the speakers agenda?
- What is the opposition saying?
- What is the opposition’s agenda?
- What difference will it make to me if I agree, disagree or stay neutral?
The Trust Balance
While presenting these questions to you, I don’t want you to think that I am encouraging that you should not trust anyone. These questions if delivered personally to people could make them feel like you don’t trust them.
It is a delicate balance to strike.
At times of elevated risks and vested interests, it is more rather than less likely that you should be cautions. To help keep a healthy balance in your relationships, consider this as “trust and verify” opportunity. With so much change around, levels of trust need to be recalibrated.
The Benefits
You will only benefit from these questions if you actually invest in asking them on the topics that matter most to you right now. Seems obvious, but I can promise you it will take an effort of will to keep asking these, so keep them handy.
One thing I have noticed, having been diligently applying these questions over the last few months, is that far too often I realised I was fretting over something that didn’t really matter to me. By reducing that it allowed more time for me to focus on investigating the issues that did matter to me and my family.
Consequently, it played a major role in reducing stress, alleviating uncertainty and allowing me to be far happier than I would otherwise have been.
And actually, it didn’t take too much time, because you only need to investigate to a depth that you then feel comfortable with making a clear decision, or taking a robust position.
Here’s to developing an independent mind and heart, ready to engage healthily with the world!
The Gautrey Influence Blog
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