I think we’ve been sold the wrong definition of influence.

Somewhere along the way, we started believing it’s about followers, visibility, and having a platform big enough for people to listen.

And for a long time, I didn’t question that.

But recently, I’ve been realizing… that’s not actually what influence looks like at all.

Influence isn’t about platform.
It’s about proximity.

It’s the way you speak to your friends.
The tone you bring into a room.
The way you respond when you’re frustrated, hurt, or tired.

It’s how people feel after they’ve been around you.

That’s influence.

And if that’s true… then every single one of us has it.

Which means the question isn’t if you’re influencing people—
it’s how.

She’s not named.
She’s not highlighted as a “leader.”
She’s not building a platform.

But she makes one decision—one moment of courage and compassion—that ends up changing the course of history.

She sees a baby in the river.
She knows what it means.
She knows the risk.

And she chooses differently anyway.

What gets me about her story isn’t just what she did—it’s what she wasn’t doing.

She wasn’t thinking about legacy or impact. She wasn’t trying to build influence.

We feel the pressure to make big, perfect, life-altering decisions.

We think influence has to look loud.
Or visible.
Or impressive.

But most of the time?

Real influence looks like small, quiet, consistent decisions.

It looks like:

It looks like choosing a different way… over and over again.

And if we’re honest, a lot of us are trying to influence the world. while still looking exactly like it.

We want to hold onto comfort and still see transformation.

We want to blend in and still make an impact.

But it doesn’t work like that.

The kind of influence that actually changes lives? It usually costs something.

It might cost you approval. It might cost you comfort. It might cost you being understood in certain rooms.

But it also creates a ripple effect you may never fully see.

Because someone is watching you.

Someone is learning how to respond to life by watching how you respond. Someone is paying attention to the way you speak, the way you act, the way you carry yourself.

There’s a quote that says, “You might be the only Bible someone ever reads.” And if that’s true…what are we showing them?

So today, I just want to leave you with this:

You don’t need more followers to have influence.
You don’t need a bigger platform to make an impact.

You already have influence.

The question is—are you using it intentionally?

Love, Mykah (and Nimbus)