Influence is a powerful force that shapes our lives in profound ways, often without us even realizing it. Whether it’s the subtle sway of a persuasive argument, the inspiring words of a mentor, or the cultural currents that shape our beliefs and behaviors, influence surrounds us at every turn. From the influential figures who shape history to the everyday interactions that mold our perspectives, understanding the mechanisms of influence is key to navigating the complexities of human society.
At its core, influence operates through the interplay of ideas, emotions, and social dynamics. It can be wielded intentionally to motivate, persuade, or inspire, but it also operates on a subconscious level, shaping our thoughts and actions in ways we may not always fully grasp. From the advertising campaigns that shape consumer preferences to the social norms that govern our behavior, the forces of influence are ever-present, shaping the contours of our lives in myriad ways. Exploring the nature of influence allows us to better understand the world around us and the forces that shape our choices and beliefs.
On this page, we delve into the theme of influence through a collection of insightful quotes that capture its essence and significance. Whether you seek inspiration, reflection, or simply a deeper understanding of the role influence plays in our lives, these quotes offer a window into the complexities of human behavior and the power of ideas. Below, you’ll find a curated selection of quotes on this topic, ready to be copied, shared, or creatively enhanced to suit your preferences and purposes.
Guilt is just as powerful, but its influence is positive, while shame’s is destructive. Shame erodes our courage and fuels disengagement. Brene Brown
Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance. Nikola Tesla
I learned that one’s mentality can influence how they react to physical obstacles. Lee Seung-gi
If our love of God does not directly influence, and even change, how we engage in the issues of our time on this earth, I wonder what good religion is. Richard Rohr
I don’t know if there’s anything Kanye West can do that can erase his influence on me, because it’s here. It’s already there. He can’t even reverse that himself, because it’s just so ingrained in me. JPEGMAFIA
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Mark Twain
You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time. John Knox
Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent. Bob Keeshan
The thing that I always try and say to young people starting out is your peer group is really the most important influence on your life because you are going to rise and fall together. Joanna Coles
Social media can sometimes influence the charts, but I think that only great music makes it to the top. The good songs make it. Dua Lipa
It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people’s lives. Clint Eastwood
Leadership is not about a title or a designation. It’s about impact, influence and inspiration. Impact involves getting results, influence is about spreading the passion you have for your work, and you have to inspire team-mates and customers. Robin S. Sharma
A lot of music influences me in other ways than this, but I’ve always taken a lot of influence from Stevie Wonder, Frank Ocean, and Jeff Rosenstock for the Rex music. They were also the first three artists that released albums where I enjoyed every song. Rex Orange County
My father is my idol, and I have grown up watching his films. He is my biggest influence and inspiration. I have learnt a lot from him, and I am who I am because of him. I’m extremely grateful to him for that. Mahesh Babu
You can never really live anyone else’s life, not even your child’s. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you’ve become yourself. Eleanor Roosevelt
Assurance, action, and evidence influence each other in an ongoing process. This helix is like a coil, and as it spirals upward it expands and widens. These three elements of faith – assurance, action, and evidence – are not separate and discrete; rather, they are interrelated and continuous and cycle upward. David A. Bednar
The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions. A chip on the shoulder is too heavy a piece of baggage to carry through life. John Hannah
The sea does not belong to despots. Upon its surface men can still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be carried away with terrestrial horrors. But at thirty feet below its level, their reign ceases, their influence is quenched, and their power disappears. Jules Verne
There are thousands of ways to take action. For example, plant trees, pick up litter, join an organisation or movement that makes a difference and especially try to influence adults and put pressure on people in power. Greta Thunburg
God seeks to influence humanity. This is at the heart of the Christmas story. It is the story of light coming into the darkness, of a Savior to show us the way, of light overcoming the darkness, of God’s work to save the world. Adam Hamilton
Affluence means influence. Jack London
God’s people are peculiar. Their spirit cannot mingle with the spirit and influence of the world. You do not wish to bear the Christian name and yet be unworthy of it. Ellen G. White
Among the best traitors Ireland has ever had, Mother Church ranks at the very top, a massive obstacle in the path to equality and freedom. She has been a force for conservatism… to ward off threats to her own security and influence. Bernadette Devlin
There is no influence like the influence of habit. Gilbert Parker
The influence of teachers extends beyond the classroom, well into the future. It is they who shape and enrich the minds of the young, who touch their hearts and souls. It is they who shape a nation’s future. F. Sionil Jose
The greatest are an inspiration for all the kids who wake up early in the morning. Everyone watches you, is inspired by you and wants to be you. So you influence society. That’s what being more than an athlete means. I want more kids to have that opportunity. I want everybody to start with the same chance. Kylian Mbappe
I think maybe the rural influence in my life helped me in a sense, of knowing how to get close to people and talk to them and get my work done. Gordon Parks
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Niccolo Machiavelli
I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to the young laboratory worker, it would be this – never to neglect an extraordinary appearance or happening. Alexander Fleming
Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another. George Eliot
I read books like mad, but I am careful to to let anything I read influence me. Michael Caine
At the age when other children, I imagine, experience their first ‘feeling’ for a person, or for art, or for religion, I was affectionate, good, and even pious: by that I mean that under the influence of my mother, I was devoted to the Child Jesus. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. Wilma Rudolph
Cezanne had an enormous influence on everyone in that period; there was a change in attitudes to art. People found him disturbing because they didn’t like their existing ideas being challenged and overturned. Cezanne was probably the key figure in my lifetime. Henry Moore
Toni Morrison has a habit, perhaps traceable to the pernicious influence of William Faulkner, of plunging into the narrative before the reader has a clue to what is going on. John Updike
A memoir should have some uplifting quality, inspiring or illuminating, and that’s what separates a life story that can influence other people. Mitch Albom
Imagination is always the fabric of social life and the dynamic of history. The influence of real needs and compulsions, of real interests and materials, is indirect because the crowd is never conscious of it. Simone Weil
A lasting solution to this problem will have an exceptionally positive influence foremost on the peoples of Palestine and Israel, as well as on the region and the international community. Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The world is a complex place, and the influence of the media in its representation and its power of communication and interpretation is a remarkable amplifier of emotions, and of illusions. Tariq Ramadan
Politics means striving to share power or striving to influence the distribution of power, either among states or among groups within a state. Max Weber
Country music was the music I was brought up on. It’s the music that’s closest to my heart and the music that speaks to me the most, and it’s always been a big influence on my own songwriting. Teddy Thompson
If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth and I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country which is the Philippines. Pia Wurtzbach
My Father had a profound influence on me. He was a lunatic. Spike Milligan
Nostalgia is a powerful drug. Under its influence, ordinary songs take on dimensions and powers, like emotional superheroes. Kate Christensen
Femininity is part of the God-given divinity within each of you. It is your incomparable power and influence to do good. You can, through your supernal gifts, bless the lives of children, women, and men. Be proud of your womanhood. Enhance it. Use it to serve others. James E. Faust
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciples. Amos Bronson Alcott
Secularism is categorically not saying that the religious may not speak out publicly or have a say in public life. It is about saying that religion alone should not confer a privileged say in public life, or greater influence on it. It really is as simple as that. Richard Dawkins
Man’s nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature. Mahatma Gandhi
Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. Napoleon Hill
I always say Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is my biggest influence. But for painters, I like many, many painters, but I love Francis Bacon the most, and Edward Hopper. David Lynch
The influence of ‘Hidden Fortress’ comes up a lot because it was printed in a book once. The truth is, the only thing I was inspired by was the fact that it’s told from the point of view of two peasants, who get mixed up with a samurai and princess and a lot of very high-level people. George Lucas
The people who influence you are the people who believe in you. Henry Drummond
So in Asia I want to make – I want to succeed to make a model of what success, practicing democracy, and market economy. Then that will give a good influence over Asian countries. Kim Dae Jung
Pakistan is alarmed by the rising Indian influence in Afghanistan, and fears that an Afghanistan cleansed of the Taliban would be an Indian client state, thus sandwiching Pakistan between two hostile countries. The paranoia of Pakistan about India’s supposed dark machinations should never be underestimated. Salman Rushdie
Let’s live our life to try to be a good example and a positive influence on someone’s life. Porsha Williams
Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept. He and Bill Evans, and Ravel and Gil Evans, finally. You know, that’s where it really came from. Almost all of the harmony that I play can be traced to one of those four people and whoever their influences were. Herbie Hancock
I hope that I can be a role model and positive influence to anyone else who is struggling with insecurities within themselves. Alexa Bliss
Your thoughts greatly influence how you feel and behave. In fact, your inner monologue has a tendency to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Amy Morin
Humans cannot avoid trying to influence others. Everything we say or do is examined and interpreted by others for clues as to our intentions. Robert Greene
A song has to take on character, shape, body and influence people to an extent that they use it for their own devices. It must affect them not just as a song, but as a lifestyle. David Bowie
And very often the influence exerted on a person’s character by the amount of his income is hardly less, if it is less, than that exerted by the way in which it is earned. Alfred Marshall
The way you think, the way you behave, the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years. Deepak Chopra
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter – a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue. Henri Matisse
The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves. E. M. Forster
The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. Ken Blanchard
The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. Soren Kierkegaard
I am a lover of all sorts of different music. I love blues and every piece of music that I have listened to has become an influence. David Gilmour
Discipline strengthens the mind so that it becomes impervious to the corroding influence of fear. Bernard Law Montgomery
Women gain social influence through their roles as mothers, transmitters of culture, and parents for the next generation. Patricia Hill Collins
When virtue and modesty enlighten her charms, the lustre of a beautiful woman is brighter than the stars of heaven, and the influence of her power it is in vain to resist. Akhenaton
The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and to influence their actions. John Hancock
Straight edge is everything about a personal decision to not live my life under the influence or not being aware. I pretty much don’t like anything that alters my view of reality or my perception or my grasp. CM Punk
You don’t have to be a ‘person of influence’ to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me. Scott Adams
Growing up, I was inspired by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically. Ed Sheeran
It’s not just for its influence on us, but to know that we can play a part in it, to understand the influence that we have outside our own existence. Siobhan Davies
Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear. Bertrand Russell
The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured. They know and absorb her example and attitudes when it comes to questions of honesty, temperance, kindness, and industry. Billy Graham
I have kind of a funny relationship with movies. I don’t have to see the whole movie to get an impression of it or to let it have an influence on me. Lana Del Rey
The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. James Allen
My father, a fine chess player himself, has been a massive influence throughout my life. Magnus Carlsen
In every human society, there is an effort continually tending to confer on one part the height of power and happiness, and to reduce the other to the extreme of weakness and misery. The intent of good laws is to oppose this effort and to diffuse their influence universally and equally. Cesare Beccaria
Grace is the beauty of form under the influence of freedom. Friedrich Schiller
I love Carpenter, I love Craven – these are all the classics – the Romeros of the world, but I think the biggest influence on me as a storyteller and as a filmmaker is actually Steven Spielberg. I love that even though Steven isn’t known for being a horror director, he started out his career making scary movies. James Wan
When you hold your baby in your arms the first time, and you think of all the things you can say and do to influence him, it’s a tremendous responsibility. What you do with him can influence not only him, but everyone he meets and not for a day or a month or a year but for time and eternity. Rose Kennedy
Fashion is more about taste than money – you have to understand your body and tailor clothes to your needs; it’s all about the fit. I do the alterations myself – I’m quite a seamstress – it’s the influence of my Hungarian mother. Carmen Dell’Orefice
As well as being a creative genius, Vidal Sassoon was a formative figure of the Sixties. Along with the Pill and the mini-skirt, his influence was truly liberating. Mary Quant
The most hateful human misfortune is for a wise man to have no influence. Herodotus
We see a new Ethiopia, a new Africa, stretching her hands of influence throughout the world, teaching man the way of life and peace, The Way to God. Marcus Garvey
Man is not made better by being degraded; he is seldom restrained from crime by harsh measures, except the principle of fear predominates in his character, and then he is never made radically better for its influence. Dorothea Dix
If you are given a chance to be a role model, I think you should always take it because you can influence a person’s life in a positive light, and that’s what I want to do. That’s what it’s all about. Tiger Woods
When the state or federal government control the education of all of our children, they have the dangerous and illegitimate monopoly to control and influence the thought process of our citizens. Michael Badnarik
Bohr’s influence on the physics and the physicists of our century was stronger than that of anyone else, even than that of Albert Einstein. Werner Heisenberg
Van Halen was a huge influence on me, and ‘Eruption’ was the song that really leaped off that first Van Halen album. Dimebag Darrell
Curiosity is natural to the soul of man and interesting objects have a powerful influence on our affections. Daniel Boone
There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple and useful life. Booker T. Washington
There is a boundary to men’s passions when they act from feelings; but none when they are under the influence of imagination. Edmund Burke
We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn’t have a sort of influence. It does. Jamie Foxx
To listen well is as powerful a means of communication and influence as to talk well. John Marshall
The herd seek out the great, not for their sake but for their influence; and the great welcome them out of vanity or need. Napoleon Bonaparte
The influence of social media is unbelievable. It’s sad to see – it’s a fake life that some people live. Virgil van Dijk
