Having influence in your life is such an important skill. Throughout my growing years I always assumed that I didn’t matter much and hence couldn’t exert any influence whatsoever. However later I realized whether you know it or not, you always have some influence.

With that preamble, you can imagine how happy I was to read Influence is your superpower – Zoe Chance.

When the subtitle said – “How to get what you want without compromising who you are”, I wanted to gobble the contents in an instant!

Overall the book is a great guide in understanding, nurturing and embracing being an influential person. It does deliver what it promises and I had multiple Aha moments as I went through the book.

There are many points in the book, which resonated with me deeply which I intend to cover as part of upcoming posts. For now, I wanted to list the biggest takeaways –

1. The power to say NO
   We hear it a lot, but yet we keep giving away free yes’es in a variety of situations and to various people. You end up being stretched thin and everyone loses finally. The book makes a passionate case as to why you are well in your right to say no and choose yourself. If you have a history of people pleasing like me, saying no would mean internally you imagine yourself ruining their plans, dreams and their world! But it doesn’t have to be so dramatic. As Zoe says, when you say a No, “Be warm, clear and firm”.
   And move on.
   
2. Ask
   This was a big eye opener for me. The simple act of asking for what you want. You can skirt around the bush and drop all types of signs and hints. You are then left despairing how the world is filled with people who just don’t seem to have the capacity to process your unsaid needs and desires. The message is clear and direct here – “Ask more often, ask more directly, and ask for more”.
   
3. You can always negotiate
   This is a huge one as well. Firstly just understanding what negotiations even are. It aren’t always those big board room meetings. It could be just who among your friends will end up traveling the most for the lunch meetup. For me the biggest takeaway here was “Negotiation is always possible”
   I had kind of started to realize this after I heard how people had negotiated home loan rates (apparently they are) , or stuck a deal with their spouse to attend that party alone, or even just traded for a better looking set of goodies at birthday party! So always remember, can this be made better so that everyone gains more? Point noted.

I am glad I read this book and sure that there are lessons which will distill slowly and organically. This book will definitely be among my top reading recommendations.

Lets use our influence skills to dream bigger and better as Zoe closes off her book.

Overall rating – 5/5