Please enable javascript, or click here to visit my ecommerce web site powered by Shopify.

Monday, August 13, 2012

amanda has influence.

Hi y'all! My  name is Amanda and I'm the creative mind behind Royal Daughter Designs. This is me:


I'm a country girl, farming and ranching on 8 beautiful Texas acres. My husband, Mr. E., is a minister and a seminary professor and  I'm a small business owner and graduate student. I'm a has-been foster moma self-proclaimed animal lover, laundry procrastinator, sweet tea junkie, and high-heel hater.

I am so honored and blessed that Jessi allowed me to spend some time with you today. She has been such an inspiration and a blessing to me, and I am so looking forward to meeting her at Influence in just eight short weeks! Will you be joining us?

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about influence lately. And while yes, I’ve thought a lot about the conference, what I’m talking about right now is the influence that I have as a blogger and writer.

Embracing my influence and leadership did not come easily to me. I admit that I got sucked into the latest trends in blogging, and I became too concerned with numbers and popularity. Oh what a difficult place that is to be – comparing myself to others and constantly wishing for more. More followers. More comments. More pins and tweets and likes.
The realization hit me a few weeks after I bought my ticket for Influence. I was thinking about the word: influence, and mulling over in my mind why Jessi, Casey, and Haley chose that specific word as the name of their fledgling conference. Of course, we'll have to wait to hear from them about that, but it was while I was thinking about the conference that I realized:

I have influence.

I have a voice.

I am a leader.

Y’all, I can’t tell you how that resonated within me. I have a voice and people are listening to it. Sure, maybe it’s not a lot of people. And maybe they don’t comment or tweet me as much as I want. But they’re there…following me in some way, reading my blog, and listening to my voice. And sadly, I had put absolutely no thought into what kind of a leader I am to my followers. No thought as to where I am leading them. No concern for the journey in which they have joined me.


Since that revelation I’ve spent hours praying over the direction of RDD. I’ve planned and prayed, and prepared for major changes. I’ve been intentional in the words I write, praying that my small voice will be heard by those who need it. Hoping to have some small impact – influence – on those who read it.

This is my challenge to you: think about the kind of leader that you are. You do have followers, right? Maybe you have a lot of followers, or maybe just a few. But if they follow through GFC, twitter, or instagram, and if they like you on facebook, or subscribe to your feed, you do have followers. And that makes you a leader. So what kind of leader are you? What kind of leader do you want to be?
  • do you know what journey you’re leading your followers on?
  • have you embraced your role as a leader in the blogging community?
  • do you take time to make yourself a better leader, rather than trying to get more followers?

If you’d like to know about how I am embracing my role as a leader, you can check out my vlog about popularity and leadership, read my new vision and purpose for RDD, and consider joining me in a challenge to take back your blog. It’s a learning experience, that’s for sure. And sometimes it’s slow and a little painful. But it is oh-so worth it. And ultimately my goal is to make much of HIM. Not my sponsors. Not myself. But my Savior and Redeemer. Who is, after all, the most important influence in my life.
Photobucket
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket Photobucket

No comments: