Everyone has someone, or a select few individuals, who have influenced them in their lives and their careers. We have personal influencers, more times than not, these are friends and family members. And we have professional influencers. A few years ago, professional influencers were mainly found at your current job or even at a past place of employment. These are people who you respect, trust, and admire. These are people who you take business advice from and put it into practice for yourself. Through the rise of social tools like blogs, email, e-books, Twitter, etc. it’s becoming easier to find business influencers all over the world, as opposed to the next cubicle over. This post is a dedication of sorts to the people who have had an positive influence on me and my company.

Here are my top 5 business influencers today. I want to say thank you for helping so many of us understand your thinking, hone our skills, and put into practice what you preach.

• Seth Godin: Seth is today’s predominant marketing guru. You can see his ideals coming through in all great marketing agencies work. He has the ability to recognize new trends and then turn them on their heads in order to capitalize on them. He’s the author of many bestselling books. Some of my favorites are, Survival is Not Enough, Unleashing the Ideavirus, and Tribes (notice I didn’t mention Purple Cow and Permission Marketing – 2 of the greatest marketing books of all time). I’ve been following Seth for years now and he never ceases to amaze me. Thank you sir.
• Anita Campbell: Anita is the Executive Editor of Small Business Trends. She’s also a renowned speaker. Anita has dedicated herself to helping small businesses thrive in today’s economy. Through her site, she spots business trends and relays them to her followers in a way that’s easy for us to understand. I recently began following Anita and the results have been impressive so far. If you’re a small business owner, I suggest you visit Anita’s site, go hear or speak, or follow her on Twitter: @smallbiztrends
• Chris Brogan: Another person who I didn’t discover until last year, but someone who’s made the biggest impact on me in the shortest amount of time. Chris Brogan is to Social Media what our government is to America (or at least supposed to be), “of the people, by the people, for the people. Chris Brogran runs an ultra-successful blog, which he updates practically daily, if not more. The people love what he’s about, which has increased his popularity. He’s dedicated to helping everyone he comes in contact with understand how to take the next step in social media marketing. With that said, many of his topics transcend SMM. He just wrote a new book, Trust Agents, and I cannot wait to read it – don’t spoil it for me (I’m finishing a few other books right now Chris ). Go pick up a copy, or stop by his blog to see what I’m talking about.
• Daniel Pink: Dan Pink is probably best known for his book, Free Agent Nation. It’s a remarkable book, which urges readers to rethink their approach to their professional lives. Perhaps getting good grades in order to get into a good college, so that you can find a good job, just isn’t working anymore. Perhaps you need to nix that thinking and strike out on your own. Daniel Pink, through his books and his blogs, provides readers with “A Whole New Mind” on working for yourself. His ideals are grounded in statistics, which gives credibility to his statements. Dan’s got a new book coming out, Drive, which I cannot wait for. Everything this guy does turns to gold (which is quite valuable these days – Thanks Mr. Kiyosaki). He helped motivate me to quit my job and start Catalyst Marketers. Thanks Dan.
• Robert Kiyosaki: Last, but certainly not least, Robert Kiyosaki. Robert is, in my opinion, the leading financial thinker of our time. Perhaps you’ve heard of his bestselling business book of all time, Rich Dad, Poor Dad? Robert has dedicated his life to helping others find financial freedom. He is a student of history, which helps him make bold predictions on the future…and guess what, most of his predictions turn out to be correct. If you want to escape the “rat race” and live a full life, free from financial insecurity, pick up everything ever written or sponsored by Robert Kiyosaki, as it will change your life forever. Robert, thank you for taking the time to educate us all on the importance of financial literacy. You have truly made an impact.

These are my top 5 business influencers. Who are yours?

Tags: Social Media Marketing

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