Inspirational and Motivational Influencers

Season 6   Episode  90

What are we listening to now? Listen to this episode to find out what to look for in following inspirational and motivational influencers.  

 

Show Notes:

Episode Summary:

For the last 20+ years, there is no denying that the world has been radically shaped by social media influencers. Whether directly or indirectly, how we dress, decorate, or spend our money has been shaped by online influencers.

There are also motivational and inspirational leaders who have used the social media available to them to share their positive and insightful messages with the world. They challenge us to show up in the world as our best selves, they give us quotes to live by and they remind us of our strength and perseverance.

In this episode we share what we look for in inspirational and motivational social media influencers. We also share some influencers we’re currently following. If you aren’t following them yet, we bet you will be by the end of this episode.

Introduction:

Ah, the social media influencers. They are there every time we pick up our phones to scroll. 20 years ago that wasn’t even a thing and now, depending on how much time you spend on social media, you could be hearing hours and hours of social media influencers’ thoughts each week.

With the advent of YouTube in 2005, Instagram in 2010, and new social media outlets popping up regularly, social media not only became a way to share ideas, it also reinvented how people promoted brands, products, and ideas.

All of a sudden we were no longer learning about products through television commercials, but were instead hearing about them from celebrities and soon-to-be-social media celebrities in the feeds on our phones.

When was the last time you actually watched a commercial?  Today we stream things or fast forward through commercials.

It is pretty crazy when you think about the reach that some of these social media influencers have. Of course, the number of followers and degree of influence can vary drastically. Some of the most popular influencers have millions of followers and endorse multiple products.

In today’s episode, we will share ideas about social media THOUGHT influencers. We stress the word THOUGHT. These are influencers who use social media to put positive thoughts out into the world. They motivate us and they inspire us. They use the platform of social media to challenge our negative thoughts and to encourage us to live our  very best lives.

Specifically, we share three things we look for when finding social media inspirational influencers to follow and we then share a few of our favorite social media motivational thought influencers.

3 things to look for when deciding which social media inspirational and motivational  influencers to follow:

They share your values.

 We have done several episodes in which we have talked about staying true to your values. It is a key component of living an inspired and fulfilling life. We are at our best when our actions align with our values. We should be striving to surround ourselves with people who value the same things we do. What is the feed that is going into your head?

The beauty of social media is that there are likely hundreds or even thousands of motivational and inspirational social media influencers who share the same values as you.

Here is where a word of caution is needed. Just because they share some values with you does not mean they will motivate or inspire you. For example, there are teacher influencers who share the value of love of teaching with you. However, they may use their platform only to sell cute bulletin board templates and behavior management charts that they sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. You may share the value of teaching as a vocation but dislike behavior charts. It doesn’t align with your values. You likely will not be inspired or motivated by their posts. They might be great for someone else to follow, but their values are not aligned with yours.

On the other hand, you may find motivation in your teaching and life from a non-teaching influencer. For example, we are always motivated by Natalie Ellis from Bossbabes who has millions of followers. Her career is not teaching but her message of helping women “make more money + live a lifestyle they love” speaks to our values so we find her very motivational. She is real and shares the good things and the challenges.

They are authentic.

Being in education, you can likely read people fairly well. You can tell when people are being authentic and when they are putting on a show. If you feel like someone is not authentic, you are not going to trust them. In that case, move on and find another inspirational influencer.

Sometimes you can tell when someone is only trying to pitch you something. They are acting and you sense that you are not getting to know the real person. For example, you have all heard of influencers who say how much they love a product so they can pitch it and make money but then find out later that they never even bought the product. The same kind of thing can happen with a thought leader. In some cases, they aren’t even selling a product, they are selling themselves as a brand.

This can be a touchy point, because many of the inspirational leaders have written books or have courses they sell.

Selling something doesn’t make the influencer inauthentic. If they have a great message and you want to buy a book, a course or a membership to hear more of their thoughts, great! However, if you feel they aren’t being authentic and they are just trying to sell you something, it may mean it is time to move on and find another influencer.

In many cases, authentic influencers didn’t write the book or create the course just to sell. They wrote it or created it to educate. Social media became a place to share their knowledge and insight. Of course they want to sell, but the selling didn’t come before the product.

We want to reiterate that just because someone is selling something it does not mean they are not authentic. Being in the online world costs money. There are expensive websites, software, graphic design programs … the list goes on and on. And that doesn’t even count the hours spent creating content.  Would you go to a book store and expect the books to be free? Of course not.

Paula: There is one popular motivational influencer I like to follow….sometimes. I loved her first book and her second. Usually, I like reading her thoughts about being a mother and better person. However, there are times I have felt that she was inauthentic on certain topics, just to put her voice into a popular topic when I felt like she was stretching to make it meaningful for her. I typically find myself being drawn back into what she is posting but I feel like there is a clear difference when she is being authentic and she isn’t. This motivational influencer has over half a million followers on Instagram alone so she is clearly speaking in a way that people listen, but I can easily move in and out of following her based on how authentic I feel she is being at any given time.

You find their words inspirational and motivational.

When you read their quotes, you commit them to memory. Think about the last quote you saw on social media that spoke to you in a way that inspired you. Whoever posted it might be an influencer you want to follow!

We both love Brene Brown and Daniel Pink as motivational and inspirational leaders who have used social media to grow their audiences into millions of followers. The other day, Brene Brown posted a Daniel Pink quote on her social media. For us that was a sign that we are following like-minded people! We have quoted both Brene Brown and Daniel Pink many times on our podcast. Why? They inspire us and motivate us. They challenge us to think differently. Not only do we quote them on our podcasts, we copy down their quotes and use them for sounding boards for our lives.

The next time you are scrolling through your social media and see a quote you want to commit to memory, note the author and the person who posted it. The odds are good that one of them might be a social media motivator that you want to follow.

Michele: I secretly collect quotes. I have a physical notebook and write them down when I like them. We often use those quotes on the podcast or in our workshops. I also write them in my planner- one quote every week because quotes inspire me.

 A few of our favorite social media inspirational and motivational influencers…

 Now that we have discussed what we look for in a motivational and inspirational social media influencer, we will briefly share a few of our favorites in case you would like a jump start in finding some people you might enjoy following.

 Brene Brown

 There are so many things we love about Brene Brown and we are not the only ones. She has millions of followers across multiple social media platforms. She is a researcher and a storyteller. We love her messages about vulnerability, courage, shame and empathy. We also love her books. But when we don’t have time to sit down and read, the videos, podcast episodes and posts she shares regularly on social media are small doses of the inspiration we need.

Malcom Gladwell

 With almost a half million followers on Instagram and almost a million on each of his other social media platforms, Malcom Gladwell is as entertaining as he is inspirational. You may know him as the New York Times bestselling author of Blink, Outliers, and other books or maybe you know his Revisionist History podcast but if you don’t know him as a motivational social media influencer, it may be time to follow him. On an interesting side note, Gladwell has even written on, and spoken about, the power and limitations of social media. Malcolm Gladwell is quirky, and he is an original thinker.

Arthur Brooks

 Arthur Brooks is a social scientist who studies leadership and happiness. We are very interested in happiness research. He has a lot to say about happiness!

Michele: I  took a course from him at Harvard and he was also a really good teacher. He also writes a column, How to Build a Life in the Atlantic which I like. Like most of my recommendations, I came to him through his books and research first, then followed him on Linked In.  That is usually how I find thought leaders, through their books first.

Daniel Pink

Though Daniel Pink doesn’t have as many followers as Brene Brown or Malcom Gladwell, he is only in the hundreds of thousands, lol, his message is just as powerful. Daniel Pink is a great example of someone who shares a lot of inspirational quotes. Most of his quotes are by famous people you would recognize and most of them. He talks about  about motivation, personal growth and creativity. If you like to read motivational quotes, be sure to follow Daniel Pink. We’ve shared tidbits from hi book Drive many times. If you are interested in motivation, check out Dan Pink.

Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert is a creative soul. She wrote the book Big Magic. You may also know her from the book Eat, Pray, Love or from the movie. She has a creative mind. She puts ideas together in ways that others don’t, which is fascinating.

Gabby Bernstein

Gabby Bernstein teaches about mindset shifts, which we often talk about on our podcast. Her shifts seem a bit wild at first, and her approaches may seem unusual at first. She is very real, honest and authentic about her own personal struggles and insights. She brings new ideas and news ways of thinking. She might help you with your own mindset shifts.

Adam Grant

Adam Grant is a researcher first and an influencer second. His ideas often connect to things we are interested in, such as human potential, which is a topic we have discussed and even create an entire workshop around. His discussions are also backed with science. We life like Shawn Achor, author of Big Potential, and The Happiness Advantage, and James Clear who wrote Atomic Habits for the same reason.

Conclusion

We end with this quote by author and speaker, Dave Willis:

“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”

That is exactly what social media inspirational and motivational influencers have the power to do.

Make sure you follow those that understand that power and use it to make your life better.

 Recap:

In this episode we shared three important things to look for in a social media inspirational and motivational influencers- shared values, authenticity, and quotes you want to commit to memory. We also shared a few of our favorite social media motivational influencers. If you decide to follow them, we hope you find them as motivational and inspirational as we do.

Quote:

Dave Willis

“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.”

Dave Willis

Connect with the Inspired Together Teachers Community:

Download our FREE resource: The Inspired Teachers Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Website: https:www.inspiredtogetherteachers.com

Instagram: Inspired-Together-Teachers

Facebook: Inspired Together Teachers

Inspired Together Teachers Network  Facebook Group

Linked In:  Inspired Together Learning

More About Inspired Together Teachers:

Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?

If you are dedicated and caring but often overwhelmed and exhausted, join us at Inspired Together Teachers. We’ll give you inspiration, strategies and tips that help you navigate life’s challenges as a stronger, more confident, and more joy filled person, both in and out of the classroom.

Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.

Co-hosts Paula Schmidt and Michele Vosberg are award winning educators with the experience and skills to help teachers thrive in life and work. They’ve taught at all levels, worked with thousands of teachers, and conducted workshops around the world. They are also the authors of the #1 best-selling book The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.

Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to lived inspired lives.

This post may use affiliate links. If you purchase an item through our link, we will receive a small portion of the profit with no extra cost to you. This helps us to pay for the costs of bringing this free podcast to our community.