How do you influence people on a large scale?

Every day morning, while coming back from the gym, I see the rising sun.

Nowadays, summer is setting in here in India and the morning Sun, even at that early morning, shines bright and .... well.... sunny.

Watching the sun rising in the morning is an awe inspiring sight. Also it is wonderful and never ceases to amaze me to watch sun rise and shine its light on the entire world.

Nowadays, I have started praying to the Sun God. The prayer goes like this.

"Oh my sun god, just like the way you shine your light on the entire world, remove darkness and bring clarity to the world, I also want to shine my light on the entire world and influence the universe. Please help me to fulfill my wish."

I analysed as to how Sun was bringing light to the world. The objective was to understand and learn any lessons from the Sun God on how to influence huge number of people at the same time.

Here are a few of the lessons that I think are relevant.

1. Focus: The Sun is a very small speck in the entire universe. While shining, it doesn't try to light up the entire universe. The focus of the sun is to light its planet earth. The entire light of the sun is focused on lighting up the earth. Likewise, if you want to achieve anything, you need to focus like a laser beam, let your 'Teesari Aankh' see only your goal and the whole internal energy should be focused on the goal. 

2. Consistency: Every day in the morning, like a clockwork, or shall we say 'Sunwork', the sun rises in the east, lights up the earth and sets in the west. At night when we (the people in the earth who are beneficiaries of the God's munificence) know that the Sun will be there the next day, next month, next year, till eternity, lighting up the mother earth. This helps people to plan their activities years in advance. Imagine what could have been the outcome if the Sun was inconsistent. You would never be able to plan anything. For example, try going out without an umbrella in a rainy season. You will not be able to plan. Consistency of sun provides the opportunity to plan your work effectively. 

Likewise always be consistent in whatever you do. Another word for consistency in personal life is Integrity. A person who has integrity will have consistency in his thoughts, words and deeds. Like the consistency of  sun allows others to plan, the personal integrity allows others to plan their personal life around you. Be it in business or in personal life, always fill yourself with integrity and also, always associate yourself with people of integrity. 

3. Perpetual Motion: Right from the time it rises to the time it sets, the sun is always on the move. The movement allows the sun to shine its light on various areas of the planet. There is nothing called inertia as far as the sun is concerned. The movement allows the sun to spread its sphere of influence.

Take cue from the sun, always be on the move. Never fall pray to inertia. Never fall pray to lethargy and lassitude. No amount of personal competence can help you if you fall pray to inertia and procrastination.

Be alert, be aware, be like sun.

4. Remember your limitations, don't spread it too thin, don't cast your net too wide: No matter how hard the sun may try, it cannot light up the entire earth at the same time. At any time, the sun can light up only one side. Just like sun, which works within its limitations, analyse and evaluate yourself and identify your strengths and weaknesses. Always work within your strengths and avoid the weaknesses. Remember, even sun cannot light up the entire earth at the same time !!

5. Take enough rest, chill out!: The sun works for about 12 hours in giving light and takes rest for the remaining part of the day. Similarly, ensure to plan your tasks in such a way as to factor in rest and relaxation.

6. Pace yourselves: One of the characteristics of sun is that at the beginning of the day, it is less bright, becomes brighter as the day goes by and gradually cools down and winds up. This is an excellent lesson. Marathon runners never start off at a great pace. They start slowly and builds up pace. As another example, a gym instructor always asks you to 'Warm Up' before you start doing rigorous exercises. We sometimes tend to forget these basic lessons. We start off at a great pace, soon gets tired and stop. And then blame the tool!.
Learn from Sun on how to pace yourselves so that you can exert the maximum influence.