When our daughter was young, she used to play with a little boy named Billy who lived up the street. Billy was all boy: shirtless, barefoot, and racing through the neighborhood like a wild man. We lovingly called him Wild Bill. When Billy came to our house, my wife Jane had clear rules: behave respectfully, clean […]

When most people think of influence, they think of words — what we say, how we say it, and how persuasive our arguments might be. But influence isn’t just about language. It’s a relational skill. And, as I’ve learned from Dr. Karen Molano, a child psychologist and early development specialist, influence starts long before we […]

Is there one principle of influence that’s more important than the rest? I’ve come to believe there is—and that principle is liking. I often tell clients, “People won’t buy from you just because they like you, but they’ll almost never buy from you if they don’t.” Unless you offer something truly unique—something no one else can provide—you’d better […]

“With this book, Brian Ahearn provides a marriage of spiritual inspiration and psychological illumination that is matchless in my experience.” — Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-suasion Have you ever wondered how your faith and your work truly fit together—not just on Sundays or in vague mission statements, but in the decisions you make, the people you lead, […]

During part of my childhood, we lived in Southern California. My parents were still in their late 20s and early 30s, which meant weekends often involved the beach and, with it, the rising tide of hippie culture. The soundtrack of that era? The Doors. Their classic, Break on Through to the Other Side, seemed to play constantly. The […]