People Power: The quiet discipline of situational influence – June 2026

By Dave Allman

For more than 50 years, I have been on a lifelong journey studying, researching and, eventually, writing about one central idea. At the time, I didn’t clearly know what to call it until Kemp Harr invited me to write a column for Floor Focus. He titled it “People Power.” That was it. People Power: the ability to achieve desired results personally or through others.

What has always fascinated me is a simple but profound question: Why do some people flourish while others merely survive? Why are some individuals driven with clarity and purpose, while others drift, even under identical circumstances.

THE SEARCH

Ironically, this journey did not begin with intention. It began when a friend dragged me, kicking and screaming, to a positive thinking rally. I had no interest in attending. He had a free ticket and chose me as his companion. Yet, that unexpected experience planted a seed that would quietly grow for decades.

I still remember hearing Zig Ziglar speak for the first time. I was mesmerized. Something in his message, and in the messages of other motivational speakers, resonated deeply within me. I wasn’t sure whether it was the concept of positive thinking that captivated me or whether I was simply stuck and searching for answers. Perhaps it was both.

At that stage of my life, I knew what I wanted—even if I couldn’t fully articulate it. I wanted to live life on my own terms. I wanted to succeed. I wanted my life to matter. I longed to do something meaningful, even though I wasn’t entirely sure what that something was.

By then, I had left school, had children and already opened my own flooring business. I loved serving customers and helping transform their homes. Every day, I returned home knowing I had made a difference. That work mattered.

Yet even then, a quiet restlessness remained. I sensed there was still something more I was searching for.

Over the years, that search led me down different paths. I ran for mayor of my city—won the primary and lost the general election by 17 votes. I served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and later spent nearly eight years on the city council. Those experiences expanded my understanding of leadership, service and human behavior, but they still did not fully answer the deeper questions that followed me.

When I became a flooring territory manager covering Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, my hunger for personal growth intensified. During long hours on the road, I logged countless miles listening to leadership programs, motivational speakers and personal development lessons from some of the best teachers money could buy. Those audio lessons, combined with my lifelong love of reading, profoundly shaped my thinking.

I devoured books on leadership, human behavior, success and purposeful living, always circling back to the same enduring questions: Why do some people flourish while others merely survive? What truly unlocks human potential?

Over time, that search led me to two beliefs I now hold deeply. First: Our life’s work is to discover our life’s work. It doesn’t matter whether we find it early or later in life. What matters is the journey. Second, and perhaps even more important: Our responsibility is to become our best self.

Each of us has a unique path. We all need to survive, but survival alone is not enough to flourish. To truly thrive, human beings need love, meaningful relationships, personal growth, independence and a sense of purpose. Some stumble into these accidentally. Others pursue them intentionally. Still others simply hope they will appear. But hope alone is not a strategy.

If we want to live life on our own terms, we must consciously create it through the choices we make each day. As Peter Drucker wisely observed, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

FIND YOUR ‘ONE THING’

I often asked myself a defining question: “If I could teach my children one principle, that would empower their lives more than anything else, what would it be?”

That question reminds me of the scene in the movie “City Slickers” when Curly, played by Jack Palance, tells Mitch that the secret to life is “one thing.” When Mitch asks what that one thing is, Curly simply smiles and says, “That’s what you have to figure out.” Much of my life has been spent searching for that “one thing.”

Then I encountered the work of Harvard professor Edward C. Banfield. In “The Unheavenly City Revisited,” he studied why some individuals experience long-term success while others, often in nearly identical circumstances, do not. His conclusion was striking: one of the greatest determining factors was a person’s time perspective, how far into the future they consider the consequences of their present actions.

Those who think long-term, postpone immediate gratification and consistently make decisions based on future desired results are far more likely to flourish over time. 

And I came to believe the “one thing” may be this: A compelling vision of the future.

When people can clearly envision a meaningful future, something remarkable happens. Procrastination begins to fade. Helplessness gives way to possibility. Discouragement is replaced by renewed energy and direction.

A compelling vision awakens hope and inspires action. It fuels creativity, strengthens persistence and provides the discipline to continue when life becomes difficult. Over time, vision develops mental toughness and emotional intelligence because people begin living not just for today, but for the person they are becoming. That vision embellishes the development of many of the characteristics associated with people power.

Most importantly, a compelling vision compels us to keep the promises we make to ourselves. The true measure of a person is the ability to carry out a worthy decision long after the emotion that first inspired it has faded.

How often do we make sincere commitments in moments of inspiration, only to abandon them at the first encounter with discomfort? Someone resolves to lose 20 pounds, then meets a doughnut three hours later and postpones his or her goal until tomorrow.

Whether we like it or not, we are governed by two competing forces: the rational mind and the emotional mind. Every day, they battle for control. The rational mind wants the disciplined body and meaningful goals. The emotional mind wants comfort, excitement and immediate gratification.

The rational mind plans and envisions the future. The emotional mind supplies the energy. And while emotion may be powerful, it is rarely sustainable. Without learning to direct our emotions toward something meaningful, we naturally drift toward short-term comfort rather than long-term purpose.

A compelling vision is often born in a moment of reflection, when the status quo no longer feels acceptable. A decision is made. A commitment forms. A future is imagined. Thinking shifts from merely living in the present to intentionally creating the future.

Sometimes that future is only a few moves ahead, like a chess player thinking strategically. Other times it stretches years forward, earning a degree, building a career or defining a legacy.

When a goal is written down, it becomes more real. When it is clearly visualized, it becomes even more compelling.  

LIVING BY VISION 

Visualization turns the mind into a training ground. When people consistently see the future clearly in their imagination, their mind begins searching for ways to make it real. Intellectual intent gradually becomes emotional certainty. Vision changes behavior because vision changes identity. And when identity changes, behavior eventually follows.

Living by vision requires courage, the courage to begin and the courage to continue. The greatest tragedy is not failure. It is reaching the end of life burdened by choices never made, risks never taken and possibilities never pursued. The future is rarely created in dramatic moments. It is shaped daily, one thought, one decision, and one action at a time. And today is the only moment of time we can control. 

A compelling vision remains powerful not because excitement stays high but because the vision becomes tied to identity, habits and purpose. Here is the deeper truth: The future is not built on sustained excitement. It is built on sustained commitment.

Passion fades. Emotions fluctuate. Life becomes repetitive, difficult, and sometimes discouraging. That is normal. Those who succeed are not constantly inspired; they are constantly reconnected to meaning.

A compelling future fades when neglected. That is why successful people regularly revisit their goals, remind themselves why they matter and renew their commitment.

At first, people pursue goals because they want something. Lasting change occurs when the goal becomes part of who they are. Instead of saying, “I’m trying to exercise,” they say, “I am becoming a disciplined person.” That changes everything.

Momentum is sustained by daily wins, small victories, visible progress and consistent habits. Hope grows through movement. Pain can also motivate. 

Environment matters. Vision fades in environments filled with cynicism and distraction and thrives in environments of encouragement, growth and reinforcement. Eventually, discipline must replace excitement. That is the mark of maturity, the decision to continue whether we feel inspired or not. It is the essence of the willingness to delay gratification for something better.

A vision must also grow. What inspires us at 20 may not be sufficient at 50. As values mature, purpose must expand. Commitment does not mean never struggling. It means repeatedly reconnecting to what matters most.

That is why courage is always required—the courage to begin, and the courage to continue long after the emotion has passed.  A compelling vision of the future rarely appears all at once. It is developed intentionally through reflection, long-term thinking and repeated exposure to possibility. It begins when we ask ourselves important questions: Who do I want to become? What kind of life do I want to create? What will happen if I continue on my current path? The big question is, what questions are you asking yourself? n

THE AUTHOR

Sam Allman is CEO of Allman Consulting and Training and is a motivational speaker, consultant and author. He has created hundreds of training and educational learning programs and systems for major corporations. He can be reached at sjallman@gmail.com.