Thinking out loud

What is it that make influence so powerful?? As I think about how I have altered the course of my life because of someone else's influence, I realize that there are many occassions where I went and did something which I would not have thought about if not for influence. Influence can affect our everyday lives - social influence is what is interesting to me. Have you ever noticed that people in a group go by influence of others in a group? May be it is because you trust your social group. People in a social group more or less follow a pattern - from getting married, buying a home, setting aup a business, even having a kid! Something to think about - is this influence good or bad? It goes back to the basic advise from our parent about how we should find ourselves in a good circle of friends!!!