This is an interesting question and my answer is going to be unusual. Most people treat that question shallowly in my estimation. Most people really do not think about a question like this, but immediately start thinking of people to name that they admire, that are famous, or that made an impact on the world. But seriously, how much of a direct influence did they have on your life or thinking? The bottom line is that your thinking is what influences your life, determines your identity and who you are. Unless someone personally mentored you, trained you, coached you, gave you an endowment, put you through school, or something that directly altered the course of your life, I would doubt that they really influenced your life that much. Now, you may admire them or they may inspire you, but I wouldn't consider that necessarily influencing your life dramatically. I look at this differently and I hope this does not appear to be narcissistic, egocentric, haughty, or arrogant because it is not meant to be and really is not at all that way.