Released: June 12, 2006
Norfolk, VA 23507
Self Awareness: The Secret of Success
By Sandy Dumont, The Image
Architect
Did you ever see someone walking down the street wearing
garments that were glaringly wrong or unflattering for the person? Maybe, like
others, you have wondered if they had a mirror at home. Alas, they probably did.
The real problem is usually lack of concern about the appearance, laziness or a
lack of awareness.
With 30 years of experience dealing with image, I
have concluded that lack of awareness is the culprit most often. Here is a
checklist in case you haven’t stopped to look in the mirror and consider your
image from head to toe:
(1) Is your hairstyle up to date? Or did you
succumb to a “no muss no fuss” hairdo that looks less than professional. Wash
& Wear hair is fine, as long as it doesn’t look like Wash & Wear hair.
In other words, it doesn’t look like it dried in the car on the way to work and
has a carelessness to it. If you appear careless with your hair, it will be
assumed that you are careless about your work.
(2) Women: Do you wear
makeup? Or do you feel that you don’t have time to spend putting on makeup each
morning? How would you feel if Laura Bush came to your organization to speak and
showed up without makeup? You might feel that she didn’t think your organization
mattered much, because she didn’t take the extra time that morning to put on her
makeup. Most importantly, she might look unimportant and, therefore, not make as
much of an impact. If you look at the paintings of the great masters from the
past, they applied “lipstick” and “eyeshadow” to biblical figures, even though
these products did not exist at the time. In reality, they improved upon Mother
Nature and added color to the lips to make the women appear softer and kinder;
then they added soft shadows around the eyes to give them more shape, definition
and prominence. In reality, the figures in the painting would not gain your
attention had the masters not improved upon Mother Nature. Without makeup, you
may look washed out and, studies have proven, less professional.
(3) Do
you wear appropriate colors? Or do you believe you can wear any color as long as
you feel good in it? Colors affect us on two levels. First, the results in the
mirror; and secondly, in terms of looking more powerful, dynamic, trustworthy,
etc. Most people choose colors from the “heart and soul,” which has nothing to
do with the results in the mirror. They like the color and feel good in it. With
a trained eye, they may ultimately come to learn that the colors they like best
may actually cause them to look less attractive than they could. Most
importantly, some colors take away power and cause you to look passive and
unimportant. Thus, you may be kept waiting, have difficulty getting your foot in
the door or be treated as if you are unimportant. Take the time to find out
about the power of color.
(4) Do you wear the appropriate “line” or
style of clothing and accessories? Or do you choose items because they look good
on someone else? The lines that are created by the clothing and accessories you
wear, including the shape of your shoes, can make or break you. Square toes, for
example, make you look clumsy. Line is “read” subliminally in mere seconds. The
line of your garments or accessories can cause you to look severe - or dynamic
and friendly. And their line or shape and make you look two sizes larger – or
smaller. Stripes, for example, make you look taller, but they also make you look
broader. “Flaws” of any kind create distractions to your message, and
camouflaging them improves your communication dramatically.
(5) Women:
Do you wear accessories? Or do you buy an “outfit” with perfectly-matched top,
jacket and pants or skirt and leave it at that? This is nothing more than “robot
dressing.” It suggests a lack of imagination or creativity. Unfortunately, you
will be judged to be someone who accepts the status quo rather than to be a
mover and a shaker. Creativity and imagination are valued assets in all areas of
life, including your personal, public and business life. Take the time to
discover the accessories that make you look dynamic and state of the art.
Take a serious look at yourself in the mirror and the persona you
present? If you entered a room filled with people, would heads turn? If you
don’t stand out in a crowd, your image may need some fine tuning. You owe it to
yourself to do the best you can with your image. There are no unattractive
people, only people who have not learned how to look attractive!
Sandy Dumont (sandy@theimagearchitect.com)
Impression Strategies
Institute
921 Botetourt Gardens
Norfolk, VA 23507
Phone :
757/627-6669
Fax : 757/627-4044
Impression Strategies Institute
Courtesy FeaturesUSA.com