Want To Succeed In Business, Social, Personal Life? Take Good Care Of Your Personal Image

Your personal image: It's the most important YOU asset you own.

Your personal image, the perception that people have about you, affects your success in every aspect of life - your life on the job, your social life, even your love life!

That is true because, no matter who you are or what you do, your success depends on what other people THINK about you - the image they have of you.

Your personal image has a number of elements. The way you dress, the colors you choose, the way you talk and the way you relate to others are some of the more important ones.

Some examples:

Personal Image And How You Dress

One very dramatic real-life example of how the way you dress can affect your success was recounted in the New York Times. The Times reported on what happened when two young men attempted to get an online service executive to give them $500,000 for their surfing website.

The young men bought new suits for the meeting and their presentation was equally buttoned up.

After just five minutes, the executive ended the meeting, saying, 'These are '#@%+! surfers?'

A couple of months later they came back for another presentation. How were they dressed this time? Like surfers - with Hawaiian shirts, shorts and sandals. For good measure, they acted the part in everything they said and did. But they didn't change their presentation at all.

This time, they walked out with the $500,000 order. Clearly, the way they were dressed made a huge difference. They now 'looked the part' and this gave them the credibility they lacked before.

'Looking the part, by dressing correctly has been proven critical to success in getting people to do what you want them to do.

In a famous experiment, two men approached 50 secretaries each in the same building to see which could best get past the secretaries to see the decision-maker.

Both used the same approach - but one man succeeded 24% of the time, while the second succeeded an astounding 60% of the time!

Even more astounding, they weren't two different men at all.

They were the same man.

The first time the man approached 50 secretaries he was wearing a black raincoat.

The secretaries perceived him as a messenger or delivery person -- someone who should not be allowed to get in to see their bosses.

When he approached the second 50 secretaries, he wore a tan raincoat. This time the secretaries perceived him as an executive, a peer of their bosses. So they granted his request to see them.

The clothes he wore and the colors he chose in each situation profoundly shaped the secretaries' image of him and made the difference between success and failure.

Personal Image And Your Conversation

Your talk (conversation ability) can be even more important to your success in business than your grades in school or college, according to a study by the Stanford University School of Business.

The study tracked the success of MBA's 10 years after they graduated. The result? Grade point averages of graduates had no bearing on their success -- but their ability to make conversation did.

The most successful graduates were those who could make conversation with anyone -- anyone from strangers to secretaries to bosses to customers.

Your image as being good in conversation helps you achieve success in social and personal relationships in two ways:

(1) Good conversation promotes 'liking.' We like to be around people who can carry on an interesting conversation.

(2) Good conversation creates an attractive image of wittiness, intelligence and self-confidence.

If you are able to carry on a good conversation, this makes people think of you as having more intelligence, wit and self confidence than those who cannot do so.

And, a university study showed just how important the perception of intelligence and self confidence can be.

In a study to determine the characteristics of the ideal male or ideal female -- intelligence and self confidence were rated as most important by 60% or more of respondents.

The message in all this for people who want to put themselves in position to succeed in their business, social and personal lives:

Take good care of your most important YOU asset - your personal image.

About The Author

Mr. Barton, an internet publisher and author of How To Be GREAT!!! In Conversation, offers a range of books to help 'sell yourself,' including personal image improvement books for both men and women. http://www.Sellfire.com/PersImage.htm.

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

Jim Rohns Eleventh Pillar of Success: Accelerated Learning, Part One - You Are a Genius
Hi, Jim Rohn here. This month we focus on accelerating our learning processes.

Psychological Tips For Effective Examination Techniques
One of the inevitabilities of University life is the examination. It is your opportunity to demonstrate your new knowledge and to reap the rewards.

Learning From Failure--What To Do When You Blow It!
Becoming successful is not easy. We all get tossed around somewhat in our attempts to win or succeed.

Why Pain?: An Understanding of Pain as a Necessary Part of Personal Growth
Champions expect pain, endure pain, and never complain. ---UnknownAfter so many years of studying personal development and thinking that the change I was looking for is going to come from that new book or new audio program, I realized that I was mistaken.

Self Growth - How to Overcome Your Critics
They all know it's part of the success journey.They know they just can't get away from it.

How To Create a Life Strategy for Business Success - Part One of a Series
Ask yourself the following:1. I have created a life-strategy plan for the next:a.

The Best Test
I spoke to a group of salespeople in Kansas City last week as they kicked off their new team. It was exciting to see them get excited about making a difference through their work.

No Shortcut To Success
Sometimes short cuts are not worth taking. They may bring you quick money but they do not make you become a better, stronger or more skilful person.

Lessons from My Garden
What does "Lessons from My Garden" have to do with "getting organized? One of the things I've learned after 20+ years as an organizing consultant is that organizing has something to do with everything!Here's how organizing principles apply to the art of gardening:"Half of any job is using the right tool!" (Note I said "using" - not "having!") It took a blister to convince me to buy a new pair of loppers to finish trimming the butterfly bushes. With the new tool, pruning was easy and painless.

Do You Fear Your Own Success?
Noted author and self-worth teacher Eric Butterworth* says, "Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things." When you couple his philosophy with the Eastern mysticism of "what you believe will become your reality" it becomes clear that obstacles to financial and personal success are largely self-created.

Work Life Balance: Work Life a Balancing Act
Australians are loosing their laidback, carefree reputation, as we continue to work longer hours, exercise less and neglect our leisure and family time.Recent research indicates that 67 per cent of Australian professionals spend at least 20 hours a week thinking about their job when they should be relaxing, and less than half take their entitled annual leave.

Five Ways To Take A Vacation Without Taking A Vacation
Last month Along The Purpose Path was about how to identify and stop the energy drains that leave you feeling exhausted and out of balance. I outlined how energy is one of your most valuable resources and invited you to start thinking about how to reserve more energy for yourself.

Parable for a New Age
Daddy was a very, very odd little man-possibly a schizophrenic-for all we could figured out. He was a short stony-faced man that rarely smiled or talked very much.

Action Speaks Louder Than Words
I have written much about how, in order to have more of what we desire in life, we must first do more and, that, in order to do more, we must first become more. In fact, the focus of the majority of my articles and books is about how to become more.

7 Dynamic Strategies for Creating a Life that Works
Everyone wants a life that works effectively, whether that means harmonious relationships, a happy family life, a successful career, or the achievement of an important mission. People with successful lives take certain actions consistently.

Glimpsing Your Personal Heaven
In my private practice for the past 13+ years I have discovered how hungry we are to find deep fulfillment and loving, make wise choices for ourselves and the planet, and walk in union with our higher guidance.Yet our days are filled with endless, empty lists of have-tos, shoulds, and must-dos.

How to Achieve Massive Success Before Graduating
How do you land your dream job, win the world's most prestigious scholarships, and get into your top school choices? Conventionally, students are taught that the main way to achieve these things are by getting great grades in the right classes and getting great summer jobs in the right fields. This strategy may have been a safe bet for awhile, but it simply isn't anymore.

What is Optimum Performance?
What is Optimum Performance? This question raises different responses from different people. It causes people to ponder issues like:Have you ever thought about how much better you could be doing in your business?How about your career?What about your relationship with someone you love?How about the state of your health right now?One or more of these areas most often needs a little more attention in day-to-day life.

Thinking About Winners
Have you ever thought about what makes a superstar? What attributes we admire in our heroes? Do you ever wonder were all the extra ordinary men have gone? Watch the movies that shaped our modern era, the ones which make you think about what it takes to win and what it means to be an American; what do you see? Some of the movies made heroes out of movie stars. First Blood, Rocky, Top Gun, Karate Kid, Vision Quest, Star Wars, etc.

Failure
Any person who goes through life without experiencing failure is the ultimate failure in life.Why? Because if a person has never failed, they have never attempted to achieve or accomplish extraordinary goals.