Life can wear you out and become stale. You can feel like you're going through the motions and getting nowhere
fast. At this point, it's time to make a change, gentlemen. This may mean a new career, a new lifestyle, a new passion, or a new relationship -- you should grab the bull by the horns and reinvent yourself.
Who is that person you've always wanted to be? Sure, a huge life change like this can seem daunting, but you can do it no matter your age or what stage of life you're in. The first step to make it happen is believing in yourself, whether you're starting fresh in your thirties, changing up careers in your forties, finding a new purpose in your fifties or sixties.
Besides believing in yourself, realize that you are representing a brand -- your personal
brand. Everybody has one. We as individuals are making a conscious as well as subconscious decisions about the brand we present to the outside world. So, what I want you to do is go to the mirror and take a look at yourself. What do you think of the brand that you are representing and presenting? Are you happy with it?
Even if you're not reinventing yourself, we all need to periodically tweak and modify our personal brand to
elevate it a notch or two. For instance, as we mature and grow personally as well as professionally, we continuously need to adjust and analyze our image and brand. Think of it like this: You're climbing the corporate ladder, and you're moving up. If your image is not adjusting or climbing with you, you're going to be at risk of not receiving promotions. Even relationships could pass you by.
Case in point: how many of you dressed like crap in college? I know I get it; I was there. I was a
complete train-wreck and didn't know whether or not I wanted to dress like a dirty hippie or keep it real. I lived in a complete dirty crap-hole with five other guys, and my car was beat-up with all kinds of trash and junk tossed in it. But what can you expect during that phase of life? Sound familiar?
Here's the deal. Once I graduated and entered the real world, I quickly realized that my image needed a serious overhaul. If I
was going to be taken seriously and succeed in this thing called life, I needed to project success in order to obtain success. I may not have known exactly what success looked like, but I definitely knew it didn't look like a dirty hippie in a filthy, dirty teal car.
So, what about you? Are you still living,
dressing, and driving like you're a college kid? Your income and status levels may have increased, but you're stuck in a personal brand rut. So my question to you is: what are you going to do about it? Bingo! That is right. You're going to make the needed personal brand modifications to make sure that you are consistently and constantly presenting the brand of success. The way that we’re going to do it is to break the personal brand down into four specific
categories.
First, you need to determine what well-groomed means to you. Then develop a grooming regimen and execute it regularly. Maybe you've been growing a big bushy goatee or maybe even growing your hair out.
Maybe you've had the same old, tired-ass hairstyle for the past 10-years. Either way, you need to remember that your hairstyle, much like clothing, can go out of style. You need to make sure that you're changing it in order to be viewed as current. People will pay more attention to you and take your view more seriously with the proper grooming.
Alright gentlemen, if you were rocking a big, bushy, out-of-control beard, guess what? You may love it, and chicks might love it, but the personal brand that you are presenting maybe that you're a little bit sloppy and possibly a slacker. Gentlemen, you're growing so you're grooming regimen needs to grow too. If your grooming habits don't represent your personal brand, you need to fix
them.
Your wardrobe is a direct extension of your brand. Think of it like the pretty packaging. What you wear,
the colors you wear, the way that your clothes fit, and your body are all part of the equation. After you’ve built the foundation of your wardrobe, you should consider investing in higher quality clothing as well as have certain items tailored to fit you better.
Now I'm not saying just run out and spend a bunch of money on expensive clothes or a bunch of logos or labels. Replace and upgrade items piece-by-piece. Once you start getting into the higher quality clothing, you will observe a significant difference. The fabric is a lot nicer, softer, & more luxurious, and the construction is also better. A lot of times, the fit has been perfected. Bottom line, your wardrobe definitely is part of your
brand.
Your domicile is your house, apartment, condo, crib, whatever you call it. It's where you live, but more
specifically, HOW you live. How you live is definitely part of the brand equation, and I get it. When you're first starting out, you're moving in and moving up. You might have several roommates with a hand-me-down couch, and you’re sleeping on a futon that smells like a foot and has stains on it. Right? But then you start doing a little better and only have one roommate. Someday, just maybe, you might have a beautiful place of your own. Well, here's the deal.
It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment or castle -- if somebody walks in and it's a filthy, dirty, and stinky mess, your personal brand execution is over. You have failed. Your domicile needs to be clutter-free, decorated, and taken care of. A man's house is his castle. Make sure that yours is looking appropriate, because it's definitely speaking volumes about you. I'm a firm believer that if you
live in clutter, confusion, and chaos, the rest of your life is going to be that way too metaphorically speaking.
What you drive speaks volumes about your brand. Now I know that when you're starting off and you don't have much money, you
may be driving a clunker like I did. When you upgrade, you have to decide what car you're going to drive to represent your brand. For me, the epitome of success was a Corvette because when I was six years old, I absolutely loved my little red Matchbox Corvette.
But the BRAND of the car is not the important aspect. The most important aspect is HOW you maintain your car. Is it clean on the outside AND inside? Is it free of trash and clutter? Those are the important parts of this part of your brand.
Reinventing yourself takes time, and it won't happen overnight. Start with believing in yourself, then update and/or upgrade
your personal brand. These two steps are vital in the beginning of your journey and make all the difference in your success. Then, break down your big goals into smaller objectives to increase your chances of success. Also, give yourself rewards as you achieve these objectives to keep yourself motivated. Keep working through your reinvention process -- life is too short not to be all that you want to
be.
Alpha M. POST of the WEEK
Been working hard and love it when the clothes fit right.
This post came from Alpha M. Consulting Facebook group which features all types of engagement- from fitness and style,
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