Dress for Success

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Welcome to Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass. Jon is the founder and CEO of Image Group International and an award-winning image consulting and personal branding pioneer established in 1989. This podcast will bring you old-school wisdom, inspiring ideas, strategies, and hacks for the new tech world. Here you will learn everything about personal branding: the system, the techniques, and the right mindset to have a successful personal brand, image, and reputation.

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Hello, tonight, we will continue our chat about the power of your wardrobe. Before we start, I kindly asked you to write the show on Apple podcasts. If you do, please send us an email confirmation and we will send you our ebook, The Real World Guide to authentic personal branding. Thank you. Okay, so let's start the show. 

0:50
Last week, I shared on the last episode, that when we get dressed, we are transmitting a message to the medium of cause to other people who are the receivers. The big problem is when our clothes are not transmitting the right messages, for example, a job interview, you know, a job interview my entire life that you'd go there looking professional. And without sounding too drastic. Your turn up looks like going into a nightclub or a network meeting. A network meeting is again professional. In most cases, of course, it could be a cocktail or it could be, you know, an after-work event. But still, you're going to be thinking about what is appropriate? Am I sending the right messages, and of course business pitch business pitches around, you know, getting business. And of course, what that means is attracting money, money and you're looking dishevelled, the two sorts of don't correspond very well. So again, you got to be asking yourself, Am I transmitting the right messages. And when you get an understanding of this, it's really, really valuable because it gives you insights into a lot of things that people will be judging you on. But rarely would ever share that with you directly face to face. So basically, you need to think of your clothes in a new way. For example, are they conveying the message you want? Remember that phrase, if you're already successful, fake it till you become it. And that can start first of all with your wardrobe. Because your wardrobe is all about first impressions in the first five seconds, your image influences the people you meet, contrary to all the changes in society, how stereotypes are supposed to be broken, and so on. What laws and so on did not take into consideration is the psychology of human beings over millennia. People basically are people they will judge and certainly from you know, a clothing perspective, they judge every day, all day. And that's what they do, you know. So the key here is to at least make sure that you get your packaging, right, because no different to any other product that you would buy. And unfortunately, yes, human beings are also in for argument's sake, in this scenario, let's look at ourselves as products also bought and sold on a daily basis. And if the product doesn't look attractive, it doesn't get bought. So you can easily fix that. But at least learn how to get your job right because after all, as I said, it's your packaging. 

3:46
Another thing to remember is to dress for an abundance lifestyle. In other words, dress for where you want to be in life, not where you are. And what I mean by that is never look desperate. Thinking of that I've separated seven key steps to dress for success. Of course, it could be others. But for argument's sake, in today's episode, we'll concentrate on those. Well, the first thing you need to know is about the first five seconds rule. As I mentioned earlier, in the first five seconds, people will judge your image if you like it or not. So it's about getting your image congruent with your personal brand. What do you want the world to know you for professional, influential, productive, smart, all these messages are conveyed through the way you present yourself. And also, of course, you know, you can also convey negative ones as well that we're not going to go into today. If you're on do that effectively. And I can't share enough with you from the perspective that how many people actually sabotage themselves daily, by the way, they present themselves because. Unfortunately, they have not been taught how to do that effectively. And there's no one to blame here. There's no point blaming, it's about, you know, deciding if it's not working for me right now, what do I have to do moving forward. 

5:12
My second tip is if you want to have some fun with this, pick five people to analyze you. But the caveat for this is to make sure that you trust them, and you like them. And what you want to do is encourage them, you know, by this very simple invitation to share with you their truth. Don't, you know, don't be nice, you know, this is what you want to say to them. Don't be nice, because you know, I and you like me. And so I'm just telling me the truth, do you think this actually supports me and get some of that feedback now, that you know, the more, the more you get some of that feedback from, again, a really authentic perspective, at least it's going to give you some tips. But remember this, the people that are giving you the feedback, you know, that they are people normally on your side, so to get really negative on them is not so easy, even, you know, even if they are straight shooters, and so on. So just be you know, careful on that specific because, at least though, you'll get some sort of feedback. And I think that feedback is better than having no feedback. 

6:20
The third step is to be honest with yourself. And from that perspective, I mean, analyze the detail yourself, you know, look in the mirror, and look at it from the perspective, not from the point of view of being down on yourself and beating yourself up. But look at it from the point of view, okay, what can I improve right now, you know, how can I get my presentation and personal image to be more effective? Because the reality is, whatever you think the world is superficial? That's the way it is. It's a consumerist based world. So people will judge you. And they'll do that every day of the week, doesn't matter what laws there are. So what you want to do is really empower yourself and say, you know, what, okay, maybe I don't like this. I don't like it from the perspective of, you know, people judging stereotypes and so on. But the reality, you know, is I want to succeed in life, I want to maximize my value I want to do well. And I think if you look at it from that point of view, you know, how do I make myself look, my best self. And if you look at it, from that point of view, I think you're going to stop being, you know, going on the winning on a winning path, because whichever way we'd like to talk about dress and wardrobe, and our personal image, it's something that's with us for the rest of our lives. So the sooner we know how to do that, effectively, the better for us. And of course, some of the outcomes and success we're looking for will be based certainly on first impressions. 

7:59
After you've done the self-analysis, you might want to consider going and seeing an accredited image coach. But what's important here is somebody with the rungs on the board, the relevance of picking the right coach matters. And I'll explain why. If you're going for business, for instance, and you want a particular wardrobe that's going to suit your, your business pitches, you're you know, and the outcomes you're looking for you that's different psychology and a different look to specifically dressing to go to the races. Okay, the same thing also, if you're going for a job interview, that's, as I mentioned earlier, it's totally different to you dressing up, you know, like you're going for, you know, after-work drinks, or a nightclub on a Friday or Saturday night. So it's a better understanding of the psychology of dress. And what's important here is and I've noted this in previous episodes, this is not about fashion, it's about style. And the difference between the two is the fashion, of course, is you know, what industry is promoting to you. And style is everlasting. It's something that just works and works and works and the best way you know, that is when you look at you know, contemporary classics that have been around before and they also look just as powerful today as they did 50 years ago. So understanding that and understanding of the course, you know, from a star perspective and this is when a great accredited of course image coach can help you with once you've completed some of those steps. 

9:38
The final step is to obviously go and find a new outfit. And this outfit will be based on definitely the first thing from my perspective is colour, get the colour right and the colour would be of course as per your yourself colouring could be influenced by your hair, skin colour, eye colour, etc. And then, of course, it leads to the next Spot weights around fit and cut. That's important because if it's not fitted properly, what you can get is, you know, the look of the clothes, actually wearing the person as opposed to the person wearing the clothes. And that's a common complaint with a lot of clients out there. Because a lot of the stores today don't offer you the right tailoring, because a lot of the staff also are not experienced in that area. So you know, and so one good example is you going to buy a suit, and the sleeves along and then you don't get the recommendation to take the sleeves up. The same thing also with the pants with ahem. So it's about getting the right outfit with some of the, you know, the right advice along the way, from the perspective of what actually works for you, for you, as a body shape, but also for the target that you're aiming for IE, you know, I've mentioned before a business meeting, or a job interview, you know, as opposed to a social event. Now, smart business casual also is the same thing. So understanding how to do that effectively also is essential, but the smart business casual is not actually weekend beach casual. It's you know, so it's about understanding how to do that. So then you've got other than, of course, your colour, your cut, then you've got, of course, the fabrics, and the fabrics from that point of view is, you know, what sort of textiles Do you want this outfit to be from wool, you know, cotton, linen, etc. And it's important that you get that right as well. Because if you do that effectively, then this outfit could be also transeasonal, meaning it's going to work for you in summer, and it's gonna work for you in winter, and you'll be able to have the opportunity to wear it more often meaning it becomes you know, greater value for money. So getting in the right outfit picked is important here, because the last thing you want to do is wear something that's really not going to be effective, effective as per the outcomes you're looking to achieve. Because if you don't look at it from that point of view, then potentially it can actually go the opposite way in reference to getting you the results that you wanted. So a bit of thought, a little bit of research into this. And of course, your chances, your odds to make a success of this increase dramatically. 

12:32
So the next step, finally, is research, research research. What I mean by that, well, look, it's great to start off with some fashion magazines, check online, some of the latest trends and so on. But in most cases, in most cases, fashion, what's promoted in magazines is not really real. It's not what you see people wearing in the streets. Having said that, though, you can use it for some inspiration. So the research should be really based on, you know what would work again, as per the outcome you're hoping to achieve, that's the most important advice I can give you. So if you are, you know, if you aren't going to have a business, you have a business, job interviews, job interviews, smart casual business is another look, the smart casual weekend is another look, black tie is another look. So you got to get really clear, specifically, you know, where you hope to wear this wardrobe this attire, and at the same time, if you're looking to sort of maximizing value, then, of course, you can look at how you can do a mix and match on it, where you're going to get more opportunities to wear it and get a better return for your investment. But it's all about, you know, getting clear on this. It's not difficult, but it is something important that we would suggest, you know, and I am biased on this remember coming from that background of fashion originally, but it does make a difference. And of course, most importantly, you'll definitely feel better. 

13:58
And finally, after your transformation, ask for some feedback, I asked, you know, and I tell you a great transformation, you won't even have to ask you my experience because I'll be telling you, they were very clear. But of course, part of your transformation could also include, you know, a hairstyle, some grooming, etc. But the transformation will certainly get you the sort of attention that we would regard as positive attention, you'll get noticed, and this is important. Now, for some of you that are a little bit shy out there. You might say, Oh, Jon, I don't want to get noticed. Well, guess what? If you don't want to get noticed, that's fine. And that's a decision you've made. But if you don't want to get noticed, and when life doesn't go exactly some of the ways you want it to go in certain different ways, right? Do you know that? Maybe a little bit you think is out of your control, then you might want to reconsider. You know, your whole approach to that because getting noticed is not about you know, being flashy, or being the loudest person in the room. It's about being respected. 

14:59
It's about being acknowledged, it's about being heard. It's about being valued. And this is the key of this, you know, the whole key to this is about the value your own personal value, you know, regaining your personal power. And that's why I am so passionate about this because I already know the result of this. And the other thing you want to think about is this if you have a look at the society have a look at the richest, the most powerful people on the planet, they can afford to dress sharply. And looking like you know, they've, they've just come from a junkyard, but they don't why because they know that that's not going to serve them. So the key here is, you know, if whatever choices you make, just be aware that you're responsible for your choices. And if your choices aren't giving you what you're looking for great time to change some of those choices. Before we finish, let me show share with you how I helped two clients in a successful pass through their wardrobe. The first one was matt, this particular guy's in the finance world of high finance. Now, the key about him is very natural, down to earth, and really, really hard working. But from the point of view of his personal image, he was not seen as a leader, he was basically seen as the hack guy. Now, this is a guy that's, you know, earning some fairly good money. But he looked like a hacking guy. And as a hacking guy, of course, it was treated differently by his leadership team, and of course, his ultimate boss. So what we did was we repackage them, we did some work on him, you know, changed aspects of his presentation, his speeching habits, etc. And of course, today, his transform men, specifically that has doubled his income over a period of two years, this is what happens, this is about value. It's about understanding how to create value, but also perceived value. 

17:04
The next person was a woman and she worked for a large, while she still does actually just in another company, a large management consulting firm, again, very similar, very, very good at her work, but regarded again, too much as what we would call is a practitioner. So you know, she was the type of gal, you would give the work knowing guarantee, she would complete it. The problem with that was, of course, she couldn't leverage herself. And she, you know, had leadership aspirations, but she certainly was not perceived as a leader. So from that perspective, of course, we did a transformation on her as well with different types of looks, of course, including, you know, Business Smart, casual, right up to the formal business. And of course, today, as I think mentioned earlier, she doesn't work for that firm anymore, she picked up a new position in leadership and another competing firm. Then, I can't stress this enough. I mean, I've worked with over 1000, personal transformations, and they're all different. But the beautiful thing about them is this, they've had the courage to look in the mirror and say, You know what, I'm okay, the way I am, I'm not gonna beat myself up. But I'm certain I'm certainly open to new ways of moving forward in the future that specifically will make me present my best self and make me shine. So definitely, you know, that ambition around your best self is essential here. Because if you've got no ambition to be your best self, then what you know, you wouldn't be interested in this. But if you were and you wanted your best self considering Life is short, and we're only going to live one life in this form anyway, why whatever we got to lose, you know, other than at least go out there, have some fun doing the whole wardrobe game, and at the same time, then see what results you get. So I wish you all the best with all of that. And I encourage you, you know, with all the fears you might have in doing that, to just go out and do it. It's a lot of fun. Certainly, that's what our clients tell us every time they go through the process.

19:25
The show is almost over. Thank you for listening. I hope this episode gave you some insights and inspiration. If you need my help with your wardrobe. My team and I can help you please email us and I will be happy to work with you. The email is on the description of the episode. You can also find me on social media. You can follow me on Twitter at John underlined Michael on LinkedIn is John Michael, and on Facebook as image Group International. I thank you all I look forward to chatting again next week and wishing you a great week. Cheers.

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Jon Michail’s Personal Branding Masterclass" Podcast is sponsored by Image Group International, a global team of practical, digitally savvy personal brand and image strategists, based in Australia, committed to maximizing your impact, influence and authority in the business world.   To learn more and apply for your personal coaching, seminars and group workshops please visit imagegroup.com.au or call 1800 631 311.