#006 The Easiest Way To Change How You're Perceived

Clothes are costumes. Costumes are symbols. Symbols have power.

I was first introduced to the idea of symbols and costumes a few years ago.

After my first year of law school I noticed something unusual.

Most of the students would show up dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, hoodies, sweatpants or other loungewear.

I thought this was odd – especially coming from older students who were working professionals.

Many of the professors were either former partners from various law firms, or they were working attorneys who were prominent in their field.

If you asked these students what they wanted to do after school many of them said they wanted to work at large firms or other prestigious employers.

What was weird is that many of them also knew that these professors were in many ways gatekeepers and connectors to these large firms and prestigious positions.

Now I’m not particularly interested in working for a large law firm, but I thought I would try something different.

I decided, for at least the next year, anytime I set foot in class I would wear a suit and tie.

No exceptions.

At first, this looked odd, and I got a lot of puzzled looks and side eyes from many of the other students and even some professors.

Honestly, I had to lean into it because it did look different from everyone else, but I wanted to see if this would make a difference in how people (especially the professors that I knew had connections) would perceive me.

But even more importantly I knew the best version of myself didn’t dress like a slob and I used this as an opportunity to “try on” that vision.

In that first week alone I had not one, not two, but three different professors stop me in the hallway and ask me about what areas of law I was interested in, and tell me that when I got closer to graduation I should reach out to them.

Mind you, not one of these people gave me the time of day prior to this.

Was it because of the suit and tie?

I’ll never really know.

I think more likely it was because the symbol I was displaying attracted the people I was interested in getting to know.

But, what exactly do I mean by power?

Unfortunately, too many people think about power in one context. They define power as the ability to control others.

I think true power is the ability to control yourself and your future.

Said another way, your power lies in your ability to be self determined.

This is important because the symbols that you present will determine how other people perceive you.

What's more is this means your locus of control moves from external (you are a product of what happens to you) to internal (you are responsible for your outcomes).

We’ve all heard the expression, don’t judge a book by its cover, but, like it or not, most people still do.

This isn’t because we’re all bad people, our brains just work by association.

What's more is this concept applies to more than just objects and clothes.

We wear costumes in the things we say.

This is especially important with what you say online, the types of pictures you post online, and even who you follow.

And, when you make a statement – especially a public statement – make sure you have thought it through and you genuinely believe what you’re saying.

Simply put, tell the truth.

This does not mean you have to be right all the time, you’ll undoubtedly make mistakes and be wrong many times along the way.

Just know that the things you say are also symbols and will attract, or deter, people in a big way.

Question:

What symbols are you knowingly, or unknowingly, showing to other people? Is this in line with who you want to become?

Make sure they’re in line with that vision of your future self.

You got this.