Brand Yourself
Part 1 of 2 - Changing Value Concepts, Less is Now More
...its a concept I've been toying with lately-and I'm having a mini life crisis over it! As I transition out of college and into the 'real' world, I'm left with piles of sweat pants, over-sized sweatshirts, and t-shirts, t-shirts and more t-shirts. This is not an image I want anymore. It is not how I want to be recognized coming into my career. I need my outfits to say: 'take me seriously' and 'I'm a woman on a mission with a million dollar career in mind'. So, going from what I'm left with in my college wardrobe to the new wardrobe I need ASAP is going to be a drastic overhaul. It's not just about wanting a new look either-this change is altering my entire concept of how and what I value when it comes to my appearance.
Growing up with less than average resources, I had to wear the same thing all the time, or become creative in my out-fit-pair-choices. Every time I got one new article of clothing I would come up with so many new outfits! It was like playing dress up- with strategy. So when I started being able to spend money on clothes for myself in college I went a little crazy. $2 for this shirt, $5 for these pants, $7 for this skirt, $1 for this tank top...you know- you've seen my posts. :) I don't think I ever wore the same outfit twice. Which was fun then and although I love my Goodwill and my clearance finds- many tops, cardigans, scarves and accessories were great basics but eventually stretched out or fell apart (or lost at various college bars...). For the college lifestyle I valued having more for less. At that point in life- that worked.
Now, it's 'real-world' time and what I wear isn't just a fun dress up game, this is serious stuff!
In this world today where things move a million miles a minute- or heck- a million miles a second- your look is priceless. One look, for one second, is sometimes all people will give you. Consider this: Most studies today show that you have 3 seconds to capture someone's attention. The studies consider the 3 seconds people take to consider a website, an ad or a TV channel and decide if the image they are briefly viewing is relevant or of interest to them-and that's it. Think of how fast you flip through TV channels, or will click on a site and click out of it if it's not what you were looking for. Now consider what these studies could show if we put it in the context of our own self image. Your image is your own website homepage, you are your own company logo, and everyday you are YOUR OWN BRAND.
That's my teaser! Stay tuned- more on my development to come. Next-How I plan to do this and what positive life changes this overhaul will bring.
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