Dress for the position you want

By Jim Cathcart

Last week I was in Portland, Oregon for a speaking engagement at the Hilton Portland. At the end of my speech a woman walked up to me and said, "I was in your audience back in the 1980s, in Chicago I think, and something you said that day made a big difference in my life." I smiled and asked what I had said.
She said, "You told us to dress for the position we want rather than for the position we were in. I followed your advice and it really paid off for me. I still follow that advice and share it with others."

What an inspiring comment! It warmed my heart to hear that an idea I had shared was still paying dividends for the audience.
The essence of my message back in Chicago was: people judge us by our appearance as well as our behavior and even though we don't necessarily look like we truly are, our appearance is our choice. We have chosen a particular look because it makes us feel comfortable or expresses something we feel.

The trouble is, we often don't choose our "look" very intelligently. I believe that we could all benefit by dressing and grooming ourselves as if we were already in the next position we aspire to reach. If you are a manager, dress like an executive. If you are a new sales person dress like a veteran sales leader. You get the idea.

Dress for Success was the title of a book by John T. Molloy, published in the 1970s. It was one of many that proved the value of choosing to carry yourself, dress yourself and conduct yourself as the person you intend to be instead of simply the person you currently are.

Remember my "Daily Question" from my book, The Acorn Principle:


In the Spirit of Growth,
Jim Cathcart

Success Magazine - October 2008 issue

By Jim Cathcart

Success Magazine has a long and noble history. It has been inspiring people for over 100 years. 

Recently Success experienced a revitalization under the new leadership of Darren Hardy and his wonderful publishing team. Their premier issue was released in April of this year. 

The October 2008 issue just arrived in my mailbox and it is even more impressive than the earlier ones. Dr. Mehmet Oz is featured on the cover and inside are articles by or about: 

Marcus Buckingham, Patti LaBelle, Zig Ziglar, Coach Tony Dungy, and Jim Cathcart. 

Yep, I've got a two-page article on pages 84 & 85 titled: 

"Relationship Intelligence - Value People, Boost Your Sales."

This message outlines the basic tenets of Relationship Intelligence (tm) and how you can use it to build High-Value Relationships. In the article I share my experience with my insurance agent Dave Scott and why I've stayed with him since 1983 despite moving 150 miles away from his offices. 

I'm very proud to be associated with Success Magazine and encourage you to subscribe and then devour everything they print. It is a high quality publication with a special added bonus in each issue: A combination DVD/CD with video and audio messages from people like: John Maxwell, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Denis Waitley and more.