There are a ton of studies on the correlation between attractiveness and success, most notably Chia, Grossnickle and Lee (1998), Gilbert Fiske and Lindzey (1998) and Mobius and Rosenblatt (2003). These studies and others discuss the idea of the Halo Effect, where attractive people are perceived to be more competent, more socially skilled and more intelligent and capable than their less attractive peers. In fact, one study showed that attractive people earn 10-15% more than their counterparts! It’s worth looking at whether or not your image is affecting your bottom line. Are you maximizing your attractiveness through your visual communication? Here are three simple steps to get started:
1. Honestly assess your current image – give yourself props for those things that are going well (we don’t do enough of this) and see where improvements can be made. For example, when working with a client, I’ll ask “What’s your favourite feature?” For some it’s their personality, for others it’s a body part. Whatever your favourite feature is, begin to honour that and to think of ways to display that trait before you even open your mouth. Remember that ‘attractive’ is a big umbrella and it’s more than just your physical appearance.
2. If there are areas you would like to shift (perhaps it’s time for a haircut, or perhaps it’s time to take a look in the closet and see if the things that are there are showcasing all the wonderful things that are you), make a plan for shifting them. Check out your budget, invest some time in yourself and start today. It doesn’t have to be a perfect plan, you just have to get started somewhere.
3. Finally, begin to create your ideal, most attractive image – use inspiration from magazines, things you’re attracted to and ways of being you’d like to adopt. Make a collage of all those things and pay attention to the commonalities between them. From those points of intersection you’ll be able to find the alignment between what currently is and where you’d like to go. Be honest, too. If you’re attracted to a completely dramatic living room arrangement but know that comfort is far more important for you, try to see what it is about the dramatic arrangement that attracts you – it could be something as simple as the cleanliness of it. From there, you can take the cleanliness without taking the discomfort and apply it to your style choices (i.e. clean lined clothing that’s super comfy too).
More than anything, your attractiveness stems from your self-discovery, from being the most comfortable in your skin, from radiating your self-love out into the world and from honouring all the beauty that’s in you by wrapping it in the best-suited package you can. Your bottom line is comprised of more than just money, it’s also the experiences you have, the relationships you create, the love you share and the knowledge you accumulate over time. Make sure your image is contributing to the abundant bottom line by being in alignment and showing the world who you really are.
Hey I would love to see share buttons installed on your blog. Great post.
Owen
Hi Owen. You’re totally right, I’ll use your blog post on plug-ins to see how I can install the shares!
[…] Is Your Image Affecting Your Bottom Line? By Katherine Lazaruk on Sep 10 2012 • Filed under Image Intensive Tweet There are a ton of studies on the correlation between attractiveness and success, most notably Chia, Grossnickle and Lee (1998), Gilbert Fiske and Lindzey (1998) and Mobius and Rosenblatt (2003). These studies and others discuss the idea of the Halo Effect, where attractive people are perceived to be more competent, more socially skilled and more intelligent and capable than their less attractive peers. In fact, one study showed that attractive people earn 10-15% more than their counterparts! It’s worth looking at whether or not your image is affecting your bottom line. Are you maximizing your attractiveness through your visual communication? Here are three simple steps to get started: 1. Honestly assess your current image: Give yourself props for those things that are going well (we don’t do enough of this) and see where improvements can be made. For example, when working with a client, I’ll ask “What’s your favourite feature?” For some it’s their personality, for others it’s a body part. Whatever your favourite feature is, begin to honour that and to think of ways to display that trait before you even open your mouth. Remember that ‘attractive’ is a big umbrella and it’s more than just your physical appearance. 2. Make a plan: If there are areas you would like to shift (perhaps it’s time for a haircut, or perhaps it’s time to take a look in the closet and see if the things that are there are showcasing all the wonderful things that are you), make a plan for shifting them. Check out your budget, invest some time in yourself and start today. It doesn’t have to be a perfect plan, you just have to get started somewhere. 3. Finally, begin to create your ideal, most attractive image: Use inspiration from magazines, things you’re attracted to and ways of being you’d like to adopt. Make a collage of all those things and pay attention to the commonalities between them. From those points of intersection you’ll be able to find the alignment between what currently is and where you’d like to go. Be honest, too. If you’re attracted to a completely dramatic living room arrangement but know that comfort is far more important for you, try to see what it is about the dramatic arrangement that attracts you – it could be something as simple as the cleanliness of it. From there, you can take the cleanliness without taking the discomfort and apply it to your style choices (i.e. clean lined clothing that’s super comfy too). More than anything, your attractiveness stems from your self-discovery, from being the most comfortable in your skin, from radiating your self-love out into the world and from honouring all the beauty that’s in you by wrapping it in the best-suited package you can. Your bottom line is comprised of more than just money, it’s also the experiences you have, the relationships you create, the love you share and the knowledge you accumulate over time. Make sure your image is contributing to the abundant bottom line by being in alignment and showing the world who you really are. See original post here: ICU Image Consulting […]