You’re walking down the street on a beautiful, sunny, warm summer afternoon. You’re almost at your favourite lunch spot. You’re enjoying the sun on your skin, the wind blowing relaxingly on your face, and you’ve got a smile that’s tanned on from the balmy weather. Behind you, you hear a loud noise. It sounds primal – as if it’s something from deep inside of you – like a roar. You hear it getting closer and feel a force coming up behind you.
You turn your head to see the cause of it and your jaw hits the floor! You gaze upon your dream car! (mine is an orange Mclaren 650S Spider) It roars louder and more aggressively as it accelerates past you. You admire the pristine, sexy exterior of it with it’s smooth curves , sleek design, and the elegance with which it commands the road. You desire it. Almost nothing could take your attention away in this moment. It owns the eyes and ears of you and everyone around you.
My dream car!
You watch as – almost magically – it brakes swiftly and silently, signals left (the driver isn’t an asshole after all!), and makes a hard turn into a parking lot. It stops effortlessly on a dime in the parking spot and the angel doors begin to pop open. You squint your eyes to get a clear look though the sun at, what through the windshield tint, appears to be a guy that is about to step out.
What do you automatically assume about him?!
If you’re like me, you think:
- He’s got $$$
- He must a smart dude
- He’s obviously capable to get a car like that and I’d listen to what he has to say about almost anything to see what I could learn from him
- He’s probably knows about and enjoys the good things in life – a nice house, cool clothes, jewellery, and flashy things like bottle service or nice hotels
- I’d happily hear him out if he wanted to make a business deal with me
- He’s obviously successful and likely not just in regards to money
- He’s probably knows a lot of powerfully connected people, has got some cool friends that do cool shit I would like to do, and has sexy women who want him… even if it is just for his money
Now, imagine this:
You’re walking to the front doors of a special event. It’s the evening and one of those events – an award show, charity fundraiser, or something of the such – where you either have a good reason to be there or know someone who does. You’re almost at the the door when you hear an annoying rattling sound coming from behind your left side. It’s followed by, what sounds like, a small explosion. “Is someone dragging tin cans with firecrackers inside them?”, you wonder.
This is hilariously described in the classic song by Adam Sandler – Piece of Shit Car
With an annoyed cringe on your face, you turn your head to see what the racket is. Your eyes instinctively make a statement of disapproval when you see it – an old, beat-up, brown whatever-the-fuck rustbucket with a missing side view mirror and obvious rust holes over the wheel wells. You hear the engine backfire again and realize that was the “explosion” you heard. You can’t see the driver because of the cracks in the windshield but you see the driver door open as the sillhouette of a man prepares to, you guess, fall out of the car.
What do you automatically assume about him?!
If you’re like me, you think:
- He’s broke
- He’s probably doesn’t have a good education or he’d be able to get a better car than that
- He’s probably doesn’t kick much ass in life
- He might not be sophisticated enough to eat with a fork and knife
- At this point, I’m NOT trusting him with ANYTHING that is important to me or might cost me money
- He must not be financially successful and I would doubt he is in other areas of his life either
- He probably isn’t well connected socially or professionally and I doubt the people he knows could offer me a lot of value
Your appearance is like that, too.
Based upon a study conducted at New York University1: within the first seven seconds of seeing you, people automatically assume your:
- Economic level
- Education level
- Competence, honesty, believability, credibility
- Level of sophistication
- Trustworthiness
- Level of success
- Social, sexual, and professional desirability
If that wasn’t enough, another study has shown that in their lizard brain, people immediately and subconsciously judge whether or not to trust you within three hundredths of a second (0.33 second) of seeing you! To top that off, one more study shows that it is very difficult to change peoples’ initial impression of you after that, even if you prove to be the opposite of how they assumed!
That is SO MUCH to be judged about right off the bat without having the chance to say a word!
It’s easy to get down about it! Instead, do something about it!
If you don’t look good, people will judge you negatively IMMEDIATELY without even getting to know you! How can you start off on the right foot with people if they are already assuming bad things about you from the get-go?! That’s like meeting someone but before you do you’re told they’re a convicted rapist, murderer, or scammer.
How would you react?! If you were someone with social options, what would compel you to get to know such a person?!
Alternatively, if you look good and people assume good things about you in these CORE AREAS of life before you’ve even met them, you’re off to a running start! They’re going to more open to meeting you, talking with you, and take what you say more seriously!
Is it fair? No! But that’s how modern society is! So, we can refuse to face up to the truth or start doing something about it.
He’s looking good and confident! You ought to be too!
Thankfully, respectable fashion and fitness isn’t as hard to earn as a your dream car. It’s a lot cheaper, a lot easier to maintain, and says more about you! You just gotta handle the basics right and you’re setting yourself up for greater success with people – which effects almost all areas of your life!
Likewise, if you’re fit and well dressed, people often assume you’re hard working and dedicated (as it takes that to get fit and well dressed) and when you’re not they often assume you’re lazy (rather than busy or handling other parts of your life first)! When you’re looking good people also assume you’re more intelligent as it shows that you are smart enough to notice, understand, and construct a successful image within society’s standards!
If that isn’t reason enough, in Fredrik Eklund‘s book “The Sell – The Secrets Of Selling Anything To Anyone” *make affiliate link* (which I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), I learned how employees who exercise make 9% more than those who don’t!
Your appearance is your first opportunity to express your awesome personality and show people that you are somebody they want to know!
Would you rather initially be viewed as a Mclaren or a piece-of-shit car?!
Getting your fashion and fitness handled ensures you don’t get disqualified with people before you even have a chance to show them how much ass you really kick!
I struggled with my fashion and fitness before but you can you can learn how I got these areas of my life handled in these articles:
- 7 things i learned from a professional men’s stylist
- the exact diet
- the exact workout routine
In the comments below, share a story of when your initial impression of someone DID or DIDN’T live up to what you expected and what you learned from it!
REFERENCES:
1 Source: Michael Solomon, PhD, psychologist, chairman, Marketing Department Graduate School of Business, NYU – although I couldn’t find an exact link to the study, he’s accredited for it on various sites and has a very impressive bio.
PHOTO CREDITS:
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